Mount Greylock State Reservation

July 14, 2020 Sunny

Mt. Greylock at 3,491 feet, is the highest peak in Massachusetts. We parked near Adams, Mass. and took the Thunderbolt Trail up and the Bellows Pipe Trail down.

The hike was about 5.5 miles roundtrip, with an elevation gain of over 2,200 ft., making it one of the hardest trails we attempted as a family.

We parked at Friend Street, on the east side of the mountain, which is the parking area for Thunderbolt, Bellows Pipe, and Gould trails. Thunderbolt has sections with nicknames like The Steps, Big Bend, and The Dump, which we were interested to check out.

The trail starts on a wide and flat gravel path for a few minutes.

Pretty soon the trail narrows and begins to climb steadily alongside a brook.

After the split with Bellows Pipe trail, Thunderbolt swings to the left and gets very steep, heading straight up the mountainside in a clearing that’s a ski trail during the winter. The first part of the trail was narrow but very lush, with a thick carpet of ferns.

Although it’s difficult to see here, the angle is steep, and it really gets your heart pumping. We (the parents) had to rest at several spots to catch our breath and sip water. Meanwhile, Liam and the other kids wanted to race ahead.

After a relentless climb, we started to get some views to the north and east.

The next section, The Steps, lived up to its name. It seemed to consist of a short climb, followed by a level section, and then more climbing. Several parts of the Thunderbolt were named this way.

At the top of The Steps we continued onto Big Bend for a final steep push. This was rewarded with our best views so far, and we sat for a couple minutes for a snack break.

After this, the last part of the trail was less than 1/2 mile to the top and had a moderate climb.

After crossing the auto road to the summit and pushing up a final hill, we reached the main parking lot and picnic area just below the summit, where we stopped for lunch.

Finally we reached the summit of Mt. Greylock and its stunning views (the below picture is looking east).

After taking in the views, we walked around and up to the war memorial on the actual summit.

This granite memorial, dedicated in 1933, is called the Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower and stands 93 feet tall. Unfortunately, it was closed to visitors in 2013 due to structural issues and was not a victim of the Covid pandemic.

We also learned that Greylock has the only sub-alpine environment in Massachusetts. You can see this unusual terrain in the picture below, where we watched some young boys chasing and catching butterflies in the meadow. It looked like The Sound of Music!

Another interesting note is that the Appalachian Trail crosses the mountain and continues northward into Vermont.

We also checked out the Bascom Lodge, built in the 1930’s. Although the cafe was closed (on Mondays and Tuesdays) when we visited, it was a great spot to take in the sub-alpine views and relax in the sun. The lodge even has a few guest rooms where you could stay the night.

On our way around the summit just before out descent, we found a marker engraved with words from Henry David Thoreau on his visit the mountain.

Reaching the east side of the mountain, we stopped one last time to take in the views. We were able to spot Mt. Monadnock from here (a popular mountain to hike in southern New Hampshire).

Looking back, the sky was clearing and we got a great view of the tower.

We descended the mountain on the the Bellows Pipe trail, which was less steep than Thunderbolt.

As we reached lower elevations we found a lean-to for backpackers.

The trail crossed back and forth over a stream and some minor waterfalls, each of which had a helpful little bridge.

Eventually we rejoined the Thunderbolt Trail and the final descent to the wide gravel path and the parking lot.

• A relentless climb but rewarding summit, with beautiful views and sub-alpine terrain on the mountain top.
• Very challenging hike, but the views on top are worth it. Very rewarding!
• The hike was really long but Ryan made it longer with his pointless word games.
• The hike was super long and steep but it was fun going down the mountain.
• The Thunderbolt trail was super duper duper steep but it had a lot of ferns and then there were steps also so it was easier to get to the top.

For more information: Mount Greylock State Reservation official site.