Holy Mount, , is a prominent peak in the Taconic Mountains of western

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, formerly used as the location of religious ceremonies by a nearby Shaker community.

Geography

The mountain is located in Pittsfield State Forest and is traversed by the loop Shaker Trail which begins at the historic Hancock Shaker Village. The mountain is wooded with northern hardwood tree species. In addition to the main summit, the mountain has two other peaks, a western spur called Mount Lebanon and an unnamed northern peak . Most of Holy Mount is located within

Hancock, Massachusetts Hancock is a New England town, town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 757 at ...

, but the lower western slopes are within the town of

New Lebanon, New York New Lebanon is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Columbia County, New York, United States, southeast of Albany, New York, Albany. The population was 2,514 at the 2020 census.US Census Bureau, 2020 census, New Lebanon town, Col ...

. The Taconic ridgeline continues north from Holy Mount as Doll Mountain, south as an unnamed mountain, and to the east as Shaker Mountain. It is bordered by The Knob to the west across the Wyomanock Creek valley. The west side of the mountain drains into Wyomanock Creek, then into Kinderhook Creek, thence into the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

and

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

. The east side drains into Shaker Brook, thence to the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United ...

and

. Twin Ponds and Cranberry Pond, two highland water bodies, located on the southwest shoulder of the mountain and are visited by the Taconic Skyline Trail and Taconic Crest Trail.

Citations

References

* ''Massachusetts Trail Guide'' (2004). Boston:

Appalachian Mountain Club Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains (New Hampshire), White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., wit ...

.
Commonwealth Connections proposal PDF download
Retrieved March 2, 2008. * ''AMC Massachusetts and Rhode Island Trail Guide'' (1989). Boston:

.
"Greenways and Trails"
Massachusetts DCR. Retrieved February 22, 2008.

External links

Pittsfield State Forest map

Massachusetts DCR. Mountains of Berkshire County, Massachusetts Taconic Mountains Mountains of Columbia County, New York Protected areas of Columbia County, New York Mountains of New York (state) {{ColumbiaCountyNY-geo-stub