NOBLE VIEW OUTDOOR
CENTER

635 South Quarter Road
Russell, MAssachusetts 01071
HOME
NEWS AND EVENTS
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
- Mission Statement
- Conservation
- Long Range Plan
HISTORY
ACTIVITIES
- Activities at Noble View
- Suggested Walks
- Area Attractions
- Education
VISITING NOBLE VIEW
- Lodging and Camping
- Safety
- Where to Eat
- Reservations
- Directions
SITE IMPROVEMENTS
- Bath House
- North Cottage
- Barn
SUPPORT NOBLE VIEW
- Donate!
- Become a Key Holder
- Things We Need
- Volunteer!
LINKS
CONTACT US

AMC logo
APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN CLUB

LONG RANGE PLAN

Photo


INTRODUCTION

Noble View Camp, a property of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), sits within a 35-mile long, 117,000-acre swath of protected open space, private conservation lands, and state and town parcels. The increasingly-less-rustic camp, featuring a homestead built in 1831, two cottages, and a barn, is steeped in history, and has been loved and supported by AMC members since 1931.

Noble View offers a year-round overnight facility that can be used for recreation and meetings. Its ridge-top location overlooks a spectacular view of the Pioneer Valley, and its hills, streams, and woodlands provide a unique sense of serenity and rural solitude, as well as many possibilities for healthy outdoor activities. Additional recreational opportunities are offered by the adjoining protected lands in the Pioneer Valley and the nearby Berkshires.

Noble View has permanently protected its open space through a conservation restriction.

THE VISION FOR NOBLE VIEW

The Vision for Noble View complements and supports AMC’s Vision 2010.

Centrally positioned among southern New England AMC chapters, Noble View is conveniently sited near major highways and population centers. A large potential user population in Springfield, Connecticut, Albany, Boston, and New York City can easily access the 358.5-acre property from Interstates 90 and 91.

Featuring self-service, year-round accommodations and an educational and training center, Noble View will be geared to providing young families, new members, local communities, and the elderly and physically handicapped with a local alternative to the White Mountains. A visit to Noble View will be slower paced, self-service, less challenging, and closer to home. Accommodations will be comfortable. Programs will offer an introduction to outdoor recreation, including hiking, climbing, and camping as well as conservation, leave-no-trace, trail maintenance, composting and recycling, and outdoor safety.

Of central importance in achieving our goals for Noble View is raising the camp’s public profile. Traditionally, the camp has had strong ties to the AMC Berkshire Chapter and, for many years, Noble View was regarded by some as a private club for Berkshire Chapter members only. Over the past few years, we have worked hard to successfully change this perception.

Our vision of making Noble View a premier recreational destination, accessible to growing numbers of visitors, requires extensive updating of the camp’s facilities. As vital as modernizing Noble View, however, is to honor its history by preserving the camp’s character and quiet simplicity.

GOALS
Over the next five years, we will continue the tradition of responsible stewardship at Noble View.

Overall Goals
  • Become a destination AMC facility between Fire Island and the White Mountains.
    • Retain the relaxed and historic atmosphere and character of the farmhouse, cottages, and barn.
  • Maintain the ecological balance of the hills, woodlands, streams, and low-impact recreational opportunities.
  • Continue to encourage and support volunteer activities and the strong dedication of the community to Noble View.
  • Attain maximum usage of the facility, and be financially self-sustaining.
Physical Plant Improvements
  • Meet all local and state code requirements, so that we can offer full lodging capacity.
  • Complete construction of a bathhouse facility with potable water, toilets, showers, and dishwashing stations.
  • Upgrade the barn to become an educational and training center, and establish a nature center in the barn.
  • Make complete repairs to the North Cottage so it can be brought back into use. This will include fire escapes, proper ventilation, cooking facilities with gas stoves, and handicapped access.
  • Upgrade the farmhouse to provide an open-plan first floor for meetings and gatherings, first floor living space for host/hostess or summer manager, second floor lodging, and a central wood furnace with forced air heating.
Changes in Operations and Management
  • Employ a paid on-site summer coordinator, as cash flow permits and conditions require.
  • Set up a volunteer “friends” group to conduct conservation and education programs.
  • Hire a part time paid or volunteer caretaker for grounds keeping and minor repairs.
  • Continue ongoing supervision, coordination, and evaluation by Noble View committee in conjunction with paid non-resident AMC staff.
Provide a Wide Range of Programs
  • Social: Laurel Day tradition, Independence Day celebration, winter cross-country skiing day.
  • Volunteer: work weekends for opening and closing cottages, woodcutting, and trail maintenance.
  • Educational: workshops in partnership with environmental, nature, preservation, and outdoor organizations such as the New England Naturalist Training Institute, Massachusetts Audubon Society, and The Nature Conservancy, and with educational institutions such as the Greenfield Community College and Springfield College outdoor leadership program, Mass. teachers’ continuing education credit programs, youth school groups, and others.
If you’d like to become a part of the Noble View Community, please contact us today!