D.A.R. State Forest is the hilltown reunion spot Massachusetts families keep to themselves. Spread across 1,728 acres of northern hardwood forest in Goshen - with a little spillover into Ashfield - it sits in the quiet high country between the Connecticut River Valley and the Berkshires, and it packs a remarkable amount of reunion infrastructure into a forest most out-of-staters have never heard of: two lakes, a swimming beach, a 51-site campground, fifteen miles of trails, and a fire tower with a view that reaches into neighboring states. The forest exists because the Daughters of the American Revolution donated over a thousand acres to the Commonwealth in 1929, and the Civilian Conservation Corps spent the 1930s building the dams, roads, and camping areas families still use nearly a century later.
Life here centers on Upper and Lower Highland Lakes. Upper Highland has the campers' swimming beach and calm, kid-safe water; both lakes take canoes, kayaks, and fishing lines but no gas motors, so the soundtrack stays loons-and-paddles quiet. The campground's 51 sites sit in the pines near the water - book the six-month ReserveAmerica window for summer weekends - and the day-use area's picnic grounds handle the branches who drive up just for the cookout. The signature family walk climbs gently to the Goshen fire tower on Moore's Hill, where the payoff is a full-circle panorama over the Connecticut Valley and the green hill country rolling toward Vermont - the group-photo spot, no debate.
The location is the quiet masterstroke. Northampton, the valley's lively college town, is 25 minutes downhill for restaurant nights and rainy-day browsing; the Mohawk Trail's classic scenic drive runs just north; and Ashfield's farm stands and general stores supply the camp kitchen. In winter the forest turns into a cross-country ski and snowshoe destination, which makes it one of the few Massachusetts reunion bases that genuinely works in every season. For families scattered across New England who want real woods, warm lake swimming, and a campfire circle without white-mountain drive times or Cape traffic, the hilltowns' favorite forest is the honest answer - at day-use parking prices ($8 or so for Massachusetts plates, more for out-of-state) that leave budget for the ice cream stops.
Where it is
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Things to do (with the family)
Hand-curated. Every entry links to its official source so you can plan without guessing.
Swim Upper Highland Lake
The swimming beach on Upper Highland Lake is calm, sandy-bottomed, and sized for families - warm hilltown lake water that beats the ocean for the under-eight crowd every time.
Official source ↗Camp among the pines
The 51-site campground sits in the woods near the lakes - quiet, shaded, and small enough that a reunion block of sites feels like a private family compound.
Official source ↗Climb the Goshen fire tower
The forest's signature walk leads up Moore's Hill to the fire tower, with a full-circle view over the Connecticut River Valley and into surrounding states - the group-photo summit.
Official source ↗Paddle two quiet lakes
Upper and Lower Highland Lakes take canoes, kayaks, and rowboats - no gas motors - so the morning paddle is all loon calls and mist. Car-top boats launch easily.
Official source ↗Fish for bass and stocked trout
Both Highland Lakes hold bass, panfish, and stocked trout - shoreline fishing for the kids, quiet-water boat fishing for the serious uncles, and ice fishing when winter locks in.
Official source ↗Hike 15 miles of forest trails
Mixed-use trails loop through northern hardwood-conifer forest past CCC-era stonework - gentle enough for grandparents on the lake loops, long enough to tire out teenagers.
Official source ↗Mountain bike the forest roads
The trail network welcomes mountain bikes - rolling hilltown singletrack and forest roads that give the family riders a real morning without technical terror.
Official source ↗Ride horseback through the hilltowns
Equestrians share the forest's mixed-use trail system - the hilltowns are horse country, and the bridle-path miles under hardwood canopy are some of the region's nicest.
Official source ↗Hunt fall foliage at its peak
The Goshen hills sit at 1,400-plus feet, so color arrives early and burns bright - the fire tower in the first week of October is one of the great overlooked foliage views in the state.
Official source ↗Cross-country ski and snowshoe in winter
Snow season turns the trail network over to skis, snowshoes, and snowmobiles - one of the few Massachusetts reunion parks that genuinely earns a winter-gathering visit.
Official source ↗Raid Ashfield's farm stands and general store
Neighboring Ashfield supplies the camp kitchen - farm stands, maple syrup, and a classic general store ten minutes away make provisioning a scenic errand.
Official source ↗Spend a town day in Northampton
Twenty-five minutes downhill, Northampton's restaurant rows, bookstores, and college-town buzz cover the rainy day and the one dinner out the family votes for.
