Laurel Lane to Pitcher Brook: AMC Noble View Hike

Discover an Appalachian Mountain Club Outdoor Center with miles of woodland trails, waterfalls, streams, lodging, and a view!

Let's hike this 4-mile loop - Laurel Lane to Pitcher Brook Waterfall - taking you through the best of the 360-acre AMC Noble View Outdoor Center. Located in Russell, MA, just outside of Granville, where there is also a lot to hike!

At just 18 minutes (or 10 miles) west of downtown Westfield or 24 miles west of Springfield you’ll discover a hiking oasis with over 12 miles to explore. Even the drive to get here all along the country roads of western MA feels like an adventure in itself.

This hike within the AMC Noble View Outdoor Center gives you a tour of the main highlights of this property: Pitcher Brook Falls, private woodland trails, and a view from the AMC Outdoor Center.

While not a big summit, it is a perfect woods walk for the dogs filled with abandoned farm fields, woodlands, streams, falls, and more to enjoy along the way. The trail also features stone walls, cellar holes, and diverse habitats, including a rare stand of old-growth hemlock.

This trail guide tells you everything you need to know for a fun and successful hike here, including how to get here and turn-by-turn trail directions! Plus lots of pictures for inspiration. 🙂

Living next door in Connecticut, I often venture to the Berkshires to hike, and this hike has become one I'll be returning to. I love the streams, little waterfall, well-marked trails, and feeling of privacy that you get here.

Being so spread out and more of a secret hike that not many know about, we allowed the dogs to roam off leash with us here and saw others doing the same, though all dogs were under voice control.

So let's get to the hike!

🥾Laurel Lane to Pitcher Brook Hike Overview

Miles: 4.20-mile loop
Time: 2 hr 15 m
Elevation Gain: 764 feet elevation gain
Level: Moderate
Highlights: View from AMC Outdoor Center, Pitcher Falls, quiet/serene trails
Parking: navigate to 42.13453, -72.85997
Find the trailhead: From Interstate 90, take exit 41 toward US-202/MA-10/Westfield/Northampton and merge onto MA-10 S/US-202 S/Southampton Rd. Turn right on Franklin St in Westfield and continue onto Russell Street. Turn left onto Lloyd’s Hill Rd. Turn right onto Western Ave and continue onto General Knox Rd. Turn left onto S Quarter Rd., the parking lot will be on your right in about 1.5 miles.
Land Manager: Appalachian Mountain Club. 10 City Square, Boston, MA 02129. (603)466-2727. [email protected]
AllTrails link 🔗🔗

AMC Noble View Hike Description:

Obtained during the Great Depression in the 1930s, the AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) Berkshire Chapter wanted to provide members with an affordable way to enjoy the outdoors together. At the time, it was common for visitors to take public transportation to Westfield and then hike the rest of the way to Noble View. In addition to the trails, today you’ll find lodging here including fully updated cabins and dog-friendly campsites.

Perched at an elevation of about 1,100 feet above the Connecticut Valley, the Noble View Outdoor Center boasts wide open views of the rolling countryside, nearby towns, and the cities of Westfield and Springfield in the distance. We visited at the end of winter before any trail maintenance and did have to step over or around a few trees along the Charcoal Trail.

When you drive onto S Quarter Rd to find the trailhead, you’ll find a large parking lot on your right. The view, Noble View, is located just a couple of hundred feet up S Quarter Rd beyond the parking lot. You can walk to the view before or after your hike.

🧭 TURN-BY-TURN DIRECTIONS 🧭

From the parking lot, walk back onto S Quarter Rd. and turn right to go for about 150 feet until you see the large old barn on your right where you will see a trail heading into the woods to the right. Begin on the Laurel Lane trail here with the barn on your left.
At 0.7 miles, bear left to start the loop where you will begin to see green blazes on the trees.
At 0.22 miles, bear left onto the blue-blazed Laurel Lane trail.
At 0.4 miles, see a set of trail signs and stay straight on the wide path to continue on the Laurel Lane trail. You’ll see blue and orange markers on the tree here.
At 0.58 miles, see a sign with the number ‘26’ on it, continue to stay straight onto the Laurel Lane trail.
At 0.76 miles, come to another trail juncture and a trail sign with the number ‘27’ on it. Take a left here onto the Charcoal Kiln Trail where you will see white blazes on the trees.
At 1.42 miles, you’ll find a large glacial erratic rock on the left.
At 1.44 miles, reach the end of this straight section and see a sign with the number 32 on it. Take a sharp right here to continue onto the yellow blazed Charcoal Kiln Trail
At 1.68 miles, see sign with the number ‘31’. Continue straight on the yellow blazed Charcoal Kiln Trail.
At 2.13 miles, see sign number ‘30’. Continue straight on the Charcoal Kiln Trail.
At 2.31 miles, see sign number ‘29’. (There is a detour to the left here on the ‘Lookout Trail’. We took this detour but, unfortunately, there is not a lookout at the end of the trail.)
At 2.5 miles, come to a junction and see sign number ‘28’, turn left here to start on the orange blazed trail.
At 3.1 miles, see a sign for ‘Pitcher Brook’ and continue following the red blazed trail.
At 3.45 miles, you’ll begin to hear and see Pitcher Brook Falls on the left. There’s a short trail to the left where you can walk down and get closer to the falls. Allow the dogs to take a dip in the water and cool off here!
At 3.8 miles, see sign number ‘17’. Continue straight following the sign for the parking lot 0.4 miles away.
At 4.19 miles, arrive back at the parking lot.