HIKING: Raycroft Lookout in Florida, Mass.

The journey to Raycroft Lookout in Florida, Massachusetts, feels as much like a scavenger hunt as a hike. Perched high above the Deerfield River on the nose of a ridge in the northeast corner of Berkshire County, the lookout is a relic of the Great Depression, a curiosity in the woods that just happens to have a remarkable view unlike any other in the region.

 

The Civilian Conservation Corps built Raycroft Lookout in the 1930s. The only visitors today are this century’s version of frontiersmen—backwoods hikers, high-elevation homesteaders, and off-road explorers. It’s a cool spot; put your name on the list of those who’ve found it.

 

Follow Route 2 east for 7.7 miles out of downtown North Adams, Massachusetts, through the ironically named hamlet of Florida. Shortly after passing Whitcomb Summit, marked by a golden elk statue, turn left on Whitcomb Hill Road. After a quarter-mile, bear left again onto Monroe Road and proceed two miles to an intersection with an access road on the right. The road grows increasingly, ahem, rustic, but have no fear: a Honda Fit that traveled this road recently emerged unscathed.

 

Park and lock up here, then follow the path, which, over the course of a fifteen-minute walk, shrinks gradually from a gravel road to an off-road track to a log-stepped trail. Midway, pass under a high-voltage power line with views northwest and southeast toward Mount Greylock. Toward its end, the trail descends through a romantic, breezy hemlock grove before emerging at the lookout.
The lookout itself is a stone terrace that would fit right in outside of French doors on the upper stories of a Manhattan apartment building. The Deerfield River winds nine hundred feet below and though a dam, hydroelectric reservoir, and service road are all visible, the view is mostly of wild, uninhabited land. 

 

Visit on a weekday if possible, to minimize the chance of being disturbed by off-road vehicle enthusiasts. The more ambitious hiker will follow the Dunbar Brook trail loop described in Lauren Stevens’s indispensable Hikes & Walks in the Berkshire Hills, but be forewarned: instead of thirty minutes on the hoof, that fine trip will consume upward of four hours. [AUGUST 2010]

 

Tad Ames is president of Berkshire Natural Resources Council.