By Marcia Parnell
Don’t miss out on an amazing opportunity over five weekends—Saturdays and Sundays beginning September 7th and 8th through October 5th and 6th—to participate in up to 70 free historic interpretive walks, hikes and even one bicycle tour throughout Berkshire County and northwestern Connecticut surrounding the Housatonic River Valley. There’s virtually something for everyone in this broad array of outdoor activities and most are relatively short and over level terrain.
Hoping to entertain your kids, have family or guests visiting and looking for something they might enjoy or know they want to visit, or maybe you just need a reason to get out and enjoy a beautiful day here during our unbeatable fall season? In Becket or very nearby are several outings: History Hike to the Keystone Arches Bridges on 9/7 from 9:30am–1pm; Exploring the Historic Becket Quarry and Forest on 9/22 from 10am–12pm; The Secrets of Muddy Pond and the Building of the First U.S. Railroad Mountain Crossing, 9/28 from 10am–12pm; Chester and Becket Railroad, the Granite Line on 9/29 from 1pm–4pm; and 92 Seasons of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival on 10/5 from 11am–12pm. If you’re willing to venture a bit further from home, there are loads of interesting options like the History of Indian Town in Stockbridge, summit walks at Mt. Greylock and Bascom Lodge in Lanesborough/Adams, a tour of the gardens and landscape at the Mount, Edith Wharton’s home in Lenox, and a short walk and talk at the National Historic Landmark site of the home of W.E.B. Du Bois in Great Barrington. And that’s just to name a few.
A complete list of events including dates, times, locations, registration requirements and map is available on line at housatonicheritage.org/heritage-walks. Hard copy brochures may also be found at libraries, post offices and newspaper racks around the area. Participants are urged to wear sturdy footwear, carry a water bottle and bring insect repellent.
The Walks are a program of the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area in partnership with the National Park Service and are conducted by historians, naturalists and environmentalists.
