An Ode to Western Mass.

Posted November 8, 2021 by Erin Finn

Western Massachusetts is one of my favorite areas to explore in my free time! Maybe I’m a bit biased as I grew up here, but it’s an area rich with history, the arts, beautiful scenery, and plenty of other things to see and do. If you are a student at SLIS West, whether new to the area or visiting to take a library course on the Mount Holyoke campus for the first time, here are some of my recommendations of things to do in the surrounding area near the SLIS West campus!

If you enjoy being out in nature, whether that be biking, hiking, walking, or your preferred nature activity, there are many trails and conservation sites to spend some time basking in the outdoors. My personal favorites are the following:

Hiking up to the Summit House on top of Mt. Holyoke (if you want to see the beautiful views of the valley, but can’t do the hike, you can drive and park at the top when the road is open). Check out the view below!

The Quabbin Reservoir, which you can drive through and also has a variety of trails to walk and bike. See a picture of the reservoir below!

The Trustees Reservation trails and other properties that they oversee. One of my favorites is the Dinosaur Footprints site in Holyoke!

Two of my favorite book-related must-dos are visiting the Emily Dickinson Museum (located in Amherst) and The Eric Carle Museum (also in Amherst)! The Emily Dickinson Museum comprises two historic houses, one of them being her home. The Eric Carle Museum has a really cool art studio that you can create in, working with different materials. My mom and I went together when I was younger and made sculptures out of wire, which I still have!

SLIS West’s location puts you right at one of the Five College campuses. These schools are all within a roughly 20 min radius of each other, and offer a variety of events throughout the school year, many of which are open to the public. In the current world of COVID-19 and social distancing, the availability of events to the public is likely reduced, but I would highly recommend checking out events at these campuses when it becomes safer to do so! One of my favorite things I’ve attended was the Multiband Pops Concert at UMASS Amherst, which features many of the school’s ensembles and its well-known marching band.

Happy exploring!