Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environmental Center
Northfield Mountain is a pumped storage facility owned and operated by FirstLight. Northfield offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities as well as an extensive array of environmental and recreation programs. We are a four-season recreation facility situated along a beautiful sweep of mountainside, with satellite facilities conveniently located along a 7-mile stretch of the Connecticut River.
99 Millers Falls Road, Northfield, MA 01360 Get directions
Upcoming Events
Tree Identification at Barton Cove
Saturday, October 3rd, 1:00 until 3:00 p.m.
Forests are communities that can seem like a bunch of nondescript strangers until you get to know them. This class will help you learn how to tell them apart and start getting to know their personalities, using multiple characteristics so that you will be able to identify them even when they aren’t dressed up in leaves.
Helen Johnson and Joelle Vautour are Massachusetts state foresters with a combined four decades of experience caring for and loving Massachusetts trees, forests, and all their inhabitants.
This event is free and no registration is required. Meets at the Barton Cove Day Use Area located at 55 Barton Cove Road in Gill, MA.
Yoga and Hiking at Barton Cove
Saturday, October 10th, 12:00 until 3:30 p.m.
Let’s reconnect to ourselves and our forest neighbors with a morning of yoga and hiking. We’ll shift our focus between our inner and outer landscapes to deepen our presence and attune to nature as it manifests in our bodies and the world around us.
The hiking will be mostly silent and moderately paced/hilly, with breaks for mindful movement, conscious breathing, and meditation. Beginners to yoga are welcome. For ages 13+. This is a free program.
We meet at the Barton Cove Day Use Area located at 55 Barton Cove Road, Gill, MA.
Space is limited: advance registration required. To reserve your space, visit www.bookeo.com/northfield
Bring water, dress in layers, and feel free to use hiking poles. Contact instructor to reserve a set.
Questions? Want to reserve hiking poles? Contact: Libby Volckening at libby@yogalibre.net or call 413-834-4524
Sea Shanties on the Heritage Riverboat
Saturday, October 10th, 3:00 until 4:30 p.m.
Tattered Sails is a trio that loves to sing sea shanties, songs about sailing the ocean blue mixed with folk songs old and new!! Ken and Corki have been singing around the pioneer valley for over 15 years. They teamed up with Terry McKeon, a talented folk singer originally from Canada, and put together a pirate show as a fund raiser for American Cancer Society. It was great fun, so they decided to continue their collaboration by combining their favorite tunes and learning some new ones as well. Come sing along and enjoy a pint of whatever wets your whistle the best.
Band: Ken Lively: guitar, bass and vocals; Corki Demers: fiddle, mandolin and vocals; Terry McKeon: guitar, banjo, whistle and vocals.
Tickets are required at www.bookeo.com/northfield
Coexisting with Black Bears in Massachusetts
Thursday, October 15th, 6:00 until 7:30 p.m.
Join us for an engaging presentation about black bear biology, behavior, and research. Learn practical, proactive steps your community can take to safely coexist with black bears in Massachusetts. The program will be led by Meghan Crawford, Community Engagement Biologist at the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife). In addition to her background in wildlife management, Meghan has over 10 years of experience teaching natural science at museums, zoos, and environmental education centers across the country.
This talk is free and will be located in the Auditorium of the Northfield Mountain Visitor Center located at 99 Millers Falls Road in Northfield, MA.
Mushroom Walk with Jonathan Kranz
Saturday, October 17th, 10:00 a.m. until noon
Explore the hidden secrets of our forests, the fungi that emerge as delicious, deadly, or merely delightful mushrooms. Join Jonathan Kranz at Northfield Mountain as he teaches safe and responsible foraging methods. Along the way, discover the most delectable edibles, the deadliest toxics, and simply the most beautiful mushrooms our region of New England can provide. You’ll learn the basics of identification, the strange lifestyles of fungi, and the tips and secrets to happy mushroom hunting. Northfield Mountain is located at 99 Millers Falls Road, Northfield, MA.
Jonathan Kranz is a MA Audubon Certified Field Naturalist who leads mushroom walks and talks for libraries, land trusts, clubs, and other interest groups in southern New England. He currently serves as vice president of the oldest mushroom club in North America, the Boston Mycological Club, and is a board member of the Pioneer Valley Mycological Association. He lives with his family in a former funeral home in Ayer, where he is chair of the Planning Board.
Hiking
Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environmental Center maintain 26 miles of trails that offer excellent hiking in warmer months, May through November. In order to preserve the integrity of the trails, hiking is not permitted once the ski season begins, or during spring mud season. The wide carriage-width trails that make up most of the trail system are designed for cross-country skiing. Additionally, there are 6.0 mi. of traditional hiking trails that wind past streams, hemlock groves, old rock quarries, and the striking Rose Ledge cliffs. Below are links to our trail map, trail report, and trail guides for the Rose Ledge Trail and the Hidden Quarry Trail.
Please enjoy the trails and respect other hikers. We also ask that you please keep your dogs on a leash and pick up after them.
The Visitor Center restrooms are always open! Just enter through our lounge on the 2nd level.
