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| The landscape seen from the summit |
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With a little advance planning, you can make your visit to
Skinner State Park more enjoyable. The summit is accessible
by road from April through November, and by hiking trails year-round.
The Summit House, a popular mountaintop hotel in the 1800's,
is open weekends and holidays from Memorial
Day through mid-October. Programs and tours are offered
to the general public; programs for schools and civic groups
are available by appointment. The 1.5-mile road to
the mountain top, used by walkers year-round, is open to
cars from mid-April to mid-November. Over seven miles
of hiking trails crisscross the park; several access the
summit.
The entrance to Skinner State
Park is on Mountain Road, off Rte. 47, in Hadley, Massachusetts. Wheelchair
access at the summit is difficult due to the steep terrain
and the historic nature of the Summit House. Please call
the park at 413 586-0350 for more details.
The staff at the Mount Holyoke Range State Park has implemented
a new system for locating lost or injured trail users. We call
the system Location Identification or LID for short. LID consists
of 5-1/2 x 7-1/2” white signs with the park telephone
number and a 3-digit number on them. Most trail intersections
in the park now have one of these signs, usually placed 8 to
10 feet from the ground. Each intersection has its own location
number, which will correspond to a number on the trail
map.
You can tell exactly where you are on the map. The map also
will have an arrow at each intersection showing the direction
you are facing when looking at the sign. Now you can tell which
trail to take to get to your desired destination. The park
number on the signs can be used if you are lost and need directions,
but you need to know what the nearest LID number is. All local
police departments now have the maps; please
call 911 if there is a real emergency.
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