Agawam, MA Outdoor Activities

In 1903, Orrin E. Smith sculpted a nine-hole course at Windsor Lake called North Adams Gentleman's Club, challenging golfers to take on its rolling terrain and bask in the peaceful effect of its verdant expanse. Though the name of the course has changed, the Berkshire Hills terrain remains a picturesque setting for players of all skill levels to enjoy golf as a relaxing pastime. A large lake forms the centerpiece of the course, forcing players to evade its watery reaches on holes four, seven, and nine, or risk donating their balls to the course historian holding court in his underwater lair.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par 36 course
• Total length of 2,899 yards from back tees
• Course rating of 67 from the back tees
• Course slope of 119 from the back tees
• Two sets of tees per hole
• Designed by Orrin E. Smith

Classic wooden rail fences surround the knolls and trees at Placid Hills Stables' 110-acre ranch, where trainers lead riding lessons and weekly clinics on several well-trained mounts, including resident school horses Yosie, Knuckle Puck, and Hermes. Tailored to accommodate riders of all experience levels, classes blend a survey of skills in a variety of disciplines—such as eventing, dressage, and the traditional western riding style—with proper care techniques. The facility can accommodate sessions in any sort of weather, thanks to the large indoor arena and the outdoor stone track, designed to be rideable after heavy rains or matches of the exciting hybrid of water polo and polo known as "wet horse ball."

Meandering along the quiet waters 150 miles north of New York City, Hudson Cruises' captains navigate the picturesque artery of the northern Hudson River Valley, offering views of the rolling Catskills and, occasionally, the belly buttons of soaring bald eagles. Both private and public tours—including chartered dinner cruises, Hudson-Athens lighthouse tours, sunset tours, and Latin Dance Party cruises—traverse the waterway, with accommodations for up to 150 passengers on the New Orleans–style paddleboat. Tours take place May–October, seven days a week.

In 1936, Robert and Dorothy Leab drove their 13 head of cattle over Brodie Mountain and into Ioka Valley, where they broke ground on their new home. Despite the poor quality of the farm’s soil, their hard work gradually resulted in bountiful harvests. Decades later, the third generation of the Leab family still tills the land, planting assorted crops and opening the farm to visitors for year-round activities.

Each season brings new life to the farm, from the pastel buds and new shoots of spring to summer’s vibrant strawberries, which are grown on raised beds so visitors can pick their own pints. Kids frolic in Uncle Don’s Barnyard all summer, petting tame rabbits and llamas and whooshing down a 40-foot pipeline slide. Fall festival activities include hayrides and pumpkin picking, and during the winter, snow-covered Christmas trees can be carted home to add holiday cheer or provide a new project for the family’s pet beaver. Maple season stretches from February to April in the sugar house, occupied by 5,000 taps and two boilers. The farm churns out deep maple syrup that is served over pancakes and waffles in the Calf-A, a calf barn converted into a café. The farm’s cattle herds are pasture-raised during warm months, with their diet supplemented by the farm’s own corn, before becoming hormone-free, all natural beef.