Chesterfield Gorge (Massachusetts)

Nature reserve in Chesterfield, Massachusetts, United States

Chesterfield Gorge
Chesterfield Gorge and the East Branch of the Westfield River

Location	River Road, Chesterfield, MA, USA
Coordinates	42°23′35″N 72°52′48″W / 42.39306°N 72.88000°W / 42.39306; -72.88000
Established	Original land acquired in 1929
Governing body	The Trustees of Reservations
Website	Chesterfield Gorge

Chesterfield Gorge is a nature reserve located in Chesterfield, Massachusetts, United States. The property is owned by The Trustees of Reservations, who have administered the property since 1929.

Chesterfield Gorge was initially carved from the metamorphic bedrock by torrents of glacial meltwater. Today, the gorge continues to be shaped by the East Branch of the Westfield River. The walls of the gorge are quite steep, more than 30 feet (9.1 m) in some places. During periods of low water, it is possible to get down to the floor of the gorge, but it is not recommended, and no trails exist from the cliff edge to the bottom. Rock climbing is prohibited. The surrounding forest features oak, pine, and hemlock, and is home to bears, bobcats, and turkeys, among many others. A half-mile trail along the cliff top offers views of the gorge, the river, and the forest. A railing runs along the length of the cliff for safety. Along the cliff ledge are fields of boulders, some of which are quite massive.

Stone abutments of a bridge that once spanned the river are all that remain of the old post road between Boston, Massachusetts and Albany, New York. A toll gate was established at its eastern end, but no trace of it exists today. During the American Revolution, British redcoats marched over this bridge to Boston following General Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga, New York. In 1835, floodwaters swept away the bridge along with some nearby grist and sawmills. A short trail leads along the river upstream from the gorge to the remains of the old bridge. A more extensive trail network extends southward down the river, through the Hiram H. Fox Wildlife Management Area and towards Knightville Dam.

Chesterfield Gorge is the entrance to an extensive natural area along the Westfield River, and is designated a National Wild and Scenic River. Fly fishing for trout is a popular pastime. Atlantic salmon are stocked here, and must not be confused with the local trout, as it is illegal to keep them if caught.

There is, coincidentally, a similar natural area named Chesterfield Gorge located in Chesterfield, New Hampshire.

External links

The Trustees of Reservations: Chesterfield Gorge

Protected areas of Massachusetts

Federal

National Historical Parks	Adams Blackstone River Valley Boston Lowell Minute Man New Bedford Whaling
National Historic Sites	Boston African American Frederick Law Olmsted John Fitzgerald Kennedy Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters Salem Maritime Saugus Iron Works Springfield Armory
Other National Park Service units	Appalachian National Scenic Trail Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Cape Cod National Seashore
National Wildlife Refuges	Assabet River Great Meadows Mashpee Massasoit Monomoy Nantucket Nomans Land Oxbow Parker River Silvio O. Conte Thacher Island
Wild and Scenic Rivers	Assabet Concord Sudbury Taunton Westfield
Other protected areas	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve West Hill Dam (USACE)

State parks

Parks	Alewife Brook Ames Nowell Ashland Bash Bish Falls Blackstone River and Canal Heritage Borderland Boston Harbor Islands Bradley Palmer C. M. Gardner Callahan Castle Island State Park Chicopee Memorial City Square Clarksburg Cochituate Connecticut River Greenway Demarest Lloyd Dighton Rock Dunn Ellisville Harbor Fall River Heritage Gardner Heritage Governor Thomas Dudley Great Brook Farm Greycourt Halibut Point Hampton Ponds Holyoke Heritage Hopkinton Lake Lorraine Lake Wyola Lawrence Heritage Lowell Heritage Lynn Heritage Massasoit Maudslay Moore Mount Holyoke Range Natural Bridge Nickerson Pearl Hill Pilgrim Quinsigamond Robinson Roxbury Heritage Rutland Skinner South Cape Beach Wahconah Falls Webb Memorial Wells Western Gateway Heritage Whitehall Wompatuck
Reservations	Beaver Brook Belle Isle Marsh Blue Hills Breakheart Charles River Chestnut Hill Cutler Dorchester Shores Elm Bank Fort Phoenix Hammond Pond Hemlock Gorge Horseneck Beach Jug End Lynn Shore Middlesex Fells Mount Everett Mount Greylock Mount Sugarloaf Mount Tom Myles Standish Mystic River Nahant Beach Nantasket Beach Nasketucket Bay Neponset River Pope John Paul II Purgatory Chasm Quincy Quarries Quincy Shore Revere Beach Rumney Marsh Salisbury Beach Sandy Point Scusset Beach Stony Brook Upper Charles River Wachusett Mountain Walden Pond West Island Weymouth Wilson Mountain
Other	Appalachian Trail Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Cape Cod Rail Trail Fort Revere Lake Dennison Recreation Area Lower Neponset River Trail Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside Nashua River Rail Trail Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail Quabbin Reservoir Southwest Corridor Park Squantum Point Park Streeter Point Recreation Area Sudbury Reservoir Wachusett Reservoir Ware River Watershed Area

State forests

Wildlife management areas

Wildlife
management areas

Wildlife
sanctuaries

The Nature Conservancy
Black Pond Bog Boat Meadow Francis Newhall Woods Grassy Pond Greene Swamp Halfway Pond Island Hawley Bog Hockomock Swamp Hoft Farm Homer-Watcha Katama Plains McElwain-Olsen Miacomet Moors Reed Brook Roger and Virginia Drury Sandy Neck David H. Smith Preserve and Fire Trail Stacy Mountain Tatkon

Trustees of Reservations

Audubon Society wildlife sanctuaries

Other
Concord Land Conservation Trust Harvard Forest Lincoln Land Conservation Trust Lloyd Center for the Environment Lynn Woods Reservation Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary Old Harbor Wildlife Refuge

Category
Boston
Emerald Necklace
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Commons

This Hampshire County, Massachusetts geography–related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

This article related to a protected area in Massachusetts is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories: