LocationsMassachusetts
Sheffield, Massachusetts
Bartholomew's Cobble
Two rocky knolls above the Housatonic holding one of the greatest diversities of fern in North America, five miles of trails, and a hilltop field looking straight up the river valley. No dogs at all.
Researched from this park's own sources. Nobody's walked it yet.
Read this bit out
These two lumps of rock have been here a very, very long time, and something about them makes plants happy: more than fifty different kinds of fern grow on this one hill, which is more than almost anywhere else on the continent. Climb to the field at the top and the whole valley opens up in front of you, with the river winding away north.
One of your three free places, or the Explorer Pass. What that costs
Before you go
- Time there
- Plan on about 2 hours at the park.
- Parking
- Parking for thirty cars at the entrance on Weatogue Road. $5 a person for non-members and $1 per child aged 6 to 12; free for Trustees members. Sunrise to sunset.
- Underfoot
- Five miles of trails over two rocky knolls, open fields and marsh. Hurlburt's Hill climbs to a twenty-acre field at the top. The Trustees ask you to allow at least two hours.
- Bathrooms
- Bathrooms, but only in season.
- Food
- Two picnic tables outside the visitors' centre. Nothing else on site.
21 challenges written for this place
A game deals seven to fifteen of them, so no two visits are alike.
Every game includes this one
The Top Of The Hill
Climb all the way up to the big open field at the top and look out over the valley.
A few of the others
Natural Pattern
Find a pattern in nature.
Both Cobbles
This place is named after two rocky lumps. Find them both.
Three Different Ferns
More than fifty kinds of fern grow here. Find three that are clearly different from each other.
The River From Above
Find a spot where you are looking down on the river instead of up at it.
A Very Small Cave
There are two small caves here. Find one and look inside from the outside.
The Squelchy Bit
Find the marsh — the part where the ground stops being properly dry.
The rest are a surprise — that's the whole point.
Play this at Bartholomew's Cobble
Free. Works with no signal once you're there.