Trail Mix and Sass: Secret Places in October Mountain

By Patricia Racine
September 2026

Right down the road from Otis is the vast multiuse playground of October Mountain State Forest. This 16,500 acre park is the largest state forest in Massachusetts. The park started out as a private game reserve belonging to William C. Whitney. It is widely thought that it was named October Mountain by literary great Herman Melville, who coined that name after viewing it in all of its autumnal splendor from his home at Arrowhead. The park boasts over 30 hiking trails ranging from gentle lakeside strolls to steep and rocky climbs. Most of these trails are multiuse, so there is a chance that you might be sharing them with bikes, ATVs or horses.

The park’s signature trail is the Schermerhorn Gorge Trail located on the Lee side of the mountain. You will work very hard traversing the three mile loop up steep sections and stone steps, but the views of multiple cascades and a pretty well-photographed waterfall is worth it. Keep an eye out for the Depression Era CCC-built picnic areas, firepits and bridges.

Finding my peace on top of October Mountain. Photo by Patricia Racine

There is also a nine-mile section of the famed Appalachian Trail that climbs from Route 20 in Becket to Washington Mountain Road. This takes you past the remote Finerty Pond, over Becket Mountain and the October Mountain Shelter, and is not that difficult a climb for a novice hiker who wants to tick off a section of the AT. And, if you hike this section on a weekend in July, there is a chance that you will stumble onto County Road to find a modest trail magic setup where you possibly can get a nice cold Gatorade.

One of my favorite places to hike when I was looking to hide from my employees and customers due to the lack of cell service is the Washington Mountain Marsh Trail off of West Branch Road atop Washington Mountain. This over four-mile trail circles what was originally intended to be a lake but the 1980’s dam project, for it failed and the area was reclaimed by beavers. If you travel the loop counterclockwise be prepared to encounter a short section of rock, hopping over some pretty wet ground before you head up into the woods and around the marsh. My favorite part is almost at the end where the trail opens up to the water, and you traverse bog boards and a bridge that is surrounded by tall marsh grass that makes the most beautiful rustling in the breeze. It is the perfect spot to just sit and soak up some sun and the gentle sounds of wind, water and the ducks that hang out there.

This upland section of October Mountain is full of interesting “finds.” There is a 1900s cemetery that some say is haunted by a young woman named Anna Pease; many visitors leave coins on her grave which is purported to bring her peace. Then further down the road over the dam you can use the Navin Trail to go searching for the Navin homestead and mills.

But perhaps the coolest thing that I have found up there is the Sandwash Aerator, or the hidden fountain in the woods, which is actually a piece of industrial infrastructure that sprays the water into the air to add oxygen to it and improve its quality, or so they say. It’s pretty cool to be walking along a trail through nowhere and, bam!, there is a fountain just sitting there covered in moss and spraying away. To find this fountain you park at the Four Corners, where you could catch military helicopter training in the evenings, and walk down Lenox-Whitney Place Road to an unmarked multiuse trail on the right. Follow that until you see a gate also on your right; the fountain is just past that in the woods. If you continue past the fountain you can climb up the dam to see the Sandwash Reservoir, which is actually a very pretty spot and Pittsfield’s water supply. This is a nice short hike, about three miles roundtrip; not very technical but can be a little on the wet side.

Local legend has it that there is a second fountain up there, the Shaker Fountain Stone. In the 1840s the Shakers apparently held ceremonies up on the mountain and erected a “Fountain of Life” monument. Alas it disappeared over 150 years ago, but for all of you local treasure hunters and historians, it’s a chance to go on a quest right in our backyard.