We do hikes with our littles fairly often and we thoroughly enjoy them. It’s one of our favorite ways to spend quality time as a family and bond while recharging and enjoying all that nature has to offer us.
The Balancing Rock at the Pittsfield State park was an unexpected fun experience that we didn’t necessarily plan. We were driving back from Mt. Greylock and as we always do if we find ourselves driving while our toddler is sleeping in the car, we open the internet and look for places we can find nearby that we haven’t explored before.
Finding the park proved to be a challenge at first, but we endeup locating it on the left on Bull Hill Road while travelling on Route 7 in Lensborough, MA. The GPS seemed confused and so did our toddler who woke up from a short nap and was ready to go on an exploration adventure.
Once finding the parking lot which is not too big, but not overly crowded, his mood complete changed. Lush greenery and secret paths pass large boulders and tall threes awaited him and he was in his glory. Chasing butterflies and asking about all sorts of mushrooms and plants was one of the highlights of our day. We started our adventure on a paved road for a short bit which continued through a mystical forest and windy little paths.
After a short hike (about three miles round trip of moderate tracking) we reached our destination. We were amazed by the huge limestone formation just purged there. Our little one was curious to see whats around it and behind it and couldn’t stop touching it wondering how is this gigantic thing is not tipping over.
“The Dolphin Head” as some people we heard calling it is a retreating glacier left there from the last glacial era that weighs 165 tons and is 30 feet long and 15 feet wide. Hard to wrap your mind around that. Or at least hard for our tiny one to understand. He kept on poking and prodding it as if he can actually move it and though it was the funniest thing watching us giggle at his unsuccessful attempts.
We had so much fun wandering the woods around it, having a delicious picnic, playing hide and seek around the moss covered rocks and than finally heading back for an afternoon nap with our belies and hearts full.
If you decide to embark on this adventure and are looking to find Balance Rock State Park you can do so here:
Don’t be discouraged by all the graffiti on the rock. Instead get closer and try to find some of the 120 year old carvings left there in the late 1800s from early people who visited the rock and chipped messages.
It’s said that in 1851, Melville and his neighbor Sarah Morewood went to the already famous Balance Rock which was known as an influential place where people of this time gathered and had an extraordinary meeting later mentioned in his novel. You can see the photo of them together here.
As Always Have a Breezy Hike and don’t lose your Travel Bug!