Quabbin Reservoir

I loved it here, seriously, I didn’t want to leave.
If you are in the area, get on over here because the hike, the reservoir and being surrounded by such a beautiful scenery is breath taking.
We hiked down all the way to the bottom to where the river ran through, just absolutely breath taking, check out the short video clip I took, the water looks good enough to jump into!

I just kind of stumbled upon this place and ended up spending the day. Tons of trails to hike, a lookout tower, and the dam make for awesome sights.

I would compare this to the Mansfield Hollow State Dam in CT; as far as the walking along the reservoir. The walk along the river is beautiful, several people were out fly fishing, as this is only a catch & release area. It was nice to watch people fly fishing. One nice thing I will add, is they did have a very clean portable potty to use, that had a signed sheet to when it was last cleaned.

Beautiful place! Love the name! Visited the Quabbin Reservoir Park in late June. The Reservoir itself is about 9 miles long and you can hike, bike, or drive it.
Start from the Visitor Center, which has some interesting pictures of before & after this area was flooded. A restroom is also located here. Pick up visitors map and follow it to visit different overlooks along the way. My favorites are the Windsor Dam Spillway and Observation Tower, which you can climb for fantastic, panoramic view

What can you say about this place other than how beautiful it is. I do miss the old days where you could drive more places and really appreciate the whole scenery but you still can get around pretty well now. I would always recommend a visit here any time.

First off, what a great name. Say Quabbin 5 times fast. Good job, let’s continue.
My girlfriend and I visited on a hot Sunday afternoon, hoping to find a good place to lay out in the sun, catch some rays, and maybe wade into the water to cool off.
Before I go any further, there is no going in the water. It was the very first thing they told me at the Visitor’s Center. Ugh, such beautiful, off-​limits water. Kinda just makes you want it more. Call it a conspiracy theory, but didn’t the Loch Ness Monster go missing around the same time this was built…
Anyway, we did find our way to a very small patch of sand/​dirt next to water, in the area called Hank’s Meadow. I wouldn’t call it a beach, but it was nice enough for a few hours of hanging out. Definitely bring a blanket and/​or towels. Even the mowed, grassy areas are made of pretty rough, stiff grass.
There are three entrances to the park. West Gate is Visitor’s Center and the dam, Middle Gate and East Gate are connected by a big loop for visiting the lookouts, the tower, and the dike. We didn’t visit the tower, but I have a feeling the view is spectacular. We also didn’t hike, but it seems very well groomed, and the vast size of the park leads me to believe there are some cool spots.
No trash cans, so gather up your own crap, don’t be a nuance to the old people watching birds, and be kind to nature. Oh, and don’t go swimming. :)

Prescott
Dana
Greenwich
and
Enfield
Back in the 1920’s the city of Boston was thirsty, really, really thirsty. They needed lots of fresh water to supply the growing population so the politicians in Beacon Hill decided to built a really huge reservoir. The problem of course was where to put this really huge reservoir.
They decided that a quiet area about 65 miles to the west called the Swift River Valley was perfect. Lot of open land and rivers to dam up. The politicians were happy, the workers that got jobs were happy and the people of Boston were happy. Everyone was happy. Except of course the people in the four towns that were going to be flooded and destroyed by the massive project.
Of course politicians don’t like to use words liked destroyed so the towns of Prescott, Greenwich, Dana and Enfield were going to be «disincorporated». Sounds a whole lot nicer than destroyed but to the people of the towns it meant the same thing, not only were their homes going to be under hundreds of feet of water but also their towns and ways of life were going to come to an end.
Of course nobody cared what the people of the towns thought so they had to move and from 1930 to 1939 the massive project was completed. Bezillions of gallons of water were stored in the massive reservoir, and huge dams, dikes and tunnels were constructed. Quabbin Reservior is the largest body of water in the state and always will be.
Today Quabbin Reservior is a lovely and pristine place. A great area for hiking, bird watching, bike riding, snow shoeing, cross country skiing or just getting out and seeing a stunning lovely and beautiful place. Miles of trails wander all over the area and the reservoir is still supplying Boston and the surrounding towns with all the water it requires.
There are lots of good books about the remarkable engineering that build the massive reservoir and also a few very poignant ones written by the people that lost their homes and towns. Those are the ones I prefer reading.
In Memoriam
Prescott, Dana, Greenwich and Enfield.

I have to say that many locals even to Western Mass don’t know much about the Quabbin. It once was four towns in the 1930’s that was flooded to make the reservoir to provide fresh drinking water to the Boston area. So It may be confusing to find a entrance and your gps maybe confused– because there is more then one entrance. I recommend gate 43 in Belchertown because its the easiest to get around and there are signs that I have noticed.
Here are some gates. but there are more out there.
Gate 28 – 30 is in Petersham Road (Rte 122) New Salem, Ma and mostly paved
Gate 34 – 35 is in Old North Dana Road, New Salem Ma
Gate 43 Belchertown, Ma off of Route 32A (My gps always finds this gate)
This is a great place to go:
–walking
— running,
biking (some steep spots)
–snowshoeing
–picnicking
–bird watching
or just to explore and yes there is more then just fishing to do here. (Gate 43 is popular for boat launches and fishing. but there are rules of course check out –
Quabbin Reservoir Fishing Guide — Mass​.Gov
There is a observation tower near gate 43 that you can climb up and have a overview of the area. And there are paved paths off the main roads that leads you right to the water. There is a visitor center also.
There are many rules that apply when on the property like no swimming, no dogs, no campfires or camping. the list goes on.
Quabbin is truly a hidden Gem and worth exploring!