Berkshires towns homepages

How to get to the Berkshires

Here are inks for local and regional public transportation depots and stops, plus where to get Peter Pan bus and Amtrak train schedules and tickets: how to get to the Berkshires.

Lenox, MA venues & attractions

Article updated Feb. 24, 2018 by Dave Read

2018 Tanglewood schedule

The 2018 Tanglewood schedulefeatures a season-long celebration of the centennial of Leonard’s Bernstein’s birth, culminating in the Aug. 25 Bernstein Centennial Celebration hosted by Audra McDonald, with Maestro Andris Nelsons, four guest conductors and soloists Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, and others.

Hotels near Tanglewood

Find hotels near Tanglewood with user reviews, check amenities, nearby attractions, availability and then book your room reservations at these lodging establishments through our partner, International Hotel Solutions (IHS), the leading provider of secure online hotel reservations.

Tanglewood tickets and box office information

Tickets for the 2018 Tanglewood season available through Tanglewood’s website, www.tanglewood.org, SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200, and at the Symphony Hall Box Office at 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston MA.

Berkshires towns map

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Tanglewood schedule, brochures and tickets

Find out more about the Tanglewood schedule; brochures with complete programs and information on how to order tickets will be available in early February by calling 617-638-9467. For further information, please call the Boston Symphony Orchestra at 617-266-1492 or visit www.tanglewood.org.

Berkshires bus and Amtrak train schedules

The Berkshire Regional Intermodal Transportation Center in downtown Pittsfield is the only real bus depot in Berkshire county, but the towns and cities listed below are served by major carriers, including Peter Pan Bus and Bonanza bus. The only Amtrak service to and from Berkshire county is the daily Amtrak Lake Shore Limited to Boston, Springfield, Albany NY & Chicago IL.

Around the turn of the last century, at the height of the Gilded Age, there were a dozen trains daily from New York city to Lenox and Pittsfield, and in the 1940s, “ski trains” delivered 40,000 city dwellers to Bousquet’s in Pittsfield. But today, public transportation to and from the Berkshires is pretty much limited to the bus, except for the Lake Shore Limited between Boston and Chicago IL which leaves Pitsfield west bound at 2:10PM and east bound at 5:52PM. The train-bus connection that Metro-North provided from Grand Central in NYC to Wassaic, NY and then by bus to Gt. Barrington, MA has been discontinued.

Getting to the Berkshires by Peter Pan bus and Amtrak train

The following Berkshire towns are served by common carriers such as Amtrak, Peter Pan Bus (800-343-9999), and Bonanza Bus (800-343-9999):

Bus to/from Gt. Barrington, MA – Bill’s Pharmacy, 362 Main St.:

Bonanza Bus; New York-Pittsfield-Williamstown-Bennington.

NB – Metro-North Railroad has discontinued their Wassaic – Gt. Barrington connecting summer weekend bus service, which used to run Fridays and Sundays during the summer. Follow this link for schedules and fares on Metro-North Railroad.

Bus to/from Lee, MA – Juice & Java, 413-243-3131 – 60 Main St.:

Bonanza Bus; New York-Pittsfield-Williamstown-Bennington.
Bonanza Bus; Providence-Springfield-Pittsfield-Albany.
Peter Pan Bus Lines & Greyhound; Boston-Springfield-Pittsfield-Albany.
Peter Pan Bus Lines & Greyhound; Boston-Boston-Springfield-Pittsfield-Bennington.

Bus to/from Lenox, MA – Village Pharmacy, 413-637-4700 – 5 Walker St:

Bus to/from New Ashford, MA – Entrance to Brodie Mountain, Rte 7 (Flag Stop)

Bonanza Bus; New York-Pittsfield-Williamstown-Bennington.

Bus and train to/from Pittsfield, MA – Berkshire Regional Intermodal Trans. Center, 413-443-9054 – 1 Columbus Avenue

Amtrak; Lake Shore Limited to Boston, Springfield, Albany NY & Chicago IL
Purchase tickets at least nine days in advance online or by phone, 800-USA-RAIL. Tickets will be mailed to you.
Bonanza Bus; New York-Pittsfield-Williamstown-Bennington.
Bonanza Bus; Providence-Springfield-Pittsfield-Albany.
Peter Pan Bus Lines & Greyhound; Boston-Springfield-Pittsfield-Albany.
Peter Pan Bus Lines & Greyhound; Boston-Boston-Springfield-Pittsfield-Bennington.

