Back to the Berkshires
HERE’S HOW JAUNTS TO WESTERN MASS. LOOK IN 2020
Limitations caused by COVID- 19 mean fewer cultural activities in the Berkshires this summer, but visitors can still drive up Mount Greylock, check out an historic estate’s gardens and ride the longest zipline in North America. They can learn about a Massachusetts enslaved person who successfully sued for her freedom and visit the birthplace of America’s bestknown suffragist during the centennial of women receiving the right to vote.
The Berkshires are close enough for a day trip, but those wanting to stay overnight may be in luck because many hotels are eliminating summer minimum stays and lowering prices due to COVID- 19 concerns.
This includes the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, where rooms under $ 200 are available most weeknights. The Red Lion opened in 1773 as a tavern and has hosted five presidents. Be sure to spend time on the hotel’s legendary front porch.
Massachusetts moved to Phase 3 of its reopening on July 6, allowing museums to open. Connecticut residents no longer have to quarantine. Most hotels have reopened and limited indoor dining is permitted. Bars and large venues remain closed.
Tanglewood, Jacob’s Pillow and Shakespeare & Co. cancelled 2020 performances, but the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge and the Museum of Contemporary Art ( MassMOCA) in North Adams will open soon.
Indoor activities require safety measures such as wearing masks and social distancing. Advance tickets with specific admission times now are needed at most attractions so plan ahead.
Lindsey Schmid of the regional tourism council calls this “the summer of outdoor recreation” in the Berkshires. “Few places have as much open space as we do,” says Schmid, who expects a younger group of visitors than usual.
Charlie Siedenburg of the Barrington Stage Co. ( BSC) says everyone has been exercising outside. “The Berkshires originally were known for mountain air and being cooler in the summer,” he says. “That’s why people would escape here.”
At 3,491 feet, Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts. Five states can be seen from the summit on a clear day.
The nine- mile auto road to the top, accessed in Lanesborough, is open and costs $ 20 for non- state residents. The visitor’s center is closed but historic Bascom Lodge at the top has reopened for dining and lodging
Rent a kayak, canoe or boat from Onota Boat Livery in Pittsfield to enjoy the 617- acre Onota Lake. Swim, fish or picnic on the lake at Burbank Park, open to the general public from sunrise to sunset.
People can walk the grounds of The Mount in Lenox, a 1901 estate designed by “The Age of Innocence” author Edith Wharton.
The 50- acre property has three acres of formal gardens. “She saw herself as a much finer gardener than writer,” said The Mount’s Rebecka McDougall. The house opens for self- guided tours soon.
Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield has walking trails. Some buildings should open in July, such as the often- photographed Round Stone Barn.
Visitors can see baby pigs, cows, goats and sheep. “We’re the largest working farm in the Berkshires,” said Hancock’s Amanda Powers.
Catamount Mountain Resort in South Egremont offers an aerial adventure park with 12 trails in the trees as well as a 1,000- foot vertical- drop zipline. ” It’s fun, healthy and a thrill,” says Catamount’s Rich Edwards.
Clark Art Institute in Williamstown hosts its first- ever outdoor exhibit this summer, featuring works by six artists being installed on a rolling basis. Already on display is a 620feet- long cedar fence articulated with shapes.
The Clark has 140 acres open to hiking, with views of the picturesque college town in the valley below.
The BSC plans to offer live entertainment at its Pittsfield theater. Seating has been reduced by twothirds due to social distancing.
The Aug. 5 to Oct. 18 season includes plays, staged readings and concerts, with tributes to Linda Ronstadt and Eleanor Roosevelt.
Civil rights pioneer W. E. B Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, and the location of his early childhood home is a five- acre National Historic Site and on the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail.
Enslaved person Elizabeth “MumBet” Freeman successfully sued her owner, Col. John Ashley of Sheffield, for her freedom in 1781, setting the stage for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts. African- American Trail sites in Sheffield, Great Barrington and Stockbridge highlight her story.
Women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony was born in 1820 in Adams, where her birthplace is a museum. Anthony collected antislavery petitions as a teenager and in 1872 was convicted of voting in upstate New York. She refused to pay a court- imposed fine.
The 19th Amendment, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, gave women the right to vote on Aug. 18, 1920. “She did so much in her life through devotion to principles,” said museum board member Cynthia Whitty.
While in the Berkshires, get an ice cream cone at Krispy Cones on Route 7 in Lanesborough. The roadside establishment with outdoor service and seating offers 101 flavors, including eggnog and Trix.
Popular restaurants such as Prairie Whale in Great Barrington and Frankie’s Ristorante Italiano in Lenox are open, with outdoor seating and fewer hours.