Article updated May 12, 2018 by Dave Read
The Steepletop Reserve, near New Marlboro, MA is the largest property of the Berkshire Natural Resource Council, comprising more than 1,200 acres. It contains miles of wood road, and expanses of wetland, mature forest, and young forest, including a small patch of old growth forest (it’s not virgin forest but it is unusually old).
At the center is Harmon Brook flowing from south to north through more than 100 acres of scattered wetland. Crisscrossing the Reserve are 5 miles of marked/maintained trail and an additional 3 miles of un-marked wood road. At the far southeast is a matrix of young forest and mature forest, managed for wildlife that depend on young forest habitat.
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Directions:
From Great Barrington, take Route 23 east to Monterey. Just after the Monterey line, bear right onto Route 57/183 into New Marlborough. Just before the Old Inn on the Green in New Marlborough, turn left onto New Marlborough-Monterey Road; follow for 1.6 miles. Turn right at the steep, inclining driveway marked “684”. Bear right into our gravel parking lot at the top of the little hill. The trails begin right at the trailhead parking; there is a kiosk just beyond the gate.
Steepletop was donated by the Devine family, long-time owners of this and adjacent lands. To Berkshire Natural Resources Council they donated the Steepletop Reserve that you see on the attached maps; to the New Marlborough Land Trust and The Trustees of Reservations they gave a conservation restriction over Berkshire Natural Resources Council property and other land that the family retained. With Steepletop and adjacent land, a block of nearly 5,000 contiguous acres of land is permanently conserved.