Hiking Alander Mountain in the Berkshires

On Monday, Margaret and I hiked Alander Mountain in the Berkshires, a nice little hike about an hour from Albany. I have never hiked in the Berkshires and was excited to try something new! The trailhead is located in South Egremont, Massachusettes in Mt Washington State Forest. The first few miles were a nice walk along gently rolling terrain. There was slick ice underneath a few inches of new snow, which made wearing microspikes necessary!

Unfortunately, the snow was very soft and packable, which caused it to ball up under our microspikes. Not comfortable! The trail gets slightly steep after a few miles, but nothing too terrible!  After about an hour and a half of hiking, we came to the cabin.

The cabin is located right below the summit of Alander, which has some great views of the Berkshires from the top.

It was chilly and windy at the summit, so we only stopped briefly for a snack before heading back down. After the hike, we stopped for a late lunch at Barrington Brewery in Great Barrington. I really love spending time in the Berkshires and definitely need to explore the area more since it’s such a short drive away.

Alander Mountain
Distance 6.2 mi RT
Elevation 2,240 ft
Ascent 1,326ft
Time 2 hrs, 56 min including stops