Official source ↗Drive the Mohawk Trail
The historic Mohawk Trail scenic route runs just north of the hilltowns - hairpin lookouts, trading posts, and river gorges for the classic western-Mass windshield tour.
Official source ↗Find more things to do for your D.A.R. State Forest, Massachusetts reunion
The picks above are general. Inside the Reunly app, Rosi tailors local activities, meals, and printables to your actual dates, group size, ages, and budget - and saves them straight to your reunion plan.
Where to hold your reunion near D.A.R. State Forest, Massachusetts
Outdoor pavilions, county parks, fairgrounds, and event grounds within driving distance - places where your group can actually gather, not just visit.
D.A.R. State Forest Campground
⛺ CampgroundWooded sites near the lakes - small and quiet enough that a reunion block becomes a private compound. Book via ReserveAmerica six months out.
Reserve / info ↗Upper Highland Lake Day-Use + Picnic Area
🏞 State ParkSwimming beach, picnic tables, and lakeside lawn - the daily gathering point where camping and day-tripping branches of the family converge.
Reserve / info ↗Goshen + Ashfield Farmhouse Rentals
📍 VenueHilltown farmhouses on Vrbo/Airbnb hold the non-camping wing and host the indoor dinner if the weather turns - book the big-porch ones early for summer.
Reserve / info ↗Ashfield Town Venues + General Store
📍 VenueThe classic hilltown center - community halls and gathering spots that host family events, plus the general store that provisions the whole week.
Reserve / info ↗Northampton Hotels + Restaurants
🏛 Event CenterThe valley's college town covers hotel blocks, group dinners, and the rainy-day plan - the urbane counterweight to a week in the pines.
Reserve / info ↗Mohawk Trail Corridor Stops
📍 VenueShelburne Falls and the Mohawk Trail's lookouts and trading posts make the classic scenic-drive outing for the reunion's explorer wing.
Reserve / info ↗👥 With Reunly
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Good for
- Lake-swimming families - warm, calm hilltown water that beats the cold ocean for little kids
- Campfire-centered reunions wanting a small, quiet campground to themselves
- Foliage-season gatherings - early, brilliant color and a fire-tower panorama
- Paddlers and anglers - two motor-free lakes with loons
- Western Mass and Connecticut Valley families keeping drives under an hour
- Winter reunions - cross-country skiing and snowshoeing on the trail network
Practical logistics
- Closest Airports
- Bradley International (BDL) near Hartford is about 1 hour 10 minutes; Boston Logan (BOS) about 2 hours; Albany (ALB) about 1 hour 30 minutes. Amtrak serves Northampton, 25 minutes downhill.
- Drive Times
- Goshen center 5 min · Ashfield 10 min · Northampton 25 min · Amherst 35 min · Mohawk Trail (Shelburne Falls) 30 min · Berkshires (Pittsfield) 50 min · Boston 2 hr. Route 9 climbs from the valley; the last miles are honest hilltown two-lane.
- Group Lodging
- The 51-site campground is the anchor - small enough that a 6-10 site block feels like a private compound; book via ReserveAmerica at the six-month mark for summer and foliage weekends. Non-campers use Northampton hotels or hilltown B&Bs and farm rentals.
- Rental Companies
- Vrbo and Airbnb list farmhouses, cabins, and lake cottages across Goshen, Ashfield, Cummington, and Williamsburg - a big hilltown farmhouse plus the campsite block covers most family spreads.
- House Size
- Hilltown farmhouses sleeping 8-14 run $250-500/night; smaller cabins $150-300. Northampton hotels ($150-280/night) hold the wing that wants restaurants and walkability.
- Peak Season
- July and August for lake swimming and full campground weekends, plus late September to mid-October when foliage-seekers discover the fire tower. Summer weekends book out at the six-month window.
- Shoulder Season
- June is green, uncrowded, and buggy at dusk (pack repellent); September swims are often still comfortable; October is foliage glory. Winter brings skiers and snowshoers to a nearly private forest.
- Restaurants
- Goshen and Ashfield offer general stores and seasonal snack bars; the real restaurant depth is Northampton's, 25 minutes away, with everything from diners to date-night rooms. Camp cooking with farm-stand provisioning is the default - and the point.
- Kid Friendly
- Very - a calm, shallow-entry lake beach, a fire tower that feels like a quest, bikes on campground loops, frogs in the shallows, and s'mores infrastructure everywhere. Cell service is thin in the hilltowns; the kids will survive, and it may be the best feature.
- Accessibility
- Day-use areas, restrooms, and portions of the campground are accessible, and the beach area is close to parking. Trail surfaces are natural and rolling; the fire tower itself requires stairs, but the road walk to its base is manageable for many.
- Weather Window
- Late June through early September for swimming - the lakes warm well ahead of the ocean. Hilltown elevation means cool nights all summer (pack layers), early crisp fall, and reliable snow most winters.
- Park Fee
- Day-use parking runs about $8 for Massachusetts-registered vehicles and $30 for out-of-state plates in season, per the DCR fee schedule. Camping runs roughly $17-22/night for MA residents, more for non-residents, through ReserveAmerica.
- Official Site
- https://www.mass.gov/locations/daughters-of-the-american-revolution-dar-state-forest
When to go
Mid-July through August is prime: lake water at its warmest, long campfire evenings, and the campground full of exactly the families it was built for - book summer weekends the day the six-month ReserveAmerica window opens. Early October is the other headline act, when the hilltowns' early, brilliant foliage turns the fire-tower panorama into the best free view in western Massachusetts; foliage weekends book nearly as fast as summer ones. June trades a cooler lake for near-private trails. And D.A.R. is the rare reunion forest with a real winter season - a February gathering on cross-country skis, with hot chocolate in thermoses at the trailhead, is a genuinely different kind of family memory.
Best for your group size
Small group · 10–25
Groups of 10-25 fit in 3-5 adjacent campsites with the lake beach a short walk away - midweek in summer, the forest can feel like it belongs to your family alone.
Medium group · 25–60
Groups of 25-60 should combine a serious campsite block (book at the six-month mark) with a hilltown farmhouse rental for the non-campers, and anchor each day at the Upper Highland Lake day-use area and picnic grounds.
Large group · 60+
Groups of 60+ outgrow the 51-site campground - base the crowd across hilltown rentals and Northampton hotels, reserve the day-use picnic capacity for the gathering day, and stagger lake time by family branch.
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Sample 3-day D.A.R. State Forest reunion
A starter agenda you can copy into Reunly's Schedule and customize for your group.
Day 1 - Arrive + first swim
- Campsite block check-in; farmhouse crews land in Goshen/Ashfield
- Afternoon swim at the Upper Highland Lake beach
- Farm-stand provisioning run through Ashfield on the way in
- First campfire - assignments handed out for tomorrow's tower climb
Day 2 - Tower + lakes
- Dawn paddle on the motor-free lake for the early risers
- Mid-morning all-family walk up Moore's Hill to the Goshen fire tower - panorama photo
- Picnic lunch at the day-use grounds; kids fish the shoreline
- Afternoon swim-and-nap split; mountain bikers loop the forest roads
- Big cookout night with maple-syrup dessert from the general store
Day 3 - Trails + farewell
- Morning trail hike or final swim by branch preference
- Optional Northampton lunch caravan for the town-day wing
- Break camp; group photo at the beach before the hilltown roads split the caravan
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Build the D.A.R. State Forest, Massachusetts reunion schedule in minutes
Drag the sample itinerary above into Reunly's Schedule, add per-event RSVPs, and share one link with the whole family. Rosi (our AI) fills in gaps from your group size and dates.
Reunion organizer tips
Book a block of the 51 campsites the morning the six-month ReserveAmerica window opens - the campground is small enough that eight family sites together effectively means a private compound in the pines.
Run the hilltown hybrid: campers at the forest, the comfort wing in an Ashfield or Goshen farmhouse rental ten minutes away, everyone converging at the Upper Highland Lake beach after breakfast.
Make the fire tower climb the all-family event - it is a gentle walk up Moore's Hill with a panorama payoff, and the tower photo with three generations on the stairs is the reunion keepsake.
Bring or rent car-top boats: two motor-free lakes mean the canoes and kayaks own the water, and a dawn paddle with the loons is the memory the early risers will retell for years.
Assign shoreline fishing to the grandparent-and-grandkid pairs - stocked trout and bass bite close to shore, and the lakes are calm enough for genuine little-kid success.
Provision through Ashfield and Goshen - farm stands, maple syrup, and the general store turn supply runs into outings and keep the camp kitchen local.
Expect thin cell service and plan around it: print or post the day's plan at the kitchen site each morning, and treat the disconnection as the feature it is.
