Mountain Park Trail at the Whiting Street Reservoir
The Holyoke Catholic High School Cross Country Course starts here. It is 2.72 miles to the end point back at the stairs near the control house. The course was used for 46 years as their home course.
Mountain Park was started in 1897 as a deer park and theater. It was a trolley park. The only road entrance to the park was via this road until 1915. About 40 feet back from this point, there was the original road that circumnavigated the reservoir – Mountain Park Trail (LOCATION). It is the only part of the road that has been detoured. It originally led to the Mountain Park area. In 1909 the entire road around the reservoir was widened and hardened. As part of this roadwork in 1909 and 1910 the new path (along the water’s edge) was put in due to the congestion of parked vehicles visiting the Park. The head of the Holyoke Water Works had had it with the Mountain Park people. In 1911 a barbed wire fence was placed between the reservoir and the Mountain Park.