| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Provin Mtn, MA |
|
 | Trails: |
New England Trail (Sections 1-3), Road walk (Rt 187, Rt 20) |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Thursday, January 8, 2026 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Icy but easy to get into parking area at the southern end on Rising Corner Rd. Mid-sized parking area with room for maybe a dozen or so cars. Maybe a half dozen or so there when I arrived around 11:30am. Given that the lot was so icy, I'm wondering if it's plowed in winter...then again, it seemed very popular. Looked like you could park at the end of Old Holyoke Rd at the end of Section 3/Start of Section 4. Wouldn't be hard to park on Rt 20 for the start of Section 3 even if there's no designated parking. No designated parking I recall for the start of Section 2 either, and if there's snowbanks, there may not be roadside parking here in winter. |
|
 | Surface Conditions: |
Dry Trail, Snow - Trace/Minimal Depth, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Standing/Running Water on Trail, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular |
|
 | Recommended Equipment: |
Light Traction |
|
 | Water Crossing Notes: |
All easily rock hopable. I don't remember anything of significance. |
|
 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
Tehe New England Trail (NET) is blazed in white and is usually signed at all road crossings, or at least major ones. A few places where I had to consult Gaia or look around for a blaze as I wasn't sure which way to go, but I think it's generally well blazed. A duck or crawl-under about 15min after the swampy area near the southern end of the NET, and a large blowdowns with a path around to the left about 15min north of the start of the 3rd section of the NET. Probably several more I'm forgetting about. |
|
 | Dog-Related Notes: |
Sure |
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 | Bugs: |
None |
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 | Lost and Found: |
None |
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|
 | Comments: |
My first real foray into the NET, included a redline of Sections 1-3, including the roadwalk to avoid the ford of Westfield River. The guidebook says the roadwalk is 2.9mi, but according to my mapping on Gaia, it would be 3.7mi. I made sure to walk the trail to the bank of both sides of the river, which added further distance. From the north side, this is easy: just walk behind the gas station. From the south side, it involves a bit more distance: cross Rt 187 and follow the NET another 0.6mi or so down to the river. The river did certainly look too deep to ford this time of year, though with the droughts we've been having in summer, I imagine it's probably doable, just deep. Steep banks down to them on both sides, but you can see the blazing on each side. Note that the NET doesn't exactly follow the route shown on Gaia down to the river on the south side. From the south side, I followed Lollipop Trail and another unnamed trail on Gaia back to Rt 187 east of where the NET crosses it, then began the road walk (with the added distance, now just over 4mi). There was a parking area (not shown on Gaia) where I popped out onto Rt 187. Note that the road walk has some narrow areas/tunnels, and spots with no sidewaks, so not the safest roadwalk ever.
There are signs with distances and often registers, maps, info at the start of every section. Some of the quarries the trail passes by looked pretty cool. Nice views from the firetower (open and easily climbable). Great views from the firetower on Provin Mtn. About 15-20min north of the tower, there's some construction, but the trail is blazed through it and you can walk through it. Look for the oranlge blazing saying "Enter" with an arrow, pointing you toward how to exit the construction zone. There were a few spots that had semi-steep dropoffs on one or both sides, where, with the slush/snow, there was abit of a fall risk. Someone had kindly put up rope in these spots to hold onto. I thought this was great! I don't think I ever put on spikes, though they certainly would have been helpful at times. Warmer weather meant melting snow, and I think there were some bare spots, but it was mostly still snow/ice covered at this point. Gaia had me at 15.2mi, 1100ft of gain, 5hr58min. |
|
 | Name: |
Liam Cooney |
|
 | E-Mail: |
liamcooney96@gmail.com |
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| Date Submitted: |
2026-01-25 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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