#hikethehilltowns
Huckleberry Trolley Line Becket Group Hike November 4th 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Hike Rating: Easy and flat, three miles in and back with the option for an additional two miles at the end of the event to go to the Otis town line.
Join us for a guided tour and hike along a section of the Huckleberry Trolley Line in Becket. We will take you along the exact route of the electric street railway built to boost economic development to the Hilltowns via trolley car when there was no other sensible way to travel or move goods through the hills from Westfield to Lee. We will see existing rail ties on the railbed, poles and even a wooden insulator! Learn about the most undocumented form of travel here in Western Mass.
Deemed “the most costly venture of it’s kind in the history of the Commonwealth” total price $24 million dollars in 1915 for 563 miles of track, 800 cars for all of Massachusetts. The Huckleberry Line ran from Lee to Huntington at a cost of $3 million dollars, 23.86 miles of track and no cars, operating only two seasons! Government against the corporate world lead to it’s demise, and then the decline of our rural areas, and rise of the cities; then the Train and Automobiles.
Cover photo courtesy of George Ford.
Please email [email protected] or call/text 413-302-0312 if you have any questions.
We head up the trail at 10:00 am sharp! See you all there!
Please Register per car load on https://westernmasshilltownhikers.ticketleap.com Maps and bottled water provided. Be prepared for rocks, roots and some mud. We will hike rain or shine. Friendly dogs are welcome. Suggestion donation is $10 per person, hike is volunteer lead. More details are on www.hilltownhikers.com . Please email [email protected] or call/text 413-302-0312 if you have any questions. We are a non-profit 501C(3) organization incorporated in the State of Massachusetts. Tax ID #86-2532249
See all our events, maps, blog and photos at www.hilltownhikers.com For more hike information email: [email protected] or call/text 413-302-0312. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Meetup, YouTube, TikTok Pinterest and Twitter. Search our hashtags #westernmasshilltownhikers #hilltownhikers and #hikethehilltowns Please keep our beautiful places clean and carry in and carry out. We are a non-profit 501C(3) organization incorporated in the State of Massachusetts. Tax ID #86-2532249.
Tees, hoodies, hats, window stickers, patches and photos will be for sale at the hike, the complete free catalog of printed hiking maps will be there too. See all our events, maps, blog and photos at www.hilltownhikers.com
Donate here:
Via our website Western Mass Hilltown Hikers
Via Paypal at paypal.me/hilltownhikers
Via Venmo: @hilltownhikers
Via Square: Home | Western Mass Hilltown Hikers (square.site)
Mission Statement: Western Mass Hilltown Hikers, Inc. is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes to engage in all legal activities relating to the development, maintenance and operation of recreational hiking and outdoor adventure in Western Massachusetts. We are a non-profit 501C(3) organization incorporated in the State of Massachusetts. Tax ID #86-2532245
NEW! Become a Hilltown Hiker Member! You can sign up securely with a credit card on our shopping page here: https://westernmasshilltownhikers.com/product/membership/
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Liability Waiver: As a condition of your
voluntary participation in this activity, you
acknowledge and agree to the following: this
activity involves inherent risks that can cause
property damage, injury, illness, disability,
and/or death to participants and/or others;
you assume all risk associated with this
activity; you are responsible for having the
necessary knowledge, skills, abilities,
clothing, and equipment to safely participate
in this activity; you know and will follow the
Hiker Responsibility Code described at
www.hikesafe.com;.the leader(s) of this
activity are volunteers; and you for yourself,
your heirs, executors, and administrators
release, hold harmless, and indemnify the
leader(s) and all members of this group from
any and all claims for property damage,
injury, illness, disability, and/or death -
including those caused by negligence and/or
other reasons.
