Welcome!  Please CONTACT Liz or Tusi with any questions about events.

Liz lizrotti@gmail.com      Tusi ritachild@hotmail.com

When you participate in an event, you assume the risk as stated here:

Please note that all Women Outdoors trips are cooperative trips led by volunteers.  While members are concerned for safety, our experience levels differ and mistakes may be made.  There may also be equipment failure, unexpected dangers, or conditions beyond our control (such as weather).  There is also an inherent level of risk in many of the activities that cannot be eliminated.  Women Outdoors and its coordinators don’t train, screen or certify any of the leaders or supervise the trips.  All trips are offered in the common adventurer spirit – where each participant is responsible for her own skills level and safety.  Please be sure to verify all of the information above as well as the organizer’s experience and trip plans to your own satisfaction so you can make an informed decision about whether the trip is right and safe for you.  Remember that in choosing to participate you are agreeing to assume responsibility for all risks associated with the activity.  Women Outdoors trips have an excellent safety record.  We ask that you take care to keep it this way!

Sun. March 30. Bike Ride or Hike. Depending on the weather, we’ll do a 15 mile bike ride or a 1 – 1.5 hour hike TBD. 

Wed. April 2. Hike at MacLeish Field Station, Whately.  1:00 pm. Please join Deb F. and myself for a moderate (one hour and a half) hike at the Smith College MacLeish Field Station at 42 Poplar Hill Road in South Deerfield. The greens, the stream and the rocks are magnificent in the spring. The trails will give you a good work out.  More information will be posted closer to the date. 

Sun. April 13.  Hike at Mt Tom.  Meet at 1:30 pm at Beau Bridges trail to hike up to Goat Peak. One hour hike with some steep parts going up. Nice view and lovely brook. Tusi at ritachild@hotmail.com.

Wed. April 16.  Sweet Alice Conservation Area. Meet at 1:00 pm at Sweet Alice parking lot, 73 Bay Road in Amherst.  We will go around the lake and do an extension of the walk from the parking lot for extra credit.  The trails are flat and this easy hike should take between one hour to one hour and 30 minutes.

Sat. April 19.  Bike Sunderland to Montague.   Meet at 1:00 pm for an easy, scenic ride, with one short steep hill. RSVP Liz at lizrotti@gmail.com or 978-618-7195

Sun. April 20. Hike TBD.  Deb jwanddf@juno.com 240-593-6237.

Sun. April 20.  Book Group.  We’ll be discussing The Secrets between Us by Thrity Umrigar.  Probably on Zoom early evening. 

Wed. April 23.  Mt Tom Hike to Eyrie Ruins.  Meet at 1:00 pm at the Mt. Tom North Trailhead Park, 96 East St., for a moderate 2 hour total hike with a consistent incline to the ruins, then downhill returning.  Contact J

Sat. April 26.  Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Bike Ride. Meet at 1:00 pm at the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail in Adams, MA where we will bike the first 10 miles of the trail and then return to Adams. The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail is an old railroad track converted into a 10-foot wide paved trail. The trail runs 12.7 miles through the towns of Cheshire, Lanesborough and Adams. Cheshire Reservoir, and the Hoosic River offer outstanding views of the scenery and wildlife.

Sun. April 27.  Mount Holyoke Ridge Trail hike.  10:00 AM.  4.6 mile moderate/strenuous hike up Mt. Holyoke. From Mountainside Parking on 47 up to Halfway House, 

walk down Mountain Road to the trailhead up to M and M trail.  Walk along the ridge to Mt. Holyoke, return to parking lot via Taylor Notch Trail. Some steep sections and rock scrambles.

Moderately/fast paced hike.  Roughly 2.5 hours. Dogs welcome.  Reply to

Wed. April 30.  Mohawk Trail State Forest, Cold River Road in Charlemont.  We will plan to start the hike at 1:30 onsite and will announce a carpool from JFK middle school as time comes. This is an intermediate hike featuring one of the most scenic woodlands in Massachusetts. We will hike for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. 

