Things to do in Great Barrington

The Housatonic River flows through Great Barrington, with access points at Park Street in nearby Stockbridge and at the Sheffield Covered Bridge. Almost 4 miles of the Appalachian Trail also pass through the community. To the east of town, Beartown State Forest is popular with a variety of outdoor enthusiasts. The site hosted CCC crews in the 1930s to cut the trails, build roads and structures, and create Benedict Pond.  A popular day-use and fishing spot, the area also features camping, swimming, boating, and picnicking, along with ORV/ATV and Snowmobiling multi-use trails. North of town, Monument Mountain Reservation provides scenic vistas across the Housatonic River Valley. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville, the 19^th-century authors, shared a picnic at the site and discussed Melville’s ideas for Moby Dick.