Hancock Town Hall

Hancock is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 757 at the 2020 census.

Jiminy Peak is a mid-sized alpine ski resort in the northeastern United States, located in western Massachusetts in the Taconic Mountains at Hancock, northwest of nearby Pittsfield. The summit of Jiminy Peak, which includes the Hendricks Summit Lodge, is located in Lanesborough. The mountain is owned by Och-Ziff Capital Management but the operating company is owned and managed by Brian Fairbank, the longtime former owner of the Resort. During the winter Jiminy Peak offers activities for the whole family, including skiing, snowboarding, outdoor pools, and various restaurants. There are 45 trails and nine lifts, including a six-person, high speed chairlift. In the summer additional activities are offered at Mountain Adventure Park, such as an alpine super slide, mountain coaster, hiking, and mountain biking. The Aerial Adventure Park is a challenge course up in the trees. Five levels provide both physical and mental challenges for all levels. Courses range from 15–50 feet (5–15 m) in the air. Jiminy Peak has installed the second mountain coaster in the country, the first on the East Coast, and is the home of the nation's first Alpine Super Slide (June 1977). In August 2007, Jiminy became the first private U.S. business to invest in its own megawatt class wind turbine. The turbine generates approximately 35% of the annual energy used at the resort. The winds blow strongest in the winters, which is when the resort uses the most energy, for lifts and snowmaking. This is the largest commitment in Jiminy Peak's ongoing environmental sustainability efforts. In February 2012, the Resort installed a CoGeneration Unit in the Country Inn to provide both heat and hot water to the hotel. In the past decade, the mountain has been increasingly developed for real estate, as the demand for housing and activities has also increased. The mountain has 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) of meeting space for meetings, conferences, weddings, parties, and other events.

Poppy Mountain, 2,311 feet (704 m), sometimes identified as Pease Ridge, its northwest descending crest, is a prominent peak in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts. The mountain is located in Pittsfield State Forest and is traversed by the 35 mi (56 km) Taconic Crest hiking trail. The overgrown summit is wooded with northern hardwood forest species. The summit and west side of Poppy Mountain is located within the town of Hancock and the eastern slopes within Lanesborough. It has several sub-peaks: Pease Ridge, a descending northwest ridgeline with a prominent knob 1,870 feet (570 m), two low spurs off the main summit 1,930 feet (590 m) and 2,250 feet (690 m), and an eastern summit 2,150 feet (660 m), occasionally confused with nearby Potter Mountain in older hiking guidebooks. The Taconic Range ridgeline continues north from Poppy Mountain as Potter Mountain (also known as Jiminy Peak), south as Honwee Mountain, and west across the Wyomanock Creek valley as Rounds Mountain. The west side of the mountain drains into Kinderhook Creek, the Hudson River and Long Island Sound. The east side drains into Daniels Brook and Churchill Brook, thence into Onota Lake, the Housatonic River, and Long Island Sound.

Rounds Mountain, 2,257 feet (688 m), is a prominent peak in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts and adjacent New York. The west side of the mountain and summit are located in New York; the east side is located within Massachusetts. The summit a bald; the slopes are wooded with northern hardwood tree species. It is notable for its views of the Hudson River Valley to the west and the Green River and Kinderhook Creek valleys of Hancock, Massachusetts to the east. The 35 mi (56 km) Taconic Crest Trail traverses the mountain. Much of the upper slopes and summit are within protected conservation land.

The Taconic Skyline Trail is a 12.1 mi (19.5 km) multi-use trail in the Taconic Mountains of Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The trail extends from U.S. Route 20 in Hancock, Massachusetts, less than 1 mi (1.6 km) east of the New York border, north along the ridgecrest of the Taconic Range within Pittsfield State Forest and officially ending at Brodie Mountain Road on the Hancock/ Lanesborough town line. Originally built as a hiking trail, the Taconic Skyline Trail sees heavy use by all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles and is now officially maintained for primarily motorized use. The trail is used less frequently for mountain biking but is no longer recommended for hikers, who are encouraged to use the parallel, non-motorized Taconic Crest Trail. However, the trail is still open to hikers. Recent grants through the Massachusetts DCR's Commonwealth Connections project have provided 40,000 dollars to ATV clubs for trail surface rehabilitation. Forest types the Taconic Skyline Trail are mixed oak-hickory forest and northern hardwood forest with alkaline-loving plant communities, and red spruce/ balsam fir stands on the higher summits. The geology is thrust faulted metamorphic rock over younger sedimentary rock.

The Berkshire Wind Power Project is a wind farm on Brodie Mountain in Hancock, Massachusetts. Owned and operated by the Berkshire Wind Power Cooperative Corporation, it is the second largest wind farm in Massachusetts, with 12 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines and a total installed capacity of 19.6 MW. The Berkshire wind power project became fully operational in 2011, and provides enough electricity to power 7,800 homes annually.

Brodie Mountain, 2,621 feet (799 m), is a prominent 5.5-mile (8.9 km) long ridgeline in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts, known for the former Brodie Mountain ski area, which closed in 2002. The ridge has eight well defined summits, three of which have names: Sheep's Heaven Mountain, 2,530 feet (770 m), the ridge's southern prominatory; Beoadic Mountain, the ridge high point, just north of Sheep's Heaven; and East Mountain, 2,613 feet (796 m) located at the top of the former ski area at the center of the ridge. A northern summit, 2,170 feet (660 m), is shown as "Brodie Mountain" on maps that predate the Brodie Mountain ski area.

Pittsfield State Forest is an 11,000-acre (4,500 ha) Massachusetts state forest located in the town of Pittsfield and managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The forest is the location of Berry Pond, which sitting atop Berry Mountain at an elevation of 2,150 feet (660 m) is the highest natural body of water in the state.

Misery Mountain, 2,671 feet (814 m), with at least ten well-defined summits, is a prominent 6 mi (9.7 km) long ridgeline in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts and adjacent New York. The west side of the mountain is located in New York; the east side and high point lie within Massachusetts. The summit ridge is part meadow and part wooded with red spruce, balsam fir, and northern hardwood tree species. It is notable for its views of the Hudson River Valley to the west. The 35 mi (56 km) Taconic Crest Trail traverses the crest of the ridgeline, but does not cross the summit.

WBRK-FM (101.7 MHz, "Star 101.7") is a commercial FM radio station in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is owned by WBRK, Inc. and broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format.

Onota Lake is located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is 617 acres (2.50 km2) in area, located entirely in the City of Pittsfield and is owned by it. It is divided into north and south basins due to the old roadway that marked to north end with minimal water exchange between them and empties via Onota Brook which flows southeast into the West Branch of the Housatonic River in Pittsfield. The "cottagers" of the late 19th century and early 20th century built large summer mansions along its shores. Onota Lake is popular for fishing, swimming, water skiing, jet skiing, and sailing. It is home to the famous Pittsfield event "Live on the Lake", a summer concert series consisting of local bands. Camp Winadu is located along its shores. The Williams Ephs men's and women's crews row on the lake.

Berkshire Community College is a public community college in Berkshire County, Massachusetts with its primary campus in Pittsfield. It also has a satellite campus in Great Barrington and classroom spaces in the city of Pittsfield. Established in the 1960s, it is the oldest college founded by the Massachusetts Community Colleges Executive Office.More than 3,000 students enroll annually in BCC's academic programs, which include associate degrees, certificate programs, and transfer programs. An additional 5,200 enroll in noncredit or workforce development courses. The majority of students are from Massachusetts, with 96% coming from Berkshire County. The student body is 61% female and nearly half of enrolled students are 23 years old or older. Berkshire Community College has been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges since 1964.