332 - 334 New Marlborough, Otis, Blandford

When we visited Otis (#333) we thought we would visit the Knox trail marker then walk. But we found this beautiful reservoir aptly named the Otis Reservoir which was a scenic spot. Could have stayed all day!

Fascinating find in rural New Marlborough (#332). The Berkshire National Fish Hatchery produces millions of Lake Trout eggs that are harvested at this facility and shipped to the Midwest where they are hatched and raised to the fry stage (2-3”) and then released into the Great Lakes. The covered pools, shown in the bottom picture, house the adult trout in utter blackness to mimic a deep lake environment. There is also a large pool of native brook, brown, and steelhead trout that are used to stock regional lakes, rivers, and stream.

We are almost done folks! Blandford was our 334th walk and we only have 17 more towns to go. We walked around the defunct Ski Blandford ski area. It closed in 2020 and never reopened…. seemed like a pretty good hill for Massachusetts with 27 trails, 5 lifts and 465’ vertical. Yes that’s our truck and Duchess in the picture!!