Mount Greylock - Climbing Massachusetts Highest Mountain Peak

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Our favorite way to hike Mount Greylock is from the west via the trailhead on Hopper Road. From this trailhead the Hopper Trail and the Money Brook Trail provide access to Prospect, Williams, Fitch and Greylock. We almost always do the loops here clockwise, so we followed the Money Brook Trail up Money Brook, to the Mount Prospect Trail, up Mount Prospect and then connected with the Appalachian Trail. From there we followed the Appalachian Trail southward up and over Mount Williams, along the ridge to Mount Fitch and then made the final climb to the summit of Mount Greylock after connecting with the Thunderbolt Trail. From the top of Greylock we followed the Hopper Trail down off the summit and then dropped down the Hopper Trail and eventually made our way back to the trail head on Hopper Road. That’s about a 13 mile loop and you’ve got about 3100 vertical feet of relief from the parking area to the summit of Greylock.

The hike begins at the end of Hopper Road. There’s a fairly large parking area with an informational kiosk at the trailhead. We have seen it fill up, especially on weekends, so it’s a good idea to arrive early.

Mount Greylock does have an auto road to the summit that you will cross on this hike. The summit also features numerous amenities, though at the time of year we did this hike (late April) none of the summit buildings were open and there was no running water available at the summit.

As for water, after leaving the Money Brook Trail on this loop, there is no water until the small pond on the Hopper Trail after you begin descending Mount Greylock. In the months when the summit lodge is open, water would be available from a hiker water spigot on the outside of the lodge.

In the summer months, the snack bar in the lodge is a great place to get a mid hike hamburger!

The entire loop was a little over 13 miles in length and gained about 3130 vertical feet along the way.