Downtown Northampton

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Certainly not a hidden gem, but absolutely a destination worth seeing is downtown Northampton, Mass.

Nothing there will overwhelm your senses from excitement, however the downtown offers many shops, restaurants and the perfect New-England-Town feel.

It seems as though nearly every UMass student has made there way to Northampton at least once during his or her undergrad career. I have been several times with my friends since my freshman year, but I can never recall a specific purpose for going.

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Going to Downtown Northampton to just walk around, visit shops and get some coffee is the perfect escape from a boring day, especially around the winter holidays.

“This small city offers more restaurants and shops, certainly more galleries, theaters and performance venues than most urban centers dozens of times its size,” according to the Boston Globe.

Two of the many shops in Northampton definitely worth checking out are Faces and Thornes.

Faces seems to be the most popular among undergrads. The shop offers clothes, quirky items and various knickknacks. It’s difficult to describe all this shop has to offer and the allure of such a place, but I guarantee you will not regret your visit.

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Thornes, a small indoor marketplace, offers a variety of small stores and snacks. During the holidays the marketplace is decorated to suit, which makes it the perfect place to mull around and find your holiday gifts.

Whether you have the money to spend or not, Downtown Northmapton is the perfect place to walk around and simply enjoy the day with friends.

Hiking Mt. Norwottuck

As a freshman in college, it’s an adjustment to live on a campus where you often don’t leave. You leave your dorm to walk to class, to eat at the dining hall, and to go to parties on the weekends. But that’s about it.

I am now a senior, but when I was a freshman, my friends and I felt this exact way. We wanted something different and active to do and see. Our solution was the Mount Holyoke Range State Park.

The park, with a visitor’s center located on Rt. 116 in Amherst, Mass., offers many different trails to hike on. The one my friends and I took, and likely the most popular, is the trail that leads to the top of Mt. Norwottuck.

Fall 2007

Mt. Norwottuck, which peaks at an elevation of 1106 feet, is the highest elevation in the Holyoke Mountain Range. This height allows hikers to view the surrounding mountains, farm land, and of course, the UMass campus from a far.

“Over 30 miles of marked trails provide a variety of outdoor experiences including hiking, walking, viewing vistas, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, horseback riding and hunting,” according to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation website.

With the vast amount of activities offered, the Holyoke Mountain Range will provide students with a daytime activity during any time of the year. However taking into account the poor college student, a simple hike during the fall, spring or summer might be ones best bet.

Most often the students who feel the most “stuck” on campus and in need of a getaway are those who don’t have a car. But no worries, the PVTA offers busses that stop directly in front of the Notch Visitors Center.

The Notch Visitors Center is located at 1500 West St., just past Atkin’s Farm on the left.

Corn Mazes

When thinking about fall, two activities immediately come to mind: apple and pumpkin picking. A unique alternative to these common activities is finding your way through a corn maze.

Usually open from the end of august until the end of Halloween, mazes are the perfect fall activity for friends and families of all ages.

Though you won’t realize it while you navigate the maze, most mazes are shaped into pictures of iconic people or things.

This year, Mike’s Maze, located in Sunderland, Mass., is constructed into a Campbell’s Soup can.

Years past mazes have been shaped to look like the Mona Lisa, King Tut, and Charles Darwin.

“It’s amazing that they can make the maze into a picture,” said Angela Halliday, 22. “It makes it that much more fun.”

The maze is named one of 1000 Great Places To Visit In Massachusetts, according to Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, and received the 2009 “Best Bargain” award from Yankee Magazine.

Mike’s Corn Maze is an affordable, interesting, and exciting attraction that’s right in our backyard!

Admission for children under 13 is $6, while all other others pay $9. Students and senior citizens receive a $1 discount.

Mike’s Corn Maze at Warner Farm is located on 25 South Main St. in Sunderland, Mass.

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Atkins Farms

When fall starts to set in, Atkins Farms is the perfect place to go on the weekend to satisfy all of your autumn cravings.

This country market offers a full service deli, bakery, produce and meat department, as well as your standard grocery needs.

The bakery serves up fresh treats and drinks that visitors can sit down and enjoy in their dine-in section. The perfect fall meal to enjoy inside Atkins are their delicious cider donuts and hot apple cider.