Sat. May 3.  Canal Walk in Turners Falls. Carpool or meet at 10:30 for a canal walk – migratory birdway.  Flat, easy, one hour. Then snack or lunch at Upper Bend Café on Ave. A. Carpool from JobLots parking area on King St. 

Sun. May 4.  Hatfield to Whately Bike Ride.  We’ll do a 15 mile scenic ride on quiet roads.  This will be mostly flat with a few hills going up to Whately where we have a beautiful view.

Wed. May 7.  Game Night in Northampton.  Gather at 6:30 for schmoozing and snacks.  Games start around 7:00.  Bring something to share or just yourself. Bring your favorite games if you like.

Fri. May 9. Bike Ride and Dinner. Please join me for a leisurely bike ride on the rail trail Friday evening. Meet at the Damon St Bridge at 6:00 and we'll bike to Maple Farms for dinner or snack and maybe catch a sunset on the way back, depending on time. Total ride about 9 miles. Bring a bike light. Please let me know if you can join me. Hope to see you there.

Sat. May 10, 2025.  A Day Out in the Berkshires! Time: 10:30  at the end of Park Street in Stockbridge. Please join us on Saturday May 10th for some activities out in the Berkshires in Stockbridge. At 10:30, we will meet at the end of Park Street in Stockbridge to hike one of three trails. Mary V Flynn (easy), Laura’s Tower (moderate), or Ice Glen (difficult)

After the hike, we will have lunch -- either bring a bag lunch  or grab a sandwich at one of many cafes in Stockbridge  At around 1:30, we'll go to the Norman Rockwell Museum (9 Glendale Street Stockbridge) to see an exhibit by Anita Kunz called Original Sisters: Portraits of Tenacity and Courage. Kunz has done a series of portraits that reveals and honors the contributions of history-making women in the fields of art, science, technology, and invention, education, history, and politics. $25.00 adults. You can also reserve a museum pass from local libraries — some of those are for 2 people, $10.00 each ticket.                 

Please let us know what part of this trip you’d be interested in participating in the hike only, lunch, and/or museum. Let us know, too, if you are interested in carpooling. 

Mon. May 12. Full Moon & Poetry Hike. 6:45 pm. Meet at Mt Sugarloaf Parking lot to hike and watch the moonrise. Bring a poem to share if you’d like.

Wed. May 14. Kayak on Forge Pond. Meet at 1:00 pm at 7 School St. in Granby to kayak on Forge Pond  and get on the wake before the weeds choke it off. From 7 School St, carry boats about 100 feet to the water. Lots of parking or go to the public launch closer to the cars, but less parking.  Public beach is about 300 yards to the South of 7 School St.

Sat. May 17. Hike, Lunch, Brattleboro Museum, VT.  We’ll meet at the parking lot/trail head at 11:00 am

Come join us for a fun day in Brattleboro. Choose between a hike, lunch, and/or Brattleboro Museum. 

Join us in a hike at the Wantastiquet Mountain Natural Area, NH. There are two trails starting at the base of the Mountain Road parking lot. One is the lower trail (easy, wide walking trail). It follows the CT River for 1.4 miles. The other is the higher trail (moderate-difficult with switchbacks up to the summit). 

After the hike, meet at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center between 1:00 and 1:30. There are several exhibits -- one of which is Ukrainian Folk Art which has a talk about the exhibit at 2:30 -- Art Talk: Live from Ukraine.

Please let us know what part of this trip you’d be interested in participating in the hike only, lunch, and/or museum. Let us know, too, if you are interested in carpooling. 

Sun. May 18.  Farmington, CT Bike Ride.  Hello bikers. Please join us for a scenic bike ride on the Farmington Canal Heritage Bike Trail in Connecticut on Sunday May 18th 11am. This is a mostly flat paved bike trail with a short section on the road. 

