Mount Sugarloaf Natural Features Reserve - Nature Conservation Reserve

Description

Sugarloaf Mountain State Reservation, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, is located in Deerfield, Massachusetts, just west of the Connecticut River. The park includes the summits of North Sugarloaf Mountain and South Sugarloaf Mountain (see Sugarloaf Mountain (Franklin County, Massachusetts)), as well as 1.75 miles of frontage on the Connecticut River and two river islands. The park is part of a larger park designation called the Connecticut River Greenway State Park. Portions of the park property along the river are used by the University of Massachusetts Amherst for agricultural research.

The state maintains an automobile road (nominal fee for cars) and an observation tower on South Sugarloaf, open from late spring through the fall foliage season. The reservation is open for hiking, bicycling, canoeing, kayaking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and hunting (in season). A number of hiking trails cross the reservation, including the 20-mile Pocumtuck Ridge Trail. Canoe and kayak camping is allowed on the islands.

The reservation is easily accessible via Route 116 and is only a 15 minute drive from the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. Parking is available at the base of the mountain and at the summit of the auto road.

Harvard Forest

Coordinates: 42°28′12.9″N 72°35′31.4″W / 42.47025°N 72.592056°W / 42.47025; -72.592056