You can bet that these apple-made products taste as fresh as ever. “Atkins Farm has been growing apples for over 100 years” with the first McIntosh tree planted in 1887, according to the Atkins Farms website.

After having a snack, venture outside to choose a pumpkin or build your own scarecrow. For $16.50, customers can use the build your own scarecrow station to create a unique scarecrow with clothes of one choice and stuff it right then and there.

As well as the bakery inside the main building, around the corner is Atkins’ Orchard Run ice cream. This stand offers fresh ice cream, hot dogs and cold drinks to enjoy.

If all of the products offered at Atkins have you itching to make a meal but need some guidance, Atkins’ Savory Suppers is your solution.

“Savory Suppers is meal preparation service designed to take all the work and worry out of preparing dinner,” according to the company’s website. “We do all the menu planning, shopping, ingredient preparation and clean up.”

All you have to do is go to Savory Suppers, select what meals your want, and prepare them at a 2-hour session using Atkins’ farm fresh ingredients and supplies. At the end of your session, take them home and place them in your freezer until your ready to finish off the baking in your home oven.

Atkins Farms is truly the best place to stop and enjoy every season; Hot drinks for the winter, ice cream for summer, and donuts, apples and cider for the fall. The farm is a one-stop market that offers it all.

Atkins Farms is located at the corner of Route 116 and Bay Road in South Amherst.

Flayvors

When the sweltering Amherst heat has got you down, or the changing color of the fall leaves tempts you to give a last hurrah to summer, Flayvors has got you covered.

Well known for their ice cream, Flayvors offers 24 choices of the perfect treat.When autumn rolls around, the store offers seasonal flavors such as chai, county fair, and back-2-school, among others.

Jordan Huskins, a UMass senior, cautiously asked for a scoop of their pumpkin ice cream but upon first taste was glad that she did.“It has a nice light pumpkin flavor,” she said. “It tasted very fresh.”

For those who aren’t looking to venture outside of their comfort zone, every one will be able to find a flavor they love among the 24, as well as an assortment of frozen yogurt and frappes.

All the ice cream is made fresh of cow milk from the adjacent Cook Farm. The farm makes Flayvors not just a place to pick up a quick cone, but to enjoy nature as well.

Picnic tables are aligned right next to the fence where cows often graze, making it the perfect spot to enjoy your dessert and observe the cattle.

Flayvors not only offers up delicious ice cream, but freshly made sandwiches, wraps, and salads. During the winter months diners may sit in their cozy post and beam style dining room.

Flayvors is located at 1 E. Hadley Rd. in Hadley, Mass. and open year round.

Swimming in Leeds

Many Amherst students originally from coastal areas may miss their beaches during the semester, but Leeds, Mass. offers the next best thing, possibly even better.

Hidden away in a neighborhood of Northampton is a river, which is dammed, and at the bottom is a perfect pool for swimming.

The water is deep in some areas of the river, but others are shallow to allow visitors to wade. With rocks of varying size in the river, there are all ranges of depths to cool off during the summer heat.

Jessica Sacco, a senior at UMass, heard about the dam from a friend. “I like that it’s pretty exclusive and not a lot of people know about it. It’s something totally different,” she said. “With puffers pond everyone knows about it, and it’s always busy, but this place is more personal."

One side of the dam allows water to gush down a path of rocks, making it the perfect place to sit down and have the water rush around you without being fully submerged. The other side creates a large waterfall that you can swim under.

Trees surround the area at the bottom of the dam, and the ground is made up of rock with large boulders spewed about. These rocks make the perfect place to sit or lie out and catch some rays.

“When I went with my friends it was just us so we got to explore it and enjoy it with no one else around,” Sacco said. “The water is really nice and there are a lot of rocks to jump on and a waterfall.”

Visitors may park on the side of the street on Arch St. closest to Main St. and then walk across the bridge that passes over the dam. At the end of the bridge, just before The Northampton Country Club, there is a break in the fence and a trail that leads down to the bottom of the dam.

*Swim and explore at your own risk. “No Trespassing” signs are posted in certain areas of this location, however it seems to be loosely enforced.