US-2458 J.A. Skinner SP

I'd overnighted in South Hadley, Massachusetts after spending the previous day, the 31st of October, hiking and activating US-5636 Mt. Greylock. I mention the specific day because in Massachusetts the state parks shut down quite a few of the roads on their properties on October 30th. At Greylock this meant that what I'd intended to be a few hours on the mountain turned into nearly eight as I had to park at the base and hike to the summit instead of driving two-thirds of the way up as I'd planned.

It was just the same situation when I pulled in to J. A. Skinner State Park in South Hadley. There's a small parking area just off of the highway, right at the entrance to a road that winds all the way up to the summit. Even when the gate is open, though, park here and walk up. It's about a mile's hike through an open, relatively young forest, up along the ridge line skirting nearby Mt. Holyoke, and the path drops you right at the base of the stairs heading up to Summit House.

In warm weather things would start to get crowded right around this spot. There's a parking area on top of the hill, and an inn, and quite a few picnic tables and chairs strewn about, all with amazing views of the Connecticut River valley below. It's a popular destination for locals. Today, though, was the 1st of November, and while there were a steady stream of dog-walkers and joggers, it was pretty quiet.

When you are at the bottom of the stairs looking up toward Summit House, turn around and look at the trailheads directly behind you. To the right the trail continues down the back of Skinner, but the trails to the left take you into US-2449 Mount Holyoke Range State Park. You are standing at the boundary of the two references, which sadly do not overlap. Still, they are a virtual two-fer. You might want to start on the Holyoke side – the view was so lovely on Skinner that I spent quite a bit of time there, and I still had four parks to go in my planned five-park rove. Holyoke is less attractive, has no facilities, and you'll not really have any view.

The sign isn't kidding when it says that it's nearly half a mile to the top and Summit House, and this is the steepest part of the trail. You can continue along the road, which curves around behind and up to the summit, but it's worth the effort to scale the stairs and catch your first views of the valley below.

The summit opens up as you approach, and the trees drop away, so when you get to the top there's a spectacular view of the Connecticut River to the south.

In the late 1800s and into the early 1900s a ferry would take you across the Connecticut to a small platform at the base of the hill, and from there a tram would bring you up to the Prospect House hotel, opened in 1851. You could enjoy live music and drinks on the veranda, taking in the view and fresh air.

The view and fresh air are still there, and you can still get a drink, too, just not after October 30th when everything shuts down.

The hotel went through several owners and at one point was nearly demolished after a particularly severe hurricane in the 1930s, but the original 1850 structure and a subsequent 1894 expansion have been restored and the hotel opened once again to the fresh-air-minded public in 2014.

I spent way too much time wandering around the hotel and the immediate area, and sitting and taking in the view. I finally picked a table near the hotel to set up on, mainly for its expansive view, but also because it was directly under a small tree. I'd carried a 20m hamstick up the hill with me anticipating just this situation – I figured that the elevation and clear shot at the horizon would make up for any inefficiencies in the antenna.

Setup was quick and I settled in for a mix of CW and FT8 QSOs, completely lost in the beauty of the scenery, completely forgetting that I wanted to do four more parks before dark. Fortunately, park number two was five minutes away, down the stairs and up a path.

Quite a few dog-walkers and a few joggers came through in the half hour or so that I was operating. Most had followed the road around the back of the hill and were heading down the stairs, which connects to the road, but a few had blasted up the half-mile stair climb. I explained what I was doing to two curious couples and both times heard the obligatory story of the uncle / grandpa / other old person who had been into ham radio back in the day, or maybe it was CB.

In terms of recreation, I don't think that I'd head here as a destination, but if I was in the area I'd stop by. There are quite a few POTA sites near Hadley, and both it and nearby Northampton are college towns, so there are interesting and funky things to see and do. It'd be a great spot to stay for a few days and activate a handful of the beautiful parks here.