Hiking Massachusetts Peaks

Mass Public Peaks rank: #3
Elevation: 2,965 ft.
Prominence: 191 ft.
Isolation: 0.6 miles
Summit coordinates: 42° 40′ 3” N, 73° 9′ 30” W  
Town: North Adams, Massachusetts
Conservation Area: Mount Greylock State Reservation

Links:
Mount Williams on Peakbagger
Mount Williams on ListsofJohn
Mount Greylock State Reservation on Wikipedia

General info: Mount Williams technically falls just under the 200 ft. prominence criterion. However, the fact that it is surrounded by a beautiful trail network, is one of the highest peaks in the state, and has the Appalachian Trail running directly over its summit makes it too good to leave off simply for lacking just nine feet of prominence. So while it is technically a subpeak of Mount Greylock which stands just 2.5 miles to the south, Williams is a worthy destination in its own right and will reward you with a nice vista to the northeast. It is the northernmost of the peaks in the Greylock Massif and the highest peak in the city of North Adams.

Historical background: Mount Williams was named in honor of Ephraim Williams (1715-1755) a prosperous farmer from a wealthy Newton family who settled in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. He became a captain of the militia and during King George’s War in the 1740s, he was placed in charge of Fort Massachusetts, located near the foot of Mount Williams. He also served during the French and Indian War and was killed in action during the Battle of Lake George. He left a large amount of land to the town of West Hoosac (which was renamed Williamstown according to his wishes) to support the establishment of an academy that eventually became Williams College. From 1937-1944, then again from 1954-1958, the North Adams Ski Club maintained a ski area on the Paul Bernard’s Farm on the lower slopes of Mount Williams. Most of this land is wooded now but you can traverse it along the Bernard Farm Trail.

Recommended ascent routes: A DCR trail map can be found here. There are three routes to approach the summit:
Bernard Farm Trail to Appalachian Trail: Find this route on AllTrails here. This is a great short route if you just want a fairly quick day hike to reach Mount Williams, and it’s the one I happened to take. Lots of parking at the Notch Road Trailhead. It’s 5 miles out and back with roughly 1,561 feet of elevation gain. Parts of the Bernard Farm trail are straight and easy going and appear to be (as the name would suggest) part of an old farm road. In other places it runs up steep ground through a series of little switchbacks. I found the half-mile or so just before reaching the AT fairly challenging. Once you hit the Appalachian Trail, it’s easy going to the summit where there is a prominent sign. There is wreckage along this route of a small Piper plane, rather sad. The terrain was apparently too rugged and remote to remove what’s left of the fuselage.
Mount Williams Trail: Find this route on AllTrails here. About 6 miles and 2,400 feet of elevation gain. I’d like to do this route at some point. Essentially just the AT all the way from the AT Pattison Road lot. I did part of this on my way to Mount Prospect and it was beautiful, though steep. Where the AT breaks away from the Mount Prospect Trail, there’s a great overlook to the west.
Appalachian Trail from the South: Of course, through-hikers headed north from Greylock along the Appalachian Trail will eventually come across the summit of Mount Williams. As mentioned, it’s about 2.5 miles from the Greylock summit.

Nearby Listed Peaks: The Greylock Massif consists of a number of peaks, some of them prominent enough to be considered independent. Several nearby are on the Mass Public Peaks list including Greylock itself, Saddle Ball Mountain, Stony Ledge, Ragged Mountain, Mount Prospect, and Rounds Rock. Those interested in a longer hike could include any of these with Mount Williams.

Click on the images to enlarge: