The Art of Smart Timing
Many vacation spots tout themselves as "four-season" destinations, but the Berkshires actually deliver. Outside of a brief period around March known colloquially as "mud season," each of the various seasons have their charms and activities. The springtime is when the rivers run wild for the best kayaking and canoeing on rivers such as the Housatonic and the Deerfield, and baby animals populate the area's farms. Summer, of course, is prime cultural season, with not only the Tanglewood Music Festival from late June to Labor Day, but also the Williamstown Theatre Festival in July and August; the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival from mid-June through September; and Shakespeare & Company's annual lineup of the Bard from June through Labor Day.
As autumn arrives, the leaves put on their own show with New England's famed fall foliage, even while farms and orchards celebrate harvest season. Events include copious amounts of cider pressing at Lenox's Apple Squeeze at the end of September; an early October Harvest Parade in North Adams; and a Harvest Festival at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens in Stockbridge. With the fall of snow in wintertime, the region hardly closes up shop -- several small ski mountains including Jiminy Peak and Catamount open their trails for business to say nothing of the many cross-country trails, skating ponds, and sledding hills in the area. Throughout November and December, the Berkshire Museum fills its halls with conifers for the annual Festival of Trees, and downtown Stockbridge becomes, impossibly, even more quaint for the annual Christmas Weekend holiday stroll.
Getting There and Around
The Berkshires are conveniently located two hours from Boston and three from New York. From Boston, it's a straight shot down the "Mass Pike" (Interstate 90) to Lenox. From New York City, the most common route north is along the Taconic Brook Parkway, on the New York side of the Connecticut border. The closest airports are Albany International Airport (518-242-2200) in the north and Connecticut's Bradley International Airport (860-292-2000) to the south, from which shuttle service is available to Berkshire towns.
Bus service is also available to major population centers (Great Barrington, Lenox, Pittsfield, Williamstown) from Peter Pan Bus Lines (800-343-9999) and Greyhound (800-231-2222), as well as throughout the region from Berkshires Regional Transit Authority (413-499-2782/ 800-292-2782).
Visitor Bureaus
Berkshire Visitors Bureau
Berkshires Planning & Tips
Berkshires Planning & Tips
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