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Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts | |
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The Berkshires were a favorite resort for wealthy families, artists and musicians. The wealthy built huge, sumptuous "summer cottages," many of which are now hotels or summer performance sites for symphony, chamber music, theater, dance and art. |
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About 130 miles (209 km; 2-2/3 hours) west of Boston, 160 miles (258 km; 3-3/4 hours) north of New York City, Berkshire County is synonymous with summer art and culture, and gracious, even sumptuous living. The Tanglewood Music Festival of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, held on a sprawling 19th-century estate in Lenox MA, is the best-known summer event, but there are dozens of mansions and cultural offerings. The Berkshire countryside is gorgeous: long, low forested mountains separated by fertile valleys watered by the Green, Hoosic, and Housatonic rivers, with a sprinkling of lakes. Mount Greylock (3591 feet/1095 meters), the highest peak in Massachusetts, is just outside North Adams at the northern end of Berkshire County. Most Berkshire towns are historic, graceful and beautiful. Those with a 19th-century industrial past have achieved their beauty more recently. From south north, here are the culture-filled towns of Berkshire County, Massachusetts: Egremont Great
Barrington Stockbridge Lee West
Stockbridge Lenox Pittsfield Williamstown North
Adams If you plan to visit the Berkshires in summer, try to come mid-week. The various cultural festivals—especially Tanglewood, in Lenox—fill all accommodations on weekends, at sky-high prices. |
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Cranwell, in Lenox MA, one of the many palatial 19th-century "summer cottages" built by wealthy Americans in the Berkshires.
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