Bus to/from Sheffield, MA – Route 7, across from Bank (Flag stop)

Bonanza Bus; New York-Pittsfield-Williamstown-Bennington.

Bus to/from Stockbridge, MA – Information Booth, 888-331-7500 – Main St.

Bonanza Bus; New York-Pittsfield-Williamstown-Bennington.

Bus to/from Williamstown, MA – Williams Inn, 413-458-2665 – Main St.

Bonanza Bus; New York-Pittsfield-Williamstown-Bennington.
Peter Pan Bus Lines & Greyhound; Boston-Springfield-Pittsfield-Bennington.

Pittsfield, MA venues and attractions

Pittsfield, MA is the locale of these venues and attractions: Arrowhead – Herman Melville’s Home, Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Athenaeum, Berkshire Community College, Berkshire Museum, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary, Colonial Theatre, Hancock Shaker Village, Pittsfield State Forest.

The Berkshire Museum was founded in 1903 by Zenas Crane, grandson of the Zenas Crane who founded Crane & Company in 1801 in nearby Dalton, MA. Established under the auspices of the Berkshire Athenaeum, the Berkshire Musuem has an eclectic collection and presents a diverse range of programs meant to appeal to a broad community-based audience.

Venues and attractions in Pittsfield, MA:

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Adams, MA

The town of Adams, located 15 miles north of Pittsfield on Rt. 8, is noted as the birthplace in 1820 of Susan B. Anthony, a descendent of the Quakers who settled the area in the 18th century. Adams is situated along the Hoosac River, with the Hoosac Range to the east and the summit of the state’s highest peak, Mt. Greylock, immediately east of town. A statue of President William McKinley is located at McKinley Square at the intersection of Columbia & Maple Streets, Adams, MA. The base is surrounded with three scenes of his actions, in the Civil War, in Congress, and as President, with the fourth side bearing a quote from the Pan-American Exposition: “Let us remember that our interest is in concord not conflict, and that our real eminence rests in the victories of peace, not of war.”

Quaker Meeting House

The Quaker Meeting House, built in 1782, is open to visitors on Sundays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Adams celebrates the legacy of Susan B. Anthony with a summer festival; the Adams Agricultural Fair is held every August and the annual Greylock Ramble attracts as many as 1,000 hikers to the mountain on Columbus Day. (Photo credit)

Town Hall: 8 Park St. 01220; 413-743-8320
Population: 8,809
Settled by/Inc’d: Rhode Island Quakers/1776
Named for: Samuel Adams,
Revolutionary
Elevation: 799′
Adams, MA town website

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Adams, MA once known as the East Hoosuk Plantation

First surveyed in 1739 and known as the East Hoosuk Plantation, Adams was incorporated in 1778 and included present-day North Adams until 1878. A National Register Historic District of 70 Victorian homes recalls the days when textile industry drove Adams’ economy, as does a statue of President William McKinley whose policies benefited the domestic textile industry and who was a friend of the Plunkett brothers, founders of the Berkshire Cotton Mfg. Co..

Alford, Mass.

Alford, MA has had a mill for its grist since 1763, when the town had about twenty fewer residents than it does today! During the first half of the 19th century, there were a dozen marble quarries in Alford, but when the railroads were laid elsewhere, they became unprofitable. Today, Alford is the quintessential bedroom community: no stores, no motels or hotels, and not a single gas station.

By ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

“Old-fashioned, easygoing Alford …”

“Old-fashioned, easygoing Alford is not so far off the main traveled routes through Berkshire that it is a backwoods village, nor so close to have taken on the frills of a summer resort. The scattered houses, white church, and little school are built on a narrow shelf of land extending a quarter of a mile along the eastern side of the platter-shaped valley.

“To the south is Mt. Everett, one of the highest mountains in Berkshire, 2,624 feet above sea level. The western slopes of the valley are checkered with meadow and woodlots, mounting toward an unbroken line of trees against the sky.” (The Berkshire Hills, by Federal Writers’ Project, © 1939, Berkshire Hills Conference, Inc.)

Alford, MA facts:

Town Hall: 5 Alford Center Rd.
Phone: (413) 528-4536
Population: 399
Settled/Inc’d: 1740/1773
Named for: Col. John Alford of Charlestown
Elevation: 960′
Alford.org

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