The Housatonic River Walk in Great Barrington

The Housatonic River Walk is a short, easily accessible path that follows a section of the Housatonic River in Great Barrington, MA. It’s a great place to take in the nature of Western Mass while at the same time not having to venture too far into the wilderness.

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As part of our spring “Tour de Western Massachusetts” trip, we visited the little town of Great Barrington. Honestly, what a hidden gem! The vibe the town gives off is much different than that of other sections of the state, and we felt like we were in an enclave of Vermont.

One cool place to visit in town is the Housatonic River Walk. It’s a very short trail and is a great place to go if you want to enjoy the outdoors but are short on time or just aren’t able to complete a more vigorous adventure.

We started our adventure at the W.E.B. DuBois River Garden on the corner of Church and River Streets. Benny suggested we start at the other end of the trail, but as you can remember from our previous adventure at the Cursed Titus Mansion Ruins in nearby Tyringham, I have a habit of ignoring my well-intentioned and knowledgeable bear friend.

The path starts right after the garden and follows the river, or, as Benny started intentionally calling it, “The Rivah.”

As we started along the trail, Benny was trying to find a place to go down to the river so he could pose for one of his, “look, I’m actually here” photos. We couldn’t find the perfect spot, so Benny “had to do” with a photo on the rail of the walkway.

As we followed the Housatonic River Walk, we noticed that some of trees had signs that identified what species they were. Benny got excited when he saw that one tree was labeled “Hazelnut,” because he thought the tree’s sap made hazelnut coffee.

Okay, that was a complete lie. I was the one who got excited, so excited that I wasn’t able to take a good photo of the hazelnut tree.

At the point you see above, Benny thought that he’d be able to go down to “the rivah.” In fact, he started saying “rivah” as many times as he possibly could.

“Bob, let’s go down to the rivah!”

“Would you look at that wondahful rivah!”

“Ah, what a peaceful rivah!”

I’m glad that Benny was having a good time. But, even though I admit I have quite the accent, I was getting so tired of hearing “rivah” with the stress on the “ah” that I wanted to throw him into “the rivah.”

Along the Housatonic River Walk is the William Stanley Overlook. Here, there are signs that commemorate William Stanley, who was an inventor who designed a way to “transmit high-voltage alternating current electricity.” I have to be honest, I took what’s in quotes from this site that talks about the river. I was having trouble paraphrasing it myself. Benny, who’s usually by my side when I write about our adventures, says that it’s too bad there aren’t any hazelnut trees around, because maybe if I had some hazelnut coffee, I’d be able to wake up and write better. :sigh:

After enjoying the views at the William Stanley overlook, we continued down the path to take in the sights before ending our short, peaceful walk down by the rivah.

For more information on the Housatonic River Walk, check out the Great Barrington River Walk website.

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Check out these other places in Western Massachusetts!

• Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum
• Climbing South Mount Sugarloaf
• Make Your Own Candle at the Yankee Candle Headquarters
• Check out Dinosaur Footprints
• The Titus Mansion Ruins at Ashintully Gardens
• The Housatonic River Walk, Great Barrington
• The Norman Rockwell Museum

Check out our map of places we’ve been in New England!