Puffer's Pond in Amherst is a place that I like to stop in at when traveling through the area. The…read morepond itself is a nice place to come and swim at, but it is also nice to walk around the pond and eventually come out at their waterfall. I also make it a point to come in the winter just so that I can see the waterfall get frozen over. The only critique about this place is that at the end of UMass' school year the place tends to be packed and at times people leave their trash everywhere. Besides that this place is nice and relaxing.

A great place to swim, but get here early on a hot day because parking does fill up fast…read more Please keep an eye on your stuff though people have had stuff gone through before. The swimming hole closes at dusk and alcohol is prohibited alone with smoking

We went to Ruggles Pond at Wendell State Forest in Wendell, MA. It's a great, VERY small beach…read more There are lots of hiking trails all around. It has a sandy beach and a grassy area - the beach is sunny, the grassy areas are both sunny & shaded. You can swim and kayak/canoe here. The swimming portion is very small, but our kids loved it nonetheless. NOTE: There isn't really any cell service. Very limited. I could send slightly delayed texts and it took a while to send a photo, but no wifi and I could barely make a call. I have Verizon. There is a fee to enter, but we didn't see where to pay. We used a free pass from our library, anyway. For MA residents, a pass to all the state parks for 2018 is $60, so we might invest in that. There are not real bathrooms, from what we saw. We saw a port-a-potty at the end of the parking lot (in direct sunlight). Better than nothing, though! There aren't any shaded parking spots, but there is lots of parking. The parking and the beach are on the same level, i.e.: no having to walk down to the beach from the car. You can use inflatable devices, life vests, pool noodles, etc. It is non-smoking. I am not sure if animals are allowed or not; I forgot to check. The one negative: We saw both leeches AND snakes. I'll attach a photo of the snake. We saw 4 of the same kind. They never bothered us; they slithered away in the water. However, after another person there got a leech attached to him, we noticed there were actually quite a few leeches, so we pulled the kids out and decided to leave. We figure that maybe with more active use, there will be less leeches & snakes, but who knows!

Beautiful spot. Great for hiking, picnicking and a dip in the pond. The pond was like a hidden gem…read morewith nearby lakes packed with people. The park was huge--we didn't get to explore most of it unfortunately but would love to go back.

Mount Toby has a lot to offer; waterfalls, beautiful trails and caves…read more We followed the Robert Frost Trail to get to the caves. I skipped it but others went in with flashlights. It's tight quarters. Then we continued to the waterfall. It was well worth it. There is a small parking area on Reservation Rd. The park doesn't really have a street number but if you type '95' into your gps it will take you right up to a small free parking lot.

A really nice drive to a really beautiful spot. Good wheelchair accessibility. Be aware the…read morebathrooms are up a flight of stairs so you'd need to drive up, a long walk up the road, or use porta potty at the accessible level. Beach wheelchairs are available to use, but we just used our own to get to the edge of the water. Wooden ramp from parking to edge of the lake leads you to a rubber mat that goes about ten feet into the water for accessibility. Still a little to navigate but the easiest we've found so far. Good swimming!

I grew up coming to Erving State Forest and it is one of my favorite places…read more My own family has camped here many times, as well as come for single day visits and we always have the best time. The grounds are PRISTINE, including the beautiful Laurel Lake. Clean sand and crystal clear water. Bathroom facilities are clean and functional. Nicely groomed and marked hiking trails. The campground area also has a wilderness center that the ranger opens up a couple times a week to do crafts and activities with kids. Sites are clean and level and all have a fire pit with grate, charcoal grill and picnic table. For the rates, you really can't go wrong here. Beautiful and relaxing, and perfect if you're looking to disconnect from technology and reconnect with nature. I'd give more stars if I could!

This afternoon while walking in downtown Greenfield we decided to walk down to Energy Park for the…read morefirst time. When we got to the park we were surprised to see how large it was and how unique it was as well. This park has an old train caboose which is used as an exhibit, has a cute playground area for children, and also has the towns old train station platform which is now used as a stage for performances during the summer. The park itself is fairly large and it has a great layout. It has multiple stone benches and picnic tables. It was great to walk around the park but at this time it was really dirty. During the winter the park isn't maintained and seems as though it is a haven for people to go to and drink. There was a ton of empty alcohol bottles as well as trash. In the park there was also a few people who seemed a bit out of place, but they didn't bother us as we walked around and enjoyed the fresh air. This park seems as though it is a great place to hang out when the weather is nice. From what it says on their website it seems as though it hosts some great celebrations during the summer and fall as well. The only thing is that it seems like a place where you should be cautious of going during off peak hours or during the night. This park has great potential, and we can't wait to go back when the weather is warmer!