We will start in West Suffield CT and bike to the Stratton Brook State Park,  approximately 12 miles, to swim if you like or picnic or just rest. Total ride will be about 24 miles, of course you can always do less or more if you like. Bring a lunch or stop somewhere along the trail and pick something up. 

See below for a link to the website. Trailhead parking is approx 45 minutes from Northampton. 

Address: 4998 Phelps Rd, W. Suffield, CT.

https://www.cttrailfinder.com/trails/trail/farmington-canal-heritage-trail

Sun. May 18.  Book Group.  We’ll be discussing Eating Stone, by Ellen Meloy at 7:15 on Zoom. 

Wed., May 21.  Bradley Sanctuary Hike, 1:00 pm. On Old Goshen Road in Williamsburg.  A lovely trail with a brook in a beautiful forest.  Quite an enchanted place.  An easy to intermediate trail with manageable ups and down.  This hike is a little over an hour but the beauty of the place requests frequent stops.

Sat. May 24. Garden Party Potluck.  11:30 – 2:30.  Come socialize among the spring flowers. Bring some food to share.  In Easthampton.

Wed. May 28.  Bike and Lunch with the Dinosaurs!  Bike on the rail trail from Northampton to the Trustees Holyoke Dinosaur Tracks. Optional hangout with snack/lunch on the CT River bedrock shore. 

Wed. June 4.  Hike at Bright Water Bog Nature Retreat, 727 Wendell Rd, Shutesbury. 1:30 pm. A newly discovered spectacular 140 acres Kestrel land with wetlands, bog and wild forests...and sculptures!  Guaranteed smiles!  There will be a carpool announced. 

Fri. June 6.  Bike Ride and Dinner. Please join me for a leisurely bike ride on the rail trail Friday evening. Meet at the Damon St Bridge at 6:00 and we'll bike to Maple Farms for dinner or snack and maybe catch a sunset on the way back, depending on time. Total ride about 9 miles. Bring a bike light. Please let me know if you can join me. Hope to see you there.

Sun. June 8. Bike Ride TBD.  We’ll do a 15-18 mile ride with some hills, place to be determined.

Tues. June 10.  Game Night in Granby. Gather at 6:30 PM for schmoozing and snacks. Bring something to share or just yourself. Bring your favorite games or play one of the ones I have. We will begin playing games when everyone is ready but probably no later than 7:00 PM. There will be one or two well behaved dogs in attendance and cats will be upstairs that you will not see (but might still cause sneezes). No need to RSVP. Please park anywhere in the driveway trying to leave room for other cars. Do not park along the road.

Sat. June 14. Brunch and Cultural Chaos Festival. Brunch 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. Cultural Chaos Festival 12-5 pm.  Meeting Place Marilyn & Mary’s house, Easthampton.

Come join us for a pot luck brunch at 10:00 am. We will provide coffee, tea, juice, and quiche and potatoes. Please bring a side dish to share — salad,  fruit, muffins, dessert, etc.  After the brunch, we will walk, drive, or bike to the Cultural Chaos Festival at Cottage Street. The festival has performance arts such as puppeteers, musicians, artists, dancers, poets, and an overall great spirit!

Wed. June 18.  Lynes Wildlife Sanctuary, Meet at 1:00 pm. Edwards Rd in Westhampton (left turn 8.2 miles from Noho Center).  See the Lyman Brook and bring your binoculars to check the birds.  Easy one-hour walk. 

Sun. June 22. Bike Ride TBD.  We’ll do a 15-18 mile ride with some hills, place to be determined.

Sun. June 22. Book Group.  We’ll be discussing Bewilderment by Richard Powers. 

Sat. June 28. Kayaking on the Swift River. Meet at 10:00 am at the Swift River launch on Cold Spring Rd. to kayak this clear, very cold water.  We’ll have lunch on the water.