Horse Caves–Amherst Conservation, 10 sights is a 5.1-mile out-and-back in Mount Holyoke Range State Park near South Amherst, MA. The route reaches Horse Caves. It climbs 1,131 ft, with sections as steep as 23% grade, and is mostly dirt. It scores 47/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: green fringe.
Elevation
0 mi253 – 879 ft · steepest grade: 23%5.5 mi
Getting there
Trailhead: Unnamed 42.31738, -72.49686
Nearest town South Amherst, MA
Directions
AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com
Horse Caves–Amherst Conservation, 10 sights
5.1 mi · ▲ 1,131 ft · 2 hr 16 min
Elevation 254–880 ft
Out & Back · Mount Holyoke Range State Park
Trailhead: 42.31738, -72.49686
Weather Aug 4: Overcast, high 80°F / low 63° · precip 0% · wind 4 mph · sunrise 5:45 AM · sunset 8:09 PM
- Start at the trailhead, heading S.
- 0.1 miBear right, heading SW.
- 0.3 miTurn left, heading S.
- 0.3 miBear right, heading S.
- 0.3 miTurn right onto NET/M&M/RFT Trail (white/blue/orange), heading SW.
- 0.1 miTurn left onto NET/M&M Trail (white), heading NW.
- 50 ftBear left onto Swamp Trail (Red), heading NW.
- 0.5 miTurn left onto South Side Trail, heading S.
- 400 ftTurn right onto Upper Access, heading SE.
- 0.3 miTurn left onto Private Investigation, heading S.
- 250 ftTurn right onto Twister, heading SW.
- 0.4 miTurn right onto Lost & Found, heading SW.
- 0.2 miContinue straight onto Upper Access, heading E.
- 450 ftContinue straight onto Technical Trail, heading NE.
- 200 ftBear left onto Unsolved Mystery, heading NE.
- 100 ftContinue straight onto Technical Trail, heading NE.
- 0.3 miSharp right onto Lower Access, heading NW.
- 350 ftBear left onto South Side Trail, heading N.
- 150 ftTurn left, heading W.
- 0.4 miTurn right, heading NW.
- 150 ftBear right onto NET/M&M Trail (white), heading NE.
- 250 ftPass Horse Caves.
- 0.3 miTurn left onto Robert Frost, heading E.
- 0.1 miBear right onto Amherst Conservation, heading E.
- 0.2 miTurn right, heading N.
- 0.4 miTurn left, heading N.
- 0.2 miTurn right, heading S.
- 0.3 miBear left, heading N.
- 500 ftArrive back at the trailhead.
Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.
Trail surface
71% dirt29% unspecified
Weather
OvercastTemperature 80°F63°
Precip0%Wind4 mphUV7Humidity80%
Rained 1.7″ yesterday (4.4″ over the last week) · trails may be muddy
Hourly temperature
80°60°
Sunrise 5:45 AM12 AM3 AM9 AM12 PM3 PM6 PMSunset 8:09 PM
Wed
79°63°
Thu
92°66°
54%
Fri
94°69°
40%
Sat
92°69°
37%
Sun
95°69°
Mon
91°69°
18%
Other ways to reach this destination
- 5.7 mi · loop · via NET/M&M/RFT Trail (white/blue/orange)
- 8.4 mi · loop · via NET/M&M/RFT Trail (white/blue/orange)
- 4.5 mi · out & back · via NET/M&M/RFT Trail (white/blue/orange)
- 3.8 mi · out & back · via NET/M&M/RFT Trail (white/blue/orange)
- 3.9 mi · out & back · via NET/M&M/RFT Trail (white/blue/orange)
More from this trailhead
- Amherst Conservation 1.9 mi · ▲ 315 ft
- Amherst Conservation 2 mi · ▲ 289 ft
- NET/M&M/RFT Trail (white/blue/orange) 2.7 mi · ▲ 761 ft
- NET/M&M/RFT Trail (white/blue/orange) 2.8 mi · ▲ 734 ft
- NET/M&M/RFT Trail (white/blue/orange) 3.2 mi · ▲ 734 ft
- NET/M&M/RFT Trail (white/blue/orange) 3.2 mi · ▲ 707 ft
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Hikes near South Amherst, Massachusetts