Berkshires Foliage Drive: Trip Tips
5 Beautiful Drives
Tips
Bring a sweatshirt, camera, binoculars and tracing paper (for leaf rubbing of course), but leave your road rage at home. Peak leaf color coincides with peak traffic, particularly over Columbus Day weekend. Expect heavy traffic and limited walk-in lodging options.
A few miles east of Amherst, Brunelle's Marina (www.brunelles.com) offers daily Connecticut River nature cruises. Aboard the 49-passenger Lady Bea, guides point out notable foliage, water fowl and shore-side wildlife — a fun, out-of-the-ordinary complement to any fall foilage adventure. Plus, there's a full bar onboard.
For road conditions, weather and lodging details before you drive, check out the Berkshires Visitors Bureau website (www.berkshires.org).
The grassroots Foliage Network (www.foliagenetwork.com) provides online seasonal leaf reports, usually updated three times per week through November.
Side Rides
Eighteen miles north of Pittsfield, North Adams is home to the ever-expanding Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) (www.massmoca.org), a historic, 26-building former factory complex turned into a haven for visual, performing and media arts. While you're in town, drop by Western Gateway Heritage State Park (115 State St. Building 4, North Adams, MA 01247), a former railroad freight yard now dedicated to preserving the danger-filled construction of the region's 4.5 mile Hoosac Mountain Tunnel — also known as the "Bloody Pit."
The village of Stockbridge, 11 miles south of Pittsfield, was Norman Rockwell's long-time residence. He immortalized its storybook Main Street in his 1967 painting, "Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas." Stroll through his museum (www.nrm.org) for a look at original artwork and artifacts. For the Rockwell enthusiast back home, the gift shop is stocked with everything from books and prints to mugs, magnets and Christmas tree ornaments.
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