Hiking Massachusetts Peaks

Highest Point in Hampshire County, MA
Elevation: 2,133 feet
Prominence: 421 feet
Isolation:  3.26 miles
Summit coordinates: 42°31’57.9″N 72°57’30.2″W
Town: Plainfield, Massachusetts
Conservation Area: West Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary and Kenneth Dubuque Memorial State Forest

General info: West Mountain, located in the town of Plainfield in the northwestern corner of Hampshire County, rises to an elevation of 2,133 feet and is the highest point in the county. It sits within the Berkshire Highlands, a subregion of the Appalachian Plateau characterized by broad, forested ridges and deeply incised river valleys. The mountain occupies a key watershed divide, feeding both the Deerfield and Westfield River systems. The summit and surrounding slopes are protected as part of the West Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, a 1,814-acre preserve owned and managed by Mass Audubon. Established in 1986, it is open to the public for passive recreation only, including hiking, birdwatching, and snowshoeing. That said, Mass Audubon asks that hikers stick to the trails and refrain from bushwhacking, making this summit pretty much off-limits as there’s no trail to the top. There is a parking area (off of Prospect Street) and a short trail loop south of the mountain. Visit Mass Audubon’s West Mountain website for guidelines and contact information.

Historical background: West Mountain lies within the ancestral homelands of the Pocumtuck people, an Algonquian-speaking group who used the surrounding valleys and uplands for seasonal hunting, fishing, and foraging. Though no major Indigenous settlements have been documented on the mountain itself, the nearby river corridors were active travel routes long before European colonization. European settlement in the Plainfield area began around 1770, and by the early 1800s, West Mountain’s slopes were cleared for pasture and timber. Sheep farming dominated the local economy, and stone walls and cellar holes still visible in the woods are remnants of that era. In the 1950s, a large wildfire swept across West Mountain’s ridge, prompting local efforts to cut firebreaks and contain the blaze. In 1986, the Massachusetts Audubon Society acquired over 1,800 acres on and around the mountain, establishing the West Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary. Since then, the land has been protected for ecological conservation and passive recreation.

Recommended ascent routes: As mentioned above, there is no trail to the summit and Mass Audubon asks that hikers stick to the trails in their Wildlife Refuges, so I cannot recommend an ascent route.