Robert Frost Trail (Massachusetts)

Robert Frost Trail
The Robert Frost Trail now crosses the summit of Bare Mountain
Length	47 mi (76 km)
Location	Eastern Hampshire County and Franklin County, Massachusetts.
Use	hiking, snowshoeing, backcountry skiing, other
Elevation
Highest point	Dry Hill, 1,289 ft (393 m)
Lowest point	Connecticut River, 89 ft (27 m)
Hiking details
Trail difficulty	easy, with some rugged sections
Season	easiest spring to fall
Hazards	deer ticks, poison ivy

The Robert Frost Trail is a 47-mile (76 km) long footpath that passes through the eastern Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts. The trail runs from the Connecticut River in South Hadley, Massachusetts to Ruggles Pond in Wendell State Forest, through both Hampshire and Franklin County and includes a number of scenic features such as the Holyoke Range, Mount Orient, Puffer's Pond, and Mount Toby. The trail is named after the poet Robert Frost, who lived and taught in the area from 1916 to 1938.

Although only 47 miles long, the Robert Frost Trail takes in a diverse patchwork of habitats, terrain, and scenery. The trail traverses trap rock Metacomet Ridge with its microclimate ecosystems; wetland habitat; ponds; farmland; deep ravines; wooded ledges; river banks; reservoirs; historic mill ponds; and dense forests. One segment of the trail follows a narrow greenway that successfully weaves through a small suburban development; another passes through a revegetated landfill; and yet another follows a mowed path along railroad tracks.

The Robert Frost Trail has undergone periodic extensions to its length. The most recent included routing the trail over the western half of the Holyoke Range; a proposed northern extension would bring the trail to the Deerfield River. Out of date internet and print sources still describe the trail as either 33 or 40 miles (53 or 64 km) long.

The 110-mile (180 km) Metacomet-Monadnock Trail intersects the Robert Frost Trail several times, as do a lengthy network of smaller trails (many managed by the Amherst Department of Conservation), allowing for a variety of loop-hike possibilities.