Berkshires arts, entertainment, and recreation attractions
The Berkshires are home to some important and popular cultural organizations, which attract visitors to thousands of concerts, plays, dance performances, readings, lectures, and art exhibitions every year. All this artificial art and entertainment is set in the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts, one of the world’s places of great natural beauty. That’s not idle local boosterism – National Geographic named the Berkshires among the ten best destinations on Earth!
The local terrain makes the area a natural for skiing, hiking, and camping. Find articles about the leading places in the Berkshires for a wide variety of outdoors recreation. The Appalachian Trail spans the Berkshires with a variety of hiking opportunities for both the through-hiker and the day-hiker.
Cultural venues
Here are the leading cultural venues in Berkshire county; each post contains information about the organization as well as basic contacts, event schedules, tickets, and links to their websites.
Berkshires museums and historic sites
Berkshires museums and historic sites
Interactive map showing Berkshires museums and historic sites. The map icons can be clicked to reveal links…
Guthrie Center
Arlo Guthrie founded the Guthrie Center in 1991, housing it in the former Trinity Church made famous by the song The Alice's Restaurant Massacree and…
Berkshires cultural venues
Map of cultural venues in the Berkshires
The Berkshires are home to an impressive array of places to where all sorts of arts and cultural events…
Movie theatres in the Berkshires
What movies are playing in the Berkshires
There are dozens of movies playing in the Berkshires on any given day, ranging from the latest Hollywood…
Aston Magna Foundation for Music and the Humanities
Aston Magna Foundation
Aston Magna is the oldest annual summer festival in America devoted to music performed on period instruments. Under the…
Chesterwood
Chesterwood, a studio museum located near Stockbridge, MA in the hamlet of Glendale, was the summer home and studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French…
DuBois Center at Great Barrington
The life and legacy of Great Barrington native W.E.B. DuBois (1868 – 1963), co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored…
Norman Rockwell Museum
The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass., a popular cultural venue in the Berkshires, houses 574 of Norman Rockwell's paintings and drawings.…
The Mount
Edith Wharton (and husband Edward "Teddy") built the Mount and surrounding gardens, comprising an estate of some 150 acres in Lenox, Mass. in 1902,…
MASS MoCA
MASS MoCA occupies an industrial complex built between 1870-1900 by the Arnold Print Works, which produced printed textiles until becoming…
Clark Art Institute
The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, which is widely known as simply The Clark, opened in Williamstown, Mass. in the midst of the Cold War…
Williamstown Theatre Festival
The Williamstown Theatre Festival, founded as the Williamstown Summer Theatre in 1955, achieved a high level of success during Nikos Psacharopoulos'…
Barrington Stage Company
Barrington Stage Company
Barrington Stage Company, which was founded in 1995, has been located in Pittsfield, Mass. since moving into a renovated…
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
In addition to the more than 110 ticketed performances presented each year, Jacob’s Pillow offers many free…
Berkshire Museum
Located in downtown Pittsfield, Mass., the Berkshire Museum was founded in 1903 by Zenas Crane, grandson of the Zenas Crane who founded Crane &…
Hancock Shaker Village
Hancock Shaker Village
Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Mass. (bordering on Hancock, Mass.) is a fully restored Village that contains 18…
Colonial Theatre Pittsfield, Mass
The Colonial Theatre is the primary performing arts venue in the city of Pittsfield, Mass. Built over the course of six months in 1903 for $70,000,…
Berkshire Theatre Festival
Berkshire Theatre Festival, one of the oldest professional regional theatres in the United States, was founded in Stockbridge, Mass. in 1928. BTF's…
Outdoors recreation
Here are places for outdoors recreation in Berkshire county; each post contains information about the organization as well as basic contacts, event schedules, tickets, and links to their websites.
