Northeast Adventures: Savoy

Monday, September 30, 2019

Savoy

Searching for a relatively secluded but fun mid-distance trail run that wouldn't require us to drive more than an hour from Greenfield, Jen and I settled on a return trip to Savoy Mountain State Forest (site #4 in Trail Running Western Massachusetts). We chose wisely.

trail running at Savoy Mountain State Forest in western MA

It had been five full years since I'd last been to the trails of Savoy, but little had changed. We started our run at North Pond and initially followed the suggested route from the book, past Balanced Rock and out the southern leg of the North Pond loop, then west again on the southern leg of the Blackburnian Loop. There was one spot at the first powerline crossing where the trail was a bit hard to follow after utility crew maintenance obliterated the track out in the open swath, and we fumbled about a bit before finding where the trail re-entered the woods on the opposite side (you have to drop downhill slightly, though there are cairns and flagging markers that make it appear otherwise).

Mahican-Mohawk Trail marker along the Blackburnian Loop at Savoy Mtn. SF

At the junction with Lost Pond Trail, we took that trail up towards the summit of Spruce Hill. Although the path is a bit overgrown in places and there's at least one tricky turn up near the crest of the ridge, this is still an extremely pretty and fun section of trail to run on. Well worth the "Optional Extension" trip listed in the book.

At the summit of Spruce Hill, DCR has apparently abandoned the section of steep trail that connects the top with the Busby Trail (though it doesn't appear to be officially blocked off, just entirely unmaintained). The route now only follows the link that connects the Busby Trail to the Hoosac Ridge Trail just northeast of the summit. It's kind of hard to describe, but makes sense if you look at old maps.

From the top, we flew down the Busby Trail all the way back to North Pond. The running was quite gentle on the legs and we made great time without feeling like we were banging ourselves up too much. A highly recommended section of trail for running.