April 21, 2016 Article by Dave Read

Interactive map showing Berkshires museums and historic sites. The map icons can be clicked to reveal links for further information about the museum or historic site, as well as a link that opens a form below the map where you can get driving, walking, and/or bicycling directions to the venue. These popular Berkshire county destinations are included:

• Arrowhead – Herman Melville home,
• Berkshire Athenaeum,
• Berkshire Museum,
• William Cullen Bryant Homestead,
• Chesterwood – Daniel Chester French studio,
• Clark Art Institute,
• Col. John Ashley House – Mumbet home,
• W.E.B. DuBois Center,
• Frelinghuysen Morris House,
• Hancock Shaker Village,
• Lenox Athenaeum,
• MASS MoCA,
• Mission House,
• The Mount – Edith Wharton Restoration,
• Naumkeag,
• Norman Rockwell Museum,
• Ventfort Hall,
• Williams College Museum of Art.

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Berkshires history

To read about the history of the Berkshires, we recommend the Berkshire Historical Society, which is located at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead; and the Berkshire Athenaeum is another popular source.

Apr 19, 2013 Article by Dave Read

We visited Bartholomew’s Cobble, a National Natural Landmark located on the southern edge of the Berkshires, for a hike on Sept. 22, 2013, the Autumn equinox. The hike was led by Rene Wendell, the affable and knowledgeable ranger who oversees the Cobble, which is a property of the Trustees of Reservations, the oldest regional land trust in the world.

Rocks,ferns, giant Cottonwood tree at Bartholomew’s Cobble

Bartholomew’s Cobble’s 60 acres contain a degree of biodiversity that matches the 60,000 acres of Acadia National Park in Maine. We hiked along fewer than half of the Cobble’s 5 miles of trails, in order to identify species of ferns, visit the Housatonic River floodplain area where 1,800 trees were planted in a recent restoration project, including Silver Maple, Box Elder, Cottonwood, Sycamore, Tulip Tree, Hackberry, and seven varieties of disease-resistant Elms, and to see Wendell enter the 2nd largest Cottonwood tree in the state, a 230 year-old specimen which was #1 until a storm felled a giant limb.

About Bartholomew’s Cobble

Bartholomew’s Cobble is a 329 acre site, owned and administered by the Trustees of Reservations, that was created by geologic upheavals when the Taconic and Berkshire ranges were formed. It is a 100′ high bedrock outcropping, containing 800 species of plants, that began as coral reefs, shells, and sand as many as 500 million years ago when this area was an inland sea. When the Taconic and Berkshire mountains were formed, the still-forming strata were pushed upward and flipped over, leaving the rough and rugged underbelly exposed for millennia.

The reservation’s more recent farming history lives on through herd of cattle grazing along the river. The cobbles consist mostly of quartzite and marble, whose alkaline soil supports an unusual array of flora – you’ll find one of North America’s greatest diversities of fern species here. The reservation also boasts one of the largest Cottonwood trees in the state. It’s this amazing diversity that led to the Cobble’s designation as a National Natural Landmark in 1971. Download Bartholomew’s Cobble trail map (PDF).

The high point at Bartholomew’s Cobble, Hurlburt’s Hill, rises 1,000 feet to a 20-acre upland field on the Massachusetts–Connecticut border that offers panoramic views northward up the Housatonic River Valley.

Bartholomew’s Cobble map and driving directions

• Weatogue Road
• Ashley Falls
• Sheffield, MA
• Telephone: 413.229.8600
• E-mail: bcobble@ttor.org

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How to get to Bartholomew’s Cobble

From Rt. 7 South in Sheffield, turn right onto Rt. 7A and follow for 0.5 mi. Turn right onto Rannapo Rd. and follow for 1.5 mi. Turn right onto Weatogue Rd. to entrance and parking (30 cars) on left. From Rt. 7 north in Canaan, CT, turn left onto Rt. 7A and cross state border. Turn left onto Rannapo Rd and follow for 0.8 mi. Turn left onto Weatogue Rd. Continue as above.

