New England's Fall Spectacle

Travel America, Sept, 2001 by Randy Mink

Strung along Route 7 from south to north, the towns of Sheffield, Great Barrington, Stockbridge, Lenox, Pittsfield, and Williamstown abound with art galleries, antique shops, gift boutiques, and country inns, plus museums, theaters, and historic sites.

Perhaps the most famous town is Stockbridge, where Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), one of America's most beloved artists, spent the last 25 years of his life. The Norman Rockwell Museum, housed in a modern building on a 36-acre estate overlooking the Housatonic River Valley, displays the largest--and only significant--collection of his original art, including many covers from the Saturday Evening Post.

From Lanesborough, just north of Pittsfield, follow Rockwell Road for 10 miles to the summit of Mount Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts at 3,491 feet. The Maine-to-Georgia Appalachian Trail follows the ridge of Saddleball Mountain to the summit. Atop Mount Greylock is the War Memorial Tower, a 90-foot-tall granite landmark that honors Massachusetts casualties of all wars. From its observation platform on a clear day, you can drink in dreamy views of the Hoosic Valley and, in the distance, see Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire, the Green Mountains of Vermont, and New York's Adirondacks and Catskills.

Williamstown, in the far northwest corner of Massachusetts, is the home of Williams College, one of the nation's foremost liberal arts colleges. Besides the Williams College Museum of Art, this cultural hub, billed as "The Village Beautiful," boasts the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, renowned for its French Impressionist paintings, including more than 30 by Renoir.

East of Williamstown, your Massachusetts foliage foray continues on the Mohawk Trail, which runs 63 miles along Route 2 from North Adams to Millers Falls on the Connecticut River. This east-west byway, passing through 14 state parks and forests, is one of New England's premier foliage routes and the nation's first automobile road designated (in 1914) for scenic touring.

A must-see in North Adams is the Western Gateway Heritage State Park, a restored railroad yard with buildings and exhibits showcasing the town's industrial heritage and construction of the Hoosic Tunnel through five miles of sheer granite in the 1870s. The first point of interest outside of town is the Hairpin Turn, where the Mohawk Trail rises sharply to the Western Summit, its observation point spotlighting the mosaic of fall colors blanketing southern Vermont and the Berkshires, including Mount Greylock. The next stop is Whitcomb Summit, the top of the Mohawk Trail (2,173 feet).

Among other trail highlights are the Bissell Covered Bridge in Charlemont and Shelburne Falls' Bridge of Flowers, a former trolley bridge transformed into a garden walk. Worthwhile detours south of the trail include Historic Deerfield (a museum village) and Yankee Candle Company, a candle store, factory and museum in South Deerfield. The tower at nearby Sugarloaf State Reservation offers inspiring views of the Connecticut River Valley.