The Hop Brook Valley (also known as the Tyringham Valley) is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

in southeastern Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The valley lies predominantly in the town of

Tyringham, Massachusetts Tyringham is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 427 at the 2020 census. History Founded as Housatonic Township Number 1, the land which becam ...

, although a good portion of it is located in the neighboring town of

Lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

. Because of its

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

location, scenic views, and variety of hiking trails, it is considered as a destination for travellers of the region.

Geography

The valley floor at an elevation of about above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. With the

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

(part of the

Berkshire Hills The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

) surrounding it rising to elevations between in

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

. In the center of The Hop Brook Valley lies Hop Brook, a small stream that feeds into the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...

where the Hop Brook Valley meets the Housatonic River Valley. Jerusalem Road traverses along the

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

on the south side of the valley. Some notable peaks rising above this side of the valley include side include Sky Hill, Beartown Mountain, and Mount Wilcox. All of these mountains are part of the

Beartown State Forest Beartown State Forest is a publicly owned forest with recreational features located in the towns of Great Barrington, Monterey, Lee, and Tyringham, Massachusetts. The state forest's more than include of recreational parkland. It is manage ...

, which lies just to the south of the valley. To the north of the valley, lies the peak of Mount Baldy, as well as several other mountains in the area that form a

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

extending northward beyond the valley to Route 90. On this plateau lies

Goose Pond Goose Pond may refer to a water body or surrounding land in the United States: *Goose Pond (New Hampshire) *Goose Pond (New York), Herkimer County, New York *Goose Pond (Queens), Queens County, New York *Goose Pond (Washington) *Goose Pond Reservat ...

, the most elevated body of

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

in the state. Below this plateau, Main Road, which turns into Tyringham Road when it enters the town of

runs parallel to Jerusalem Road, but on the north side of the valley. The small and quaint downtown area of Tyringham, Massachusetts is situated where this road merges with Jerusalem Road at the southeast end of the valley (Jerusalem turns northwards here). Just south of this intersection, in the center of the valley, lies the

Tyringham Cobble Tyringham Cobble is a open space reservation located in Tyringham, Massachusetts on 411 m (1,348 ft) Cobble Hill in The Berkshires. It is managed by The Trustees of Reservations, a non-profit conservation organization, and is notable for it ...

one of the most notably shaped and prominent physical features of the area. The valley is a popular hiking destination because it is crossed (north to south) by the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

References

{{Coord, 42, 13, 45, N, 73, 11, 48, W, region:US-MA_scale:50000_source:GNIS, display=title Landforms of Berkshire County, Massachusetts Valleys of Massachusetts Tyringham, Massachusetts