5 Best Things to Do in Ashfield, MA

By VI Staff on August 6, 2019

Ashfield is a lovely small New England town in the foothills of the Berkshires with gorgeous landscapes year around and the quaint historic downtown with 100-year old breakfast place called Elmer's, the cool old hardware store, a library, a museum, a beautiful town hall, three different theatre companies and even a lake with the swimming beach. It is the place where people come to visit and end up never leaving.

1.Chapel Brook

Chapel Brook is a tributary of the South River and a 173-acre preserve along the brook in southeast Ashfield. The Chapel Brook reservation contains Chapel Falls, a cascade of three waterfalls on Chapel Brook, 10 feet, 15 feet and 20 feet high. Pony Mountain, known as Chapel Ledge, a 100-foot open granite cliff face are also located within the park. The ledge is a popular rock climbing site. Hiking to the top of Pony Mountain, then cooling off in the summer in the chilly waters of the brook and pools below the waterfalls is one of the favorite destinations in the area. The panoramic views of the Highlands and the Berkshires foothills of the Berkshires are spectacular and well worth the hike.

Ashfield, MA

2.Double Edge Theatre

Double Edge Theatre is an artist-run non-profit organization founded by Stacy Klein in 1982. The Double Edge group creates performance cycles that tour internationally. The Chagall Cycle, which includes plays called The Odyssey, Shahrazad, and The Grand Parade, portray the life, work and imagination of Russian-Jewish artist Marc Chagall. The Latin American Cycle is inspired by the surrealist visual art and literature and magical realist literature of South America especially of Leonora Carrington and Alejandro Jodorowsky. Double Edge worked from Boston until 1994, when it moved to a 105-acre former dairy farm in rural Ashfield, MA, where it created a sustainable artistic home. Double Edge's mission is to create a ‘living culture’ by developing the original theatre performance based on the interaction of an actor with the community where the performance takes place.

948 Conway Rd, Ashfield, MA 01330, Phone: 413-628-0277

3.Bug Hill Farm

Bug Hill Farm is a berry farm located in Ashfield, MA, best known for their Pick Your Own Berries. While picking juicy, ripe berries, the visitors can walk the trails, enjoy the view of the land and the pond and maybe even spot a beaver, otter or Great Blue Heron. After the visit, a visit to the farm store will allow them to stock up with fruit cordials, berry shrubs they can plant in their own garden and fruit preserves. All their products are made from local fruit, including some of their own raspberries, black currants and aronia. They also use other local producers’ organic berries, honey and organic sugar. The farm is dedicated to managing the land following regenerative and organic practices, which result in nutrient-dense berries and native habitats healthy for wildlife and pollinators.

502 Bug Hill Rd, Ashfield, MA 01330, Phone: 413-628-3980

4.Bear Swamp

Bear Swamp is a forested park in Ashfield, Massachusetts owned and managed by the Trustees of Reservations. Bear Swamp was originally a sheep pasture and then a source of firewood and lumber, but in early 1960s Rev. Philip and Esther Steinmetz started buying the land concerned that Ashfield was on the way to losing its wild places. They gave the area to the public in 1968. Once it was left alone, it quickly turned into untouched wilderness. The land is well-drained and fertile and once it was protected started growing hardwood trees such as ash, hickory, basswood, maple and cherry. Three miles of trails run through the park. The Beaver Brook Trail follows the southern edge of a small pond and wet meadow with an old beaver dam. The Fern Glade Trail is surrounded by lush ferns and wildflowers. The Lookout Trail offers a beautiful view from the Apple Valley Overlook.

Ashfield, MA

5.Elmer’s Store

Elmer’s Store is a 100- year charming old house in Ashfield, Mass, that has quite a story to tell. It went through various owners and incarnations: it was at one time a general store, meat store and lunch counter. In 2005, after meticulous and loving renovation, Elmer’s Store was reopened as a funky, homestyle breakfast house selling the best pancakes in the state. It now also includes a restaurant and a bar, offering fresh, homey food and the menu that changes daily depending on what is in season and available locally. Elmer’s is also a popular local gathering spot.

396 Main St, Ashfield, MA 01330, Phone: 413-628-4003