page_title: Tully Mountain
hierarchical_section_title: Tully Mountain
caption_attribution_description: English: View of Tully and Packard Ponds
context_page_description: Tully Mountain, 1,163 ft, is a prominent, steep-sided monadnock located in north central Massachusetts in the town of Orange. It is part of the Tully Mountain Wilderness Management Area. An exposed east facing ledge on the summit provides views of the Millers River valley, Mount Monadnock, Mount Wachusett, and the Wapack Range. The 22-mile Tully Trail traverses the mountain.
  There exists a Tully Mountain that, at 1168 feet above sea level, is almost identical in elevation to the Tully Mountain in Massachusetts.
  The mountain drains into the Tully River, then into the Millers River, then to the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound.
  The mountaintop is forested, except for a rocky outcropping that faces due east, and a second granite "ledges" facing due west; the rocky prominence of Tully Mountain is visible from surrounding small towns and is a defining characteristic of this small mountain. The form of the mountain is known as "ramp and pluck", as taught by science teacher Robert Coyle, Athol Junior High School. The rocky eastern popular vantage point is the "practical" summit of the mountain, as the geological summit is wooded, unmarked, and without views.
context_section_description: Tully Mountain, 1,163 ft (354 m), is a prominent, steep-sided monadnock located in north central Massachusetts in the town of Orange. It is part of the Tully Mountain Wilderness Management Area.  An exposed east facing ledge on the summit provides views of the Millers River valley, Mount Monadnock, Mount Wachusett, and the Wapack Range. The 22-mile (35 km) Tully Trail traverses the mountain.
  There exists a Tully Mountain (Ireland) that, at 1168 feet above sea level, is almost identical in elevation to the Tully Mountain in Massachusetts.
  The mountain drains into the Tully River, then into the Millers River, then to the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound.
  The mountaintop is forested, except for a rocky outcropping (a monadnock) that faces due east, and a second granite "ledges" facing due west; the rocky prominence of Tully Mountain is visible from surrounding small towns and is a defining characteristic of this small mountain.  The form of the mountain is known as "ramp and pluck", as taught by science teacher Robert Coyle, Athol Junior High School.  The rocky eastern popular vantage point is the "practical" summit of the mountain, as the geological summit is wooded, unmarked, and without views. The vista, looking afar from the steep ledge, features Mount Monadnock (Jaffrey, NH, the peak of which is 16 miles NE); the bump of Gap Mountain, which can be seen just in front of Mount Monadnock; to the left of Mount Monadnock and distant is Mount Sunapee; Mount Kearsarge (Merrimack County, New Hampshire) is visible (55 miles away); Mount Cardigan is the shadowed mountain distant to the left/north of Mount Kearsarge; the tallest mountain in the distant southeast is Mount Wachusett, which is 22 miles away; also visible is the church steeple of Royalston, MA at 3.7 miles away, and three bodies of water: Tully Lake (due east, with views of automobile traffic across the dam), Packard Pond (including its private beach), and the lily-padded Tully Pond (south east). Mount Washington and the Presidential Range is not visible from Tully Mountain due to distance and being obscured by elevations in between.
  With spyglass magnification of 15x-20x or more (high powered binoculars, spotting scope), the distant Quabbin Reservoir Observation Tower (24 miles south) is visible on the horizon line when peering far right/southward (over the ascent from the cemetery). Visible in the near south-eastern view is the town of Athol, Massachusetts, with its uptown (spires include the Congregational church (4.4 miles away) and the Athol Historical Society); the uptown Main Street coming directly toward the viewer (automobile headlights), the stoplight at foot of Pleasant Street; further south is downtown (Starretts and Union Twist Drill smokestacks), the former Athol High/Junior High (now senior citizen housing) and various steeples of downtown churches, such as the Athol-Orange Baptist Church with the large brick casket factory behind. Peering northward from Tully Mountain, one can see people atop Mount Monadnock silhouetted at the skyline.  Mount Kearsarge's antenna tower and smaller tower can be viewed on a clear day (55 miles away) north-east.
  The mountain actually has twin "peaks" topographically, having a smaller 856-ft elevation to its south, near Fryeville Road, Mayo Road, and Tully Pond, which is sometimes referred to as Little Tully Mountain. Little Tully Mountain is clearly visible from Tully Mountain, but is seldom climbed as it is forested.
  On the west side and near the top of Tully Mountain is an open granite area, larger than the more common eastward observation point, called Tully Ledges or "Thatcher Ledges" after a local that discovered the obscure vantage point in 1968. Clearly viewed on any satellite map, it is accessed from the cemetery trail only a hundred yards or so from the top of the trail and to the left/west.  It is not a well-marked pathway and is seldom hiked.  The Thatcher Ledges provides views to the west, including homes in North Orange, and some mountains and antenna in western Massachusetts.  However, the views are n
caption: Southeast View from Tully Mountain
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