places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Tyringham MA
The Park
A cobble, the term is thought to derive from the German word kobel meaning rocks - is a rounded, rocky hill formed of bedrock, not glacial debris. In the case of Tyringham Cobble, geologist Daniel Clark discovered in 1895 that the rocks on the top of the knoll were older than those strewn around the bottom. He concluded that the cobble had broken off a nearby mountain and flipped over during a great geological cataclysm 500 million years ago. Pioneer farmers cleared most of the Cobble by the 1760s. Members of the Shakers owned an extensive 2,000-acre farm in Tyringham by 1840 where they pastured cattle and sheep. The last of the frustrated Shakers, tired of trying to grind money out of the rocky soil, had sold out and moved to other communities by the end of the century. In the 1930s a conservation group calling themselves “The Cobblers” purchased much of this land to thwart a proposed ski run. In 1961, their leader Olivia Cutting James died and left her part of the Cobble to the Trustees of Reservations with an expressed wish that the surviving tenants do the same. And so they did in 1963.
The Walks
Hiking the two-mile loop trail, with its blend of open-fields and mixed hardwoods, on Tryringham Cobble is one of the best hours you can spend with your dog in the Berkshires. Your exploration begins in an open field where cattle graze as they have for 200 years. Then comes a fairly rigorous climb to summit where you’ll enjoy sweeping views of a quintessential New England valleyscape. Rather than race back down the slopes the trail juts back into the hill to join the Appalachian Trail for a spell and views in the opposite direction. As you drop down the Cobble along a fenced pasture don’t let the distracting views take all your attention off of the slippery cowpies that mine the path.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: There is a basic map and information board at the trailhead;
the trail is marked on the Cobble.
Workout For Your Dog - Climbs up and down.
Swimming - None.
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are welcome to hike at Tyringham Cobble.
Something Extra
Does your dog have any herding instincts? You’ll find out at Tyringham Cobble where you may find yourself hiking with a free-ranging herd of Hereford cattle.
Phone - (413) 298-3239
Website - http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/370_tyringham_cobble.cfm
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Tyringham; From Route 20 turn west onto Route 102 West (towards Stockbridge) and then immediately turn left onto Tyringham Road. Follow into Tyringham and turn right onto Jerusalem Road. Entrance and parking are on the right.
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