2017 Hike #9: Bear Hole Reservoir - West Springfield, MA

Date Hiked: Sunday, February 26, 2017
Estimated distance:  4.73 miles
Weather: 37°F, scattered clouds
Resources: AllTrails Recording, A Citizens' Guide to "Bear-Hole"
Highlights of the trip:  waterfall
Progress toward 2017 Outdoor Goals:  9/52 hikes; 27.95/250 miles hiked

I have to say this hike was a pleasant surprise.  My hiking partner's husband had suggested this location because there were quite a few geocaches for him to get.  I think both she and I were thinking, "West Springfield.  Probably not that nice a hike."  But, we went along and were quite happy we did.

We parked in a fairly large lot at the end of the paved part of Bear Hole Road off of Dewey Street.  There were a lot of dog walkers (most dogs were not on leashes), but they seemed to head for the trail that went directly around the reservoir.  We headed up the disused road and had it mostly to ourselves.  There were only a few patches of snow remaining here and there.

As far as I can tell, there are no published trail maps of the area.  We used a map we got from AllTrails (linked above) and the MapMyHike app on my phone to figure out where we were and where to go.  The New England Trail passes along the western boundary of the watershed and near Lane Quarry.  I had seen somewhere that the trail may be moved to the east side of the reservoir, but it has not happened yet.

Birch Polypore

[Note on Birch Polypore from The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms:  Through its varied history this species has been used in the absence of matches to keep fires blazing, as an anesthetic, and as a razor strop.]

The old road continued north and under the Mass Pike, but we turned west and then south back toward the reservoir.  As we got closer to the northern end of the reservoir, we took a trail that went down to a bridge over Paucatuck Brook.  We went into the woods to get a closer look and then saw that there was a waterfall.  We found that if we backtracked, the trail would lead us around to an even better view of the falls.

Bridge over Paucatuck Brook.

Waterfall seen from north side.

What is this chimney doing on a hillside right next to the brook?

We followed the trail around to the other side which gave a much nicer view of the waterfall.  The stone chimney was in front of us on the opposite hillside.  It seemed like a strange place for a chimney.  A little research led me to discover that there used to be a resort here from 1890-1906.  There was an open air pavilion that spanned the brook and the chimney anchored one end of the pavilion.  I could not find a picture of it directly online, but if you look on the page numbered 27 (or page 30 of the PDF) of A Citizens' Guide to "Bear-Hole" there are a couple of photos there.  How cool is that?

While this waterfall is not listed in my book New England Waterfalls (I have an older version), it is on the website under A List of More Waterfalls in Massachusetts.  I can't believe the falls get only a "Fair" rating.  I thought they were were pretty nice and I will be counting them toward my waterfall goal for 2017.

View up the reservoir.

As we headed to the southern end of the reservoir, we took a detour off the trail to go out onto a concrete structure that stuck out into the reservoir.  I'm not sure what this is for.  It is close to the southern end of the reservoir, but not quite.  We got to the end of the reservoir and looped back up to our car.

This was a great hike.   The trail was relatively flat and wide the whole way around.  There are other trails that could be explored and I believe you could connect to the NET if you wanted to.  I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by this place in the middle of busy West Springfield.

This will definitely be counting toward my waterfall goal for the year and maybe the hike to a body of water (though I was thinking of something a little more remote).