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Maps and Guides
If you are heading out to the trails, feel free to download our trail map. We also posted the map to the Visitor Center doors if you would like to take a photo of it when you’re at the site.
Download Trail Map
Rose Ledge Guide
Hidden Quarry Guide
Facility Rentals
Pavilion
Fee: $300 plus a refundable $150 cleaning/damage deposit fee for exclusive use of our post and beam pavilion and adjacent lawns along the Connecticut River*.
Please note: If a large tent is to be set up and removed on the nearby grounds, the Pavilion must be rented on the days before and after the event. Contact us for three-day rental discounts and information.
To reserve, please email us at recreation@firstlight.energy or call 1-413-659-4426.
- Available Wednesday through Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Memorial Day weekend through Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
- Maximum group size is 100 people. The 8 picnic tables in the Pavilion seat 64.
- Swimming and beaching or anchoring of any watercraft on the riverbank is not permitted.
- There are two 110 volt/20 amp outlets under the serving table with GFI protection. Disabled guests will find the service entrance most convenient. All others should use the Pavilion parking area directly off Pine Meadow Road.
- Disabled guests will find the service entrance most convenient. All others should use the Pavilion parking area directly off Pine Meadow Road.
*Address of the Pavilion is 156 Pine Meadow Road. From the Visitor Center at 99 Millers Falls Road in Northfield, head north on Route 63 and it is the first left onto Ferry Road. At the bottom of this short road, turn right onto Pine Meadow Road and the Pavilion parking lot is on the left. Please share the address and directions with your guests.
Yurt
Fee: $100 with a refundable $100 cleaning/damage deposit fee. Located behind the Visitor Center.
- Available between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
- Maximum group size is 30 people.
- A pellet stove keeps the yurt warm in any season. Limited electricity is provided.
Visitor Center Auditorium
Fee: $150 with a refundable $100 cleaning/damage deposit fee for large indoor meeting room in our Visitor Center.
Available between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. April through October.
Maximum group size is 60 seated in rows.
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT USE OF ALCOHOL IS NOT PERMITTED IN YURT OR AUDITORIUM.
Questions? Email us at recreation@firstlight.energy or call 413-659-4426.
With some changes to amenities and procedures, the natural beauty of the Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environmental Center trails remain a refreshing and invigorating place to visit for outdoor winter recreation.
Cross Country Skiing
Thank you all for an amazing 2025/26 season! We are now closed for skiing and snowshoeing.
Northfield Mountain has more than 25 miles of trails designed specifically for cross-country skiing and groomed for both classical and free-style skiing. Our trails offer some of the finest Nordic skiing in the region, from beginner trails to the demanding 800-foot vertical climb of Tenth Mountain Trail. Hikers, dogs and other pets are excluded from our trails during the ski season.
Hours of Operation: The trails will be groomed and opened to skiing and snowshoeing when there is adequate snow cover, Wednesday – Sunday, 9:00 a.m.– 4:30 p.m.
Please note that our parking lot CLOSES at 4:30. Please return gear by 4:15 so we can ensure this.
Our ski shop phone number is 413-659-4458, it is available Wed-Sun from 9-4:30
Northfield Mountain Recreation and Environmental Center maintain 26 miles of trails that offer excellent year-round activities
What you need to know for the 2025-26 season
When snow cover is sufficient, trails at the center will be groomed as needed. Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and fat biking will be allowed for all guests with a valid trail ticket. At times when snow cover is absent, too icy, thin, or inconsistent for skiing, the trails may be opened for hiking, walking, and studded fat bikes. Visitors can get information about trail conditions and allowed activities by visiting FirstLight’s Northfield Mountain Trail Report, Facebook, or the Western Mass Cross Country Ski Areas Association.
- Ski and snowshoe rentals will be available daily this season. We will not be offering seasonal rentals.
- Trail pass and equipment rental transactions will be purchased in the ski shop by credit card only.
- Dogs are allowed on Wednesdays in February as long as they are leashed!
Trail Fees and Rental Equipment
2025-26 Daily Ski and Snowshoe Rental Rates
Ski and Snowshoe Rentals
Snowshoes, and a limited number of skis, boots, and poles will be available for day rental this season when conditions permit us to open the trails for skiing.
Payment will be accepted by credit card only.
Snowshoeing
More than six miles of trails are reserved exclusively for snowshoeing. The trails meander through scenic sections of the mountain, with great views from Rose Ledges. Free snowshoe trail tickets must be picked up at the ski shop before heading out. Please see our price chart above if you need to rent snowshoes.
Fat Biking
A pass is required when we are open for skiing. Tire size must be larger than 3.5″ and tire pressure must be less than 10 psi. Exit trails if your tire creates ruts more than one inch in depth. Please do not walk on groomed trails. Always check trail report below before heading out.
Grooming
Northfield Mountain can take on the largest blizzard or the lightest dusting of snow with their fleet of grooming vehicles. The trails receive regular grooming–usually in the early morning, with tracks set for classical skiing and areas groomed flat for skating.
Maps and Guides
If you are heading out to the trails, feel free to download our trail map. We also posted the map to the Visitor Center doors if you would like to take a photo of it when you’re at the site.
Download Trail Map
Rose Ledge Guide
Hidden Quarry Guide
