Savoy Mountain State Forest is a Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 state forest

State forest

A state forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign state.The precise application of the term varies by jurisdiction...

 located in Savoy

Savoy, Massachusetts

Savoy is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 705 at the 2000 census.- History :...

 and Florida

Florida, Massachusetts

Florida is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 676 at the 2000 census. It is home to the east portal of the Hoosac Tunnel, as well as Whitcomb Summit , the highest point of the Mohawk...

. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation

Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)

The Department of Conservation and Recreation is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. As of May 24, 2011 the Commissioner of the DCR is Edward M. Lambert, Jr...

.

Description

Savoy Mountain State Forest is a remote park along the Hoosac Mountain Range

Hoosac Range

The Hoosac Range is part of both the Berkshires of western Massachusetts and the southern Green Mountains of Vermont; it is part of the greater Appalachian Mountain chain...

 popular for fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

, camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...

, and hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

.

Features of the park include 45 campsites and 4 log cabins available for rental, 4 ponds (North, South, Bog, and Burnett), and 7 hill and mountain

Mountain

Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...

 summits, including Lewis Hill (2177 ft), Flat Rock Hill (2195 ft), Spruce Hill (2566 ft), and Borden Mountain

Borden Mountain

Borden Mountain is located in the Savoy Mountain State Forest in Savoy, Massachusetts, USA. The summit features a fire lookout tower.- External links :*...

 (2505 ft). Also within the forest are at least two notable waterfall

Waterfall

A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...

s, Parker Brook Falls and Tannery Falls, the latter of which is a 100' foot drop.

A total of 120 acres (48.6 ha) of old growth forest

Old growth forest

An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...

 have been identified in the state forest near the Cold River and Tannery Falls. Trees in the old growth include Eastern hemlock

Eastern Hemlock

Tsuga canadensis, also known as eastern or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as pruche du Canada, is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It ranges from northeastern Minnesota eastward through southern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and south in the Appalachian...

, red spruce

Red Spruce

Picea rubens is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and from New England south in the Adirondack Mountains and Appalachians to western North Carolina.-Physical description:...

, yellow birch

Yellow Birch

Betula alleghaniensis , is a species of birch native to eastern North America, from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, southern Quebec and Ontario, and the southeast corner of Manitoba in Canada, west to Minnesota, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia.It is a...

, and sugar maple

Sugar Maple

Acer saccharum is a species of maple native to the hardwood forests of northeastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Ontario, and south to Georgia and Texas...

. They range from 150 to 400 years old.

History

Savoy Mountain State Forest is located atop the Hoosac Mountain Range in northwestern Massachusetts. The Hoosac Range is an extension of the Green Mountains

Green Mountains

The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range extends approximately .-Peaks:The most notable mountains in the range include:*Mount Mansfield, , the highest point in Vermont*Killington Peak, *Mount Ellen,...

 of Vermont

Vermont

Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...

, and is the first mountain barrier encountered rising west of the Connecticut River Valley. Hoosac is an Algonquian

Algonquian languages

The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...

 word meaning "place of stones". Settlement of these remote towns of Florida and Savoy by farmers began in the early 19th century. The construction of the Hoosac Tunnel

Hoosac Tunnel

The Hoosac Tunnel is a 4.75-mile-long railroad tunnel in western Massachusetts which passes through the Hoosac Range, an extension of Vermont's Green Mountains. Work began in 1848 and was finally completed in 1875...

 (1851-75) for railroad transportation created a momentary population boom. After its completion the tunnel workers left. Many moved down in the valley to Adams

Adams, Massachusetts

Adams is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,485 at the 2010 census.-History:...

 or North Adams

North Adams, Massachusetts

North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,708 as of the 2010 census, making it the least populous city in the state...

 to work in the woollen mills, or headed west to join in the great land rush

Land run

Land run usually refers to an historical event in which previously restricted land of the United States was opened for homesteading on a first arrival basis. Some newly opened lands were sold first-come, sold by bid, or won by lottery, or by means other than a run...

 for better farmland. Savoy Mountain State Forest was created in 1918 with the purchase of 1,000 acres (4 km²) of this abandoned farmland. During the 1930s the Civilian Conservation Corps

Civilian Conservation Corps

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...

 (CCC) reforested much of this area with Norway

Norway Spruce

Norway Spruce is a species of spruce native to Europe. It is also commonly referred to as the European Spruce.- Description :...

 and Blue Spruce

Blue Spruce

Picea pungens is a species of spruce native to western North America, from southeast Idaho and southwest Wyoming, south through Utah and Colorado to Arizona and New Mexico. It grows at high altitudes from altitude, though unlike Engelmann Spruce in the same area, it does not reach the alpine...

, and built new concrete dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

s at Bog, Burnett and Tannery Pond to replace older dams. Today, apple trees interspersed throughout the campground and stonewalls are some reminders of the once vibrant farming history.

Recreational opportunities

• Boating (non-motorized)
• Camping
• Canoeing
• Educational/Interpretive Programs
• Fishing
• Hiking
• Historic Site
• Hunting (restricted)
• Mountain Biking
• Nature and Birding Trails
• Picnicking
• Restrooms
• Scenic Viewing Area
• Showers
• Skiing (Cross-Country)
• Swimming
• Walking Trails

External links

• Park Website: http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/svym.htm
• Trail Map (Summer): http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/trails/savoy-summer.gif
• Trail Map (Winter): http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/trails/savoy-winter.gif
• Berkshire Visitor's Bureau