Monument Mountain Reservation — Attraction in Great Barrington

My best friend and I went to Monument Mountain because we decided to start our fitness journey by taking a hike. Literally. When we arrived, we found that you have to pay six dollars for parking. Which while annoying is not unheard of. Unfortunately, even though I paid six dollars, it wouldn’t print out an actual ticket so I paid six dollars for nothing lol. As far as the hike goes, we followed the blue Mohican monument trail and then transitioned over into the yellow hickory Trail. It was 2 1/2 miles total and I’m not gonna lie. There was a lot more uphill than my unathletic self was prepared for. There was a lot of uphill, a lot of huffing and puffing, so many regrets lol. And the last bit of the trail is downhill and had a weird angle and my body didn’t quite know how to adjust itself into an upright position. But I will say that trail had some of the most beautiful sites and views just of the forest alone. We came across a cool waterfall and so many areas where it just made you feel like you were either in a magical forest or on an adventure to seek out fairies or dragons. Some of the rock formations were amazing, including one area that had a giant rock with ferns on it that looked like it was floating. The photos I took could not do it justice. The colors didn’t come out the way your eyes see them, and the views just could not be matched with the camera. I thought I was dying. But it was totally worth it. I’ll probably go on a less strenuous hike for my next one until I work back up to...

Our family hike was a little more intense than we expected. We took the yellow trial up and the blue trail down. Before entering, we saw that there was a waterfall/gorge. Although it wasn't the kind of waterfall we were hoping to see, it was pretty! The paths were beautiful and the view was gorgeous! I would just say to anyone hiking with little ones, and those who might be a little more physically challenged....this was not an easy hike. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law had to turn around and waited for us back at the entrance. I'm glad they did, because it only got more steep and the rock climbing would have been too intense for them. They did see a friendly bear on the way back, which was exciting. Unfortunately, our group didn't see the bear.

Overall, for those of us who finished our hike, we enjoyed it and we are glad we kept going! We are by no means experienced hikers. So, for those who like to hike mountains, I'm sure this would be a breeze. For those who are like us, I just hope you're mentally prepared and are not expecting easy trails through the woods. Definitely a little more intense than that, but worth...

Came here on a day trip with the fam. There was plenty of parking when we came mid-afternoon. There are multiple trails that you can take to the top. The 💙Blue Trail (left side from the parking lot) was the easiest hike up the mountain with gradual elevation. I split from the group and took the ❤️ Red Trail halfway through the Blue. That one was pretty difficult, beware of the giant rock ⛰ scrambles on the steep slopes. On the way back, we took the 💛 Yellow Trail (right side), which was a steep way down as well. If you’re looking for more of a workout, the yellow trail is the one for you. Something a bit more relaxed, Blue all the way! Overall, awesome experience to see the foliage 🍂🍁

P. S. The Blue Trail doesn’t take you the peak viewing area. Only to inscription rock but not much of a view. You must take the Red Trail to get to the top of...