The Horse Caves - Amherst, Massachusetts

One of my favorite hikes of all time on the NET (New England Trails) is the Mount Norwottuck and Horse Caves Hike on the Holyoke Mountain Range. I have done this trail twice, and I honestly wish I had the chance to do it again (maybe someday!) The best way to get to this trail is to park at the Notch Visitors Center in Amherst, MA. Starting here, there are a few trails with different colored blazes. The blue blazes are the actual NET trail, the orange blazes are the Robert Frost Trail, and the white blazes are the Metacomet and Monadnack Trail (M-M) lead to the Horse Caves. Depending on how you combine the blazes, it's easy to turn the trail into a loop back to the parking area.

The difficulty of the Horse Caves trail is a bit strenuous and it's approximately 3-3.5 miles, depending on how you go about it (it could definitely be more if you want to see Rattlesnake Nob and possibly detour to Long Mountain). Following the white blazes, there's a beautiful view at the top of Mount Norwottuck. The height of the mountain is 1106' and looks down into the Connecticut River Valley.

From there, descend the mountain and as the trail veers to the left, you'll see a rockslide... and guess what?! YOU GET TO CLIMB DOWN IT, which is pretty awesome. Keep your wits about you, though, because there is a cleft in the rocks that you're going to need to go through. This "doorway" leads to the horse caves.

A little history on the Horse Caves...

The horse caves were used during Shays Rebellion (led by Daniel Shay) in Massachusetts during 1786-1787. Shay was a Revolutionary War veteran that began leading rebels in an up rise against economic injustices and civil rights. He and his rebels used the horse caves as a hiding spot after their defeat from the Massachusetts militia.

Now, the horse caves are mainly a set of rocky ledges, though there are smaller, cave-like structures in them. It's a neat area to look around; you can walk under a large overhand, which is a massive rock that looks like it is balanced precariously atop the other rocks. There's also a larger ledge under it where you can sit and look down into the woods and the other trails. The first "cave" is a narrow opening that you an shimmy into and prop yourself up onto the next ledge by wedging your feet on either side of the rocky walls. This leads to another narrow tunnel that you have to crawl through on your stomach, essentially. (Someone even painted some cave paintings in there to add some ambiance! Though, they are in hot pink and purple, so they're not true to history, but cool all the same). This cave leads to nothing but a very small opening (you can probably only get your hand through) but if your friends are standing outside the cave, you can wave to them or take a cool picture through the hole!

The next "cave" is more open and rocky, as though it had fallen in at some point over the years. This one leads to two different areas. One is a smaller ledge that is big enough to sit on and again, look out into the woods (I like looking out into the woods, I suppose). The next one is higher up, so you can sit on top of the rocks. This one, if you go through the top part, leads to the very top of the rocks. They split into two areas, another ledge (I like calling them Lion King ledges because they make me think of Pride Rock) and the other is a cliff. They give the same view, but the Lion King ledge is definitely more precarious than the other!

When you are done here, follow the M-M trail (remember, white blazes!) until it joins with the Robert Frost Trail (orange blazes). This trail leads back to the Notch Visitor Center and the parking area.

There is another way to do this hike (which is what I stumbled upon my second time around) where you start off in Holyoke, MA instead of Amherst, MA. This makes the hike so much longer, with a lot more various terrains and twisting trails. Make sure you have a map or good bearings (and a lot more time!) if you come into it from the Holyoke side! This way, you come upon the horse caves from the woods instead of the rock slide through the cleft. Both hikes are amazing, but I prefer the Amherst side as there is so much more to see that way and cooler areas to explore.

- Nikki Kristan