Christina Tree - Explorers Guide Berkshire Hills & Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts ()

Welcome to the Berkshire Hills and Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. In writing this guide, we have been increasingly selective in making recommendations based on years of conscientious research and personal experience. What makes us unique is that we describe the state by locally defined regions, giving you Western Massachusettss communities, not simply its most popular destinations. With this guide youll feel confident to venture beyond the tourist towns, along roads less traveled, to places of special hospitality and charm.

WHATS WHERE

In the beginning of the book youll find an alphabetical listing of special highlights, with important information and advice on everything from antiques to weather reports.

LODGING

Prices: Please dont hold us or the respective innkeepers responsible for the rates listed, which were accurate as of press time in 2011. Some changes are inevitable. Massachusetts has a statewide 6.25 percent tax on both lodging and meals. Communities also have the option of levying an additional local tax of up to 6 percent, and many resort towns opt for the full amount.

Smoking: Massachusetts enforces a statewide ban on smoking in restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.

RESTAURANTS

Note the distinction between Dining Out and Eating Out . By their nature, restaurants listed in the Eating Out group are generally inexpensive.

KEY TO SYMBOLS

The wedding rings symbol appears beside facilities that frequently serve as venues for weddings and civil unions.

The special value symbol appears next to lodgings and restaurants that combine high quality and moderate prices.

The kids alert symbol appears next to lodgings, restaurants, activities, and shops of special appeal to youngsters.

The dog paw symbol appears next to lodgings that accept pets (usually with a reservation and deposit) as of press time.

The wheelchair symbol appears next to lodgings, restaurants, and attractions that are partially or fully handicapped accessible.

The WiFi symbol appears next to inns, eateries, and other establishments that provide WiFi access for their guests.

We would appreciate your comments and corrections about places you visit or know well in the state. Please use the card enclosed in this book, or e-mail us directly at ctree@traveltree.net or bill@davistravels.com .

T oo often when we begin to enthuse about Western Massachusetts, we watch eyes glaze over, but when we mention the Berkshires, people listen up. We talk about the Pioneer Valley, however, and even Berkshire residents are puzzled. We rave about the Hilltowns and they are really confused. By bundling these three neighboring, variously known, and very differentbut all culturally rich and scenicareas into one book, we hope to suggest what an altogether amazing region Western Massachusetts is.

We make the case that Culture in the Countrya slogan coined for Berkshire Countyapplies to all of Western Massachusetts. Berkshire County is indeed the setting for internationally famous summer music, theater, and dance festivals, and the Pioneer Valley is home to a dozen colleges, an equal number of outstanding museums, and numerous concerts and performances, adding up to far more year-round culture within a small radius than can be found in many major cities.

The semantics of whats where in Western Massachusetts is, admittedly, confusing and unrelated to topography. Berkshire County posts WELCOME TO THE BERKSHIRES signs at its borders, while in fact the Berkshire Hills roll eastward, in places almost to the Connecticut River Valleywhich of course needs a name other than Connecticut, because this is Massachusetts. Suggestions have included Asparagus Valley, Happy Valley, King Philips Realm, and Knowledge Corridor, but Pioneer Valley is what has stuck since the 1940s. It refers to the 17th-century arrival of English colonists a century before they settled the flanking hills.

Politically, the Pioneer Valley encompasses three countiesFranklin, Hampshire, and Hampdenthat extend far into those hills. Physically, the eastwest Holyoke Range divides the Valley itself into the Springfield area to the south and the more rural Upper Valley to the north, and the Upper Valley in turn divides into the Five-College Area (with Amherst and Northampton as its dual hubs) and the Deerfield/Greenfield Area in the narrowest, northernmost end of the Valley. Technically part of the Pioneer Valley, the Hilltowns are salted through the roll of hills between Berkshire County and the Connecticut River Valley. They are the states highest and most remote towns, with the kind of white-clapboard villages, orchards, sugarbushes, and farmscapes generally associated with Vermont.