Mount Everett State Reservation is a public recreation area in the

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Mount Washington Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at and the most topographically prominent mountain east of the Mississippi River. The mountain is notorious for its erratic weather. On the afternoon of April 12, 1934, ...

and

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, that offers panoramic views of Massachusetts,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

from the summit of

Mount Everett Mount Everett at 2,608 ft - or 793.1 m - is the highest peak in the south Taconic Mountains. Everett rises nearly 2,000 feet in about a mile from its eastern footings around Sheffield, Mass., and is known for its expansive views; for scrubb ...

. The reservation abuts Jug End State Reservation and Wildlife Management Area; Bash Bish Falls State Park and

Mount Washington State Forest Mount Washington State Forest is a state forest in the Mount Washington, Massachusetts. The forest conjoins with New York state and the state of Connecticut in the southern Taconic Mountains of the southwestern Berkshire region of Massachusett ...

lie to the west. All are managed by the

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. The DCR's mission ...

History

The

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United ...

established the Mount Everett Reservation Commission in 1908. The commission was provided a fund of $5000 to purchase land in the towns of Mount Washington and Sheffield that would become the Mount Everett State Reservation. By 1912, a little over half of the appropriation had been used to purchase 815 acres. The commission was abolished in 1975 when management of the reservation was transferred to the Department of Natural Resources.

Old growth forest

The reservation has about of

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

, most of which is found on the east side of Mount Everett. The forest contains

eastern hemlock ''Tsuga canadensis'', also known as eastern hemlock, eastern hemlock-spruce, or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as ''pruche du Canada'', is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It is the state tree ...

eastern white pine ''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland, Canada west ...

, and hardwoods such as sugar and

red maple ''Acer rubrum'', the red maple, also known as swamp maple, water maple, or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as the most abundant nati ...

white White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

and

northern red oak ''Quercus rubra'', the northern red oak, is an oak tree in the red oak group (''Quercus'' section ''Lobatae''). It is a native of North America, in the eastern and central United States and southeast and south-central Canada. It has been intro ...

American beech ''Fagus grandifolia'', the American beech or North American beech, is a species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and extreme southeast of Canada. Description ''Fagus grandifolia'' is a large deciduous tree growing to tall, w ...

, and

sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, keto ...

and

yellow birch ''Betula alleghaniensis'', the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the ...

. Old-growth forest with a similar composition occurs around Guilder Pond. Mount Everett's summit supports a dwarf forest of

pitch pine ''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsui ...

and

bear oak ''Quercus ilicifolia'', commonly known as bear oak or scrub oak, is a small shrubby oak native to the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. Its range extends in the United States from Maine to North Carolina, with reports of a few popul ...

that, aside from clearing for a fire tower and trails, has not been disturbed for centuries.See the

list of old-growth forests in Massachusetts The following is a list of old-growth forests in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Old growth is defined as those forests that have not been logged (and have not been significantly disturbed by human beings) in the last 150 years. "Virgin forests" ...

for details.

Activities and amenities

The

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...

traverses the entire length of the reservation from south to north, crossing the summit of Mount Everett as it does. Additional trails are available for hiking and cross-country skiing. Picnicking and canoeing are found at Guilder Pond.

References

External links

Mount Everett State Reservation
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Mt. Washington State Forest Trail Map
Department of Conservation and Recreation {{authority control State parks of Massachusetts Taconic Mountains Parks in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Mount Washington, Massachusetts