• Activities Prohibited
  • ATV's/ORV's
  • Camping
  • Horseback-riding
  • Skating
  • Snowmobiling
  • Swimming
  • x-country Skiing
  • Available Information
  • Paper map
  • Facilities
  • None
  • Fees
  • No fee
  • Land Owner
  • Department of Conservation and Recreation
  • Parking
  • Limited off-street parking
  • Pets
  • No Pets
  • Recreation Activities
  • Fishing
  • Hiking
  • Hunting by special permit
  • Road biking
  • Season
  • All Seasons
  • Signage
  • Trailhead sign
Photo: Quabbin Gate 29

Photo: Quabbin Gate 29

Quabbin Gates 28-30

Petersham Road (Rte. 122), New Salem, MA

Biking on paved trails. Hiking loop trails to other gates. Historical sites, birdwatching, and views of the Quabbin. No pets, please.

Description:

Gates 29 and 30 both end up on the same paved road, but Gate 30 also crosses the lovely, stone-arched Keystone Bridge, built by hand in 1866 to span the Middle Branch of the Swift River. From the bridge a fisherman’s trail leads east along the river to the Quabbin Reservoir. Along the approximately 2½-mile main trail are many cellar holes, echoes of the lost section of New Salem, and varied habitats—woodland, edge, and open field—leading to the shores of the Quabbin. One side trails allows a loop hike that exits at Gate 28, with the last leg along Rte. 122; another connects with Gate 27 near New Salem center; and a third makes a steep climb up Rattlesnake Hill to a magnificent view of the reservoir. Consult a map or guidebook for details.

Directions:

From Rte. 2, take Exit 16 and go south on Rte. 202. Turn left on Rte. 122; Gate 30 is a few hundred yards further on the right. (Gate 29 is a short way further south on Rte. 202, on the left.)

Image of globeClick for a Map

Contact:

Quabbin Administration Bldg.
485 Ware Rd.
Belchertown, MA 01007

Email: clif.read@state.ma.us
Web: www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/quabbin.htm

 

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