Photos of Upper Goose Pond along the Appalachian Trail, near Becket, MA
Here are photos taken Sunday, May 18, 2008, during a mid-day hike along the section of the Appalachian Trail that crosses the MA turnpike near Becket…
Berkshires Appalachian trail map
Berkshires Appalachian trail map
If you want to go for a hike in Berkshire county, you can access the Berkshires section of the Appalachian…
Berkshires parks and outdoors recreation
Berkshires parks and outdoors recreation
Here is a map showing the locations of and driving directions to 27 Berkshires parks and outdoors…
Views atop Monument Mountain
Video showing views from the top of Monument Mountain on a crisp, clear October morning showing the Berkshires in all its autumnal…
Bartholomew’s Cobble
Bartholomew's Cobble
Bartholomew's Cobble is a 329 acre site, owned and administered by the Trustees of Reservations, that was created by…
Ashuwillticook Rail Trail
Ashuwillticook Rail Trail
Bicycling in the Berkshires is getting better for visitors and locals because of the development by the MA Dept. of…
Mount Greylock State Reservation
Mount Greylock
Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts, with an elevation of 3,491 feet. It spans the Berkshire county towns of…
Monument Mountain trail views
Video shot October 18, 2008 on a hike on Monument Mountain during the Trustees of Reservations' Monument Mountain Day, held to celebrate their 100th…
Lenox Tub Parade
Lenox Tub Parade
One of the most unusual events during the shoulder season in the Berkshires between summer and fall is the Tub Parade in Lenox.…
Berkshires fall activities visitors guide
Berkshires fall activities visitors guide
The Berkshires are especially beautiful in September and October. Once the Tanglewood and summer…
Ski Butternut
Ski Butternut located in the Berkshires just east of Great Barrington offers downhill skiing on 22 trails with a vertical drop of 1,000 feet, as well…
Otis Ridge Ski Area
Otis Ridge Ski Area is smaller than other ski areas in the Berkshires but is a favorite among locals and visiting families who enjoy skiing away from…
Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort
Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, located in Hancock and Lanesbourough, MA and abutting the state of New York, is the biggest ski area in the Berkshires…
Catamount Ski Area
Catamount Ski Area, located near Gt. Barrington, MA is especially popular with New Yorkers because it is less than a three hour drive from NYC. There…
Berkshire East Ski Resort
Berkshire East Ski Resort in Charlemont, near North Adams, is unique among local recreational venues because it produces its own energy with a wind…
Bousquet Ski Area
Bousquet Ski Area, located on the edge of Pittsfield bordering on Lenox and Richmond, is the oldest ski area in the Berkshires and is the place where…
Hiking in the Berkshires
The Berkshires are a great place for hikers of all descriptions; whatever the season, there are hundreds of well-marked trails all over Berkshire…
Lenox blanketed by snow
A good old-fashioned nor'easter buried Lenox and the Berkshires in upwards of two feet of snow. We thought it would be fun to make a video record of…
Berkshires street views
Berkshires street views
We've updated our Berkshires towns and cities pages, using the latest mapping technology available to web developers…
Lenox, MA venues & attractions
Lenox, MA venues & attractions
Lenox, Mass. map with driving directions to venues, parks, government and community buildings, and points of…
Berkshires skiing areas map
Where to ski in the Berkshires
Skiing is a favorite activity in the Berkshires and has been an important component of the local tourism industry…
Berkshire Botanical Garden
The Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, was founded in 1934 as the Berkshire Garden Center, and its public display gardens are…
National Geographic ranks the Berkshires among ten best destinations on Earth
National Geographic ranks the Berkshires among ten best destinations on Earth
The Berkshires are one of the ten best destinations on Earth,…
Lenox Church on the Hill fall video
This brief video illustrates the truth of Fanny Kemble's famous remark after being shown the town burying ground next to the Meeting House in Lenox…
Housatonic River video
This one minute video, made with the wonderful Flip ultra, shows the Housatonic River in early fall, shot on Oct. 10, 2008 along Rt. 183 just outside…
