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.

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.