Shaker Mountain, 1835 feet (559.3 m), is a prominent peak in the Taconic Mountains

Taconic Mountains

The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range are a physiographic section of the larger New England province and part of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western...

 of western Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. The mountain is located in Pittsfield State Forest and is named after the nearby Hancock Shaker Village

Hancock Shaker Village

Hancock Shaker Village is a National Historic Landmark District in Hancock, Massachusetts that was established by Shakers in 1791. It was the third of nineteen major Shaker villages established between 1783 and 1836 in New York, New England, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana under the leadership of Joseph...

, a former Shaker

Shakers

The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a religious sect originally thought to be a development of the Religious Society of Friends...

 religious colony and now a historic site. The summit is wooded and is traversed by the 5 mi (8 km) Shaker Trail, a loop trail that begins at the historic site. The mountain is wooded with northern hardwood

Northern hardwood forest

The northern hardwood forest is a general type of North American forest ecosystem found over much of southeastern and south central Canada, extending south into the United States in northern New England and New York, and west along the Great Lakes to Minnesota and western Ontario...

 tree species.

Shaker Mountain is located within Hancock, Massachusetts

Hancock, Massachusetts

Hancock is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 717 at the 2010 census.- History :...

. The Taconic ridgeline continues north from Shaker Mountain as Doll Mountain

Doll Mountain

Doll Mountain, , is a prominent peak in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts. The mountain is located in Pittsfield State Forest. The summit is wooded and trailless, but the multi-use Doll Mountain Trail traverses its northern slopes. The mountain is wooded with northern hardwood tree...

 and west as Holy Mount

Holy Mount

Holy Mount, , is a prominent peak in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts, formerly used as the location of religious ceremonies by a nearby Shaker community. The mountain is located in Pittsfield State Forest and is traversed by the loop Shaker Trail which begins at the historic Hancock...

 The mountain drains into Shaker Brook and Lily Brook, thence to the Housatonic River

Housatonic River

The Housatonic River is a river, approximately long, in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United States. It flows south to southeast, and drains about of southwestern New England into Long Island Sound...

 and Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound

Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...

.

External links

• Pittsfield State Forest map
• Pittsfield State Forest. Massachusetts DCR.