Bicycling in the Berkshires is getting better for visitors and locals because of the development by the MA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation of the The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail, which is overseen locally by the Berkshire Bike Path Council. Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) and the Berkshire Bike path Council (BBPC) help the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) gather information regarding the popularity of multi-use trails state wide. The data we collect is used to advocate for greater trail development.

The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail is a former railroad corridor converted into a 10-foot wide paved, universally accessible, passive recreation path. The Ashuwillticook runs parallel to Route 8 through the towns of Cheshire, Lanesborough, and Adams. The southern end of the rail trail begins at the entrance to the Berkshire Mall off MA Rte. 8 in Lanesborough and travels 11.2 miles north to the center of Adams. Parking lots and restrooms are available at selected locations along the way.

“If one were to imagine a hub of bike trails circumnavigating Mount Greylock, with spokes to all corners of the county, the Berkshires would become the best bike region east of the Mississippi and one of the top five in North America. The draw of that would be immense: something like Tanglewood, the Clark, and Jiminy Peak all rolled into one.”

– Joseph Thompson, Director, MASS MoCA
The rail trail passes through the Hoosic River Valley, between the Mount Greylock and the Hoosac Mountain Ranges. Cheshire Reservoir, the Hoosic River, and associated wetlands flank much of the trail offering outstanding views of the scenery and abundant wildlife. The name Ashuwillticook (ash-oo-will-ti-cook) derives from the Native American word for the south branch of the Hoosic River and literally means “at the in-between pleasant river,” or in common tongue, “the pleasant river in between the hills.” The name was adopted for the trail as a way to reconnect people to local history and the natural environment.

Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts, with an elevation of 3,491 feet. It spans the Berkshire county towns of North Adams, Adams, Lanesborough, Cheshire, Williamstown and New Ashford, dominating the Berkshire landscape; from the summit, dramatic views of 60-90 miles distant may be seen. It became Massachusetts’ first wilderness state park, acquired by the Commonwealth in 1898, to preserve its natural environment for public enjoyment. Wild and rugged yet intimate and accessible, Mount Greylock rewards the visitor exploring this special place of scenic and natural beauty.

From Wikipedia: “The summit of Mount Greylock is located in Adams, but the mountain spreads into the towns of North Adams, Williamstown, Cheshire, New Ashford and Lanesborough. Mount Greylock is composed of a north-south oriented central ridge: Saddle Ball Mountain 3,247 ft (990 m); Mount Greylock, the high point (3,491 ft (1,064 m); Mount Fitch (3,110 ft/950 m); and Mount Williams (2,951 ft/899 m); flanked by two subordinate ridges: on the west by Mount Prospect (2,690 ft/820 m) and Stony Ledge (2,560 ft/780 m), and on the east by Ragged Mountain (2,528 ft/771 m). (Photo from Wikipedia, used according to GNU license.)

“Prior to the arrival of Europeans the Mahican people were closely associated with this region. The traditional trade route connecting the tribes of the Hudson and Connecticut River Valleys (today, Route 2, known as the Mohawk Trail) passes beneath the northern flank of Mount Greylock. The mountain was known to eighteenth century English settlers as Grand Hoosuc(k). In the early 19th century it was called Saddleback Mountain because of its appearance (Saddle Ball, the name of the peak to the south, still reflects this).

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“The origin of the present name of Greylock and its association with the mountain is unclear. It first appeared in print about 1819, and came into popular use by the 1830s. It may be in reference to its appearance, as it often has a gray cloud, or lock of gray mist upon his head, or in tribute to a legendary Native American chief, Gray Lock. Gray Lock (c.1670-1750) was a Western Abenaki Missisquoi chief of Woronoco/Pocomtuc ancestry, born near Westfield (MA). Gray Lock distinguished himself by conducting guerrilla raids into Vermont and western Massachusetts in the conflict variously known as Dummer’s War, Three Years War, Lovewell’s War, The War with the Eastern Indian or Father Rasle’s War. Although it is not clear whether he was actually ever personally associated with the mountain, perhaps in tribute to his notoriety the mountain came to bear his name.”