Pack layers even in August - hilltown nights at 1,400 feet drop into the 50s, which is exactly what makes the campfire hour so good.
Foliage reunions should target the first two weeks of October and book early - the hills color ahead of the valley, and the fire tower at peak is a statewide-caliber view.
Keep Northampton in your back pocket - 25 minutes downhill for the rainy-day plan, the one restaurant night, and the teenager-appeasement bookstore-and-coffee run.
Winter branches of the family can claim the forest too - snowshoe and cross-country trails make a February mini-reunion cheap, uncrowded, and memorable.
Post the campsite map, beach meeting time, fire-tower hike slot, and farm-stand shopping list in Reunly - with no cell bars in the pines, the shared plan everyone loaded in advance is the one that survives.
How Reunly helps you plan it
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Smart guest list
Drop in any spreadsheet - Rosi (our AI) reads multi-sheet, color-coded family groups, even handwritten exports. RSVP, dietary, T-shirt, paid status all in one row.
Open in Reunly →Public RSVP link
Share one link with the whole family. They RSVP per event (Friday BBQ, Saturday dinner) without making an account. You see live counts.
Open in Reunly →Budget that adds up
Track estimated vs. actual, who paid, who still owes. Auto-creates per-guest fee rows from your registration cost.
Open in Reunly →Day-by-day schedule
Friday welcome BBQ, Saturday photo, Sunday brunch - with location, meal flag, and per-event RSVPs.
Open in Reunly →Name tags + printables
Avery 5160 sheets color-coded by family, programs, welcome packets, packing lists - auto-filled from your data.
Open in Reunly →Rosi the AI helper
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Open in Reunly →Plan your D.A.R. State Forest, Massachusetts reunion with Reunly
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Frequently asked
What does D.A.R. stand for in D.A.R. State Forest?
Daughters of the American Revolution - the organization donated the original 1,020 acres to Massachusetts in 1929, and the forest has carried the name ever since. The Civilian Conservation Corps built its dams, roads, and camping areas in the 1930s, and the forest now covers 1,728 acres in Goshen and Ashfield.
Can you swim at D.A.R. State Forest?
Yes - Upper Highland Lake has a family swimming beach with calm, relatively warm hilltown lake water, plus fishing and non-motorized boating on both Upper and Lower Highland Lakes. For small kids, the gentle lake entry beats any Massachusetts ocean beach.
How many campsites does D.A.R. State Forest have?
51 wooded sites near the lakes, reservable through ReserveAmerica up to six months ahead. It is a small, quiet campground - which is exactly its charm for reunions: a block of six to ten sites effectively becomes a private family compound. Summer and foliage weekends sell out early.
What is the fire tower at D.A.R. State Forest?
The Goshen fire tower stands on Moore's Hill, the forest's high point, and offers a full-circle panorama over the Connecticut River Valley and into surrounding states. The walk up is gentle enough for most of the family, and at fall-foliage peak it is one of the best overlooked views in Massachusetts.
Can you use motorboats on the Highland Lakes?
No gas motors - Upper and Lower Highland Lakes are for canoes, kayaks, rowboats, and similar quiet craft. That keeps the water calm for swimmers and the mornings quiet for paddlers and anglers, which is a feature reunion planners come to treasure.
Where is D.A.R. State Forest and what is nearby?
In Goshen, in the hilltowns of western Massachusetts, about 25 minutes northwest of Northampton via Route 9. Ashfield's farm stands and general store are 10 minutes away, the Mohawk Trail scenic drive runs just north, and the Berkshires are under an hour west.
Is D.A.R. State Forest good in the fall and winter?
Outstanding - the 1,400-foot hilltown elevation brings early, brilliant foliage (target the first half of October, and climb the fire tower), and winter turns the 15-mile trail network over to cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling. It is one of the few Massachusetts reunion parks that genuinely works in all four seasons.
Is there cell phone service at D.A.R. State Forest?
It is thin to nonexistent in much of the forest - typical for the hilltowns. Smart reunions share the full plan (campsite map, meeting times, meal assignments) before arriving and post a paper copy at the main campsite. Most families end up counting the disconnection as a highlight.
Other reunion-friendly spots nearby
Helpful planning guides
The complete family reunion checklist
12-month, 6-month, and day-of checklists organizers actually use.
Read the guide →Family reunion budget guide
How to estimate, track, and split costs without spreadsheets.
Read the guide →Family reunion on a $2,500 budget
A real budget breakdown for a destination reunion under $2.5K.
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