Well-maintained and pretty campground but the noise from surrounding traffic is absolutely audible…read moreand prevents sleep and quiet moments. This campground is a very good jumping off point to explore other areas in Vermont. The staff was very kind and helpful at check in.

I stayed here for a night with some friends (who were staying longer than I was) - it's a very…read moreclean feeling campground. The bathrooms were well maintained (also I would hope this would be the baseline for bathroom cleanliness in the times of Covid), the sites are big and flat, and there's a swimming hole you can walk down to! The campsites are close together, and I could see all my neighbors, but everyone was respectful and it was very quiet at night. The only minor downside is that I could hear the occasional passing car on 91 at night, otherwise this was a great campground (it also has accessible campsites!) for a chill night with some pals.

Zoar Picnic Area located on Zoar Rd. in Charlemont is one of our favorite places to go during the…read moresummer. This picnic area has a ton of different benches and grill. The other great part about this park is the fact that it has easy accessibility to the river which is great when it come to swimming on a hot day. Yearly we make it a point to bring our water resistant chair and plop in the water for hours. Overall, the park is pretty basic but it is definitely a go to for us.

This is a great place to just grab a tube and go all on your own for free. Life jackets should be…read moreworn for younger kids .Its a great time with a 45 minute lazy river ride and great scenery .Some areas have higher rapids but for the most part pretty safe just have to hang on when going through rapids (best part is the rapids) so enjoy the ride .I've been coming here since I was like ten .I have great memories.

I love this park, and so does/did my dog. As she got older (between 1.5 and 2 years) she became…read moretoo aggressive for the park. It took me a month or so to come to this realization, but the other users suggested I do so without being nasty and small-minded, and I appreciate the caring community that has grown around this space. I am having my dog trained to be less aggressive (and learning to play my own part more effectively). Eventually the trainer (Julie from Working K-9, an amazing boarding and daycare place) will come to the park with us and once she approves my dog's behavior, we'll be back. Almost all of the people who bring dogs to this park are careful and respectful. The nice thing about having two separate areas is that if you run into one of the few owners who permit bad behavior, you don't have to confront him or her ... you can move to the other side. Yelp is about the park (as a "business") -- not about the dogs and owners (the "customers"). X.X's review is a violation of Yelp's Terms of Service. I note that nobody has voted for it, but I think we should do more as a community to support each other. We should not support attacks on an individual in public forums, particularly one of our model citizens: he started the chat group, bring gallons of water every day in winter, picks up everyone else's poop; can describe in detail every interaction his dog has with other dogs, and works constantly to reinforce good behavior in his dog. I have reported X.X.'s report to Yelp as a Terms of Service Violation and hope you will as well. If you know X.X., please ask him or her to edit the personal attacks out of the review, and let me edit those references off this one. Thank you!

There R 2 adjacent sections, 1 pea gravel & 1 grass. Both have a 5' fence, double gates & water…read morefountains for the dogs. Outside the gates R fountains for the humans. The grass side is bigger, ~ 1/2 acre. The feet of some of the larger dogs (30+ lb) seem to be irritated by the gravel. Usually people won't stay after dusk but both R lit, the gravel side w/ more. There R poop bags & trash can in each side but I always bring & use my own bags (they used to run out occasionally). U can drive or walk across the foot bridge from Deerfield St by Sirum Automotive. There's always plenty of parking, unless there's more than one softball game. [There R sometimes 2 at once :( The city needs arrange their timing better] Everyone always gets a spot even if they have to park on the entry road. If It has rained, usually everyone is in the gravel side bk they're worried their dog will get in a mud puddle (not me). There's usually several tennis balls & a pull toy laying around. When dogs come is kind of random. There's usually 3-5 dogs, but I've seen as many as 9 total. My dog & I have been there for up to an hr by ourselves & he doesn't want do anything but wait for others or sniff outside :( As long as it's not SUPER cold (below 30°) or currently raining, there's usually at least a couple there at the more common times (3 pm - dusk).