October Mountain State Forest is a 16,460-acre protected forest in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts and the largest state forest in Massachusetts. Centered mainly in Washington and extending into Becket, Lee, and Lenox, it entered state ownership in 1915 through the estate of William C. Whitney, with an initial 11,000-acre purchase partly funded by Berkshire residents and opened to the public that same year. Said to have been named by Herman Melville, the forest spans part of the Hoosac Range, including ridges above the Housatonic River valley, reservoirs, marshland, and its highest point on October Mountain. It is used year-round for hiking, camping, skiing, boating, fishing, and other recreation.