Guides

Tucked away in western Massachusetts is bucolic Berkshire County.  Long hailed as a four season destination, The Berkshires offers activities and attractions that fit any size wallet and any sort of interest.

From world renowned cultural venues, vibrant music scenes, and haunted happenings, to quiet places to escape the stress of everyday life, it is no wonder why The Berkshires is such a popular tourist destination and why so many people are happy to call it home.  

Classes and Workshops

Berkshire Botanical Garden: Online and on-campus classes, workshops, lectures, exhibits and special events are offered year-round. The Garden also offers a broad variety of educational programs to school children both onsite and at local schools.

Berkshire Art Center: Berkshire Art Center is a community art school encouraging people of all ages, means, and skill levels to enrich their lives through hands-on experience in the visual arts. 

Family Fun

Berkshire Atheneum: The library hosts a number of free events each month for all ages!

Mass MoCa: MASS MoCA is one of the world’s liveliest centers for making and enjoying today’s most evocative art. With vast galleries and a stunning collection of indoor and outdoor performing arts venues, MASS MoCA is able to embrace all forms of art: music, sculpture, dance, film, painting, photography, theater, and new, boundary-crossing works of art that defy easy classification.

The Berkshire Museum: The Berkshire Museum combines art, science, and history to create thought-provoking experiences for visitors of all ages. The museum’s diverse collection of more than 40,000 objects is brought to life year round through exhibitions, educational programming, digital content, and community events.

South Berkshire Kids: Playgroups, arts and crafts and storytimes for the little ones!

Ski Butternut: Ski resort in Great Barrington

Bousquet Mountain: The Berkshire's local mountain Since 1932

Berkshire South Community Center: The Community Center offers many programs servicing people of all ages.

Date Night

The Egremont Barn: If you are looking to combine good food with a lively music scene, then head to South Egremont’s most popular music venue, The Egremont Barn. There is always an interesting line-up of amazing musicians!

Antimony Craft Brewing and Kitchen: Antimony Brewing is a brewpub located in Lenox, bringing delicious craft beer and scratch cooking to the Berkshires.  You can also enjoy live music,trivia and game nights here!

The Stationary Factory: Offers stage performances and concerts

The Mahawie: The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents live performances, film, and cultural events year-round, bringing a variety of content to the stage and screen of our historic Berkshire theater, through programs of the highest quality in dance, music, drama, comedy, ​and educational and family programs. 

Race Brook Lodge: Inventive menu,  live music, movie nights and Jazz brunches

The Lion's Den: The Lion’s Den pub is located down the steps in the cellar at The Red Lion Inn. The popular venue offers pub fare and live music seven nights a week. The pub’s music calendar features numerous local and regional acts, showcasing everything from acoustic folk to R&B, reggae and the blues. And you never know who might drop in. Best of all, there’s never a cover charge.

Big Elm Brewing: Offers a signature line-up of crafted brews with live music throughout the week!

Dewey Hall: Sheffield’s unique Dewey Hall is a wonderful gathering place that flies under the usual radar of places to go to, but should be on everyone’s bucket list.  

The  Great Outdoors

Bartholomew's Cobble: Bartholomew’s Cobble is named for its two rocky knolls—or “cobbles”—rising above the Housatonic River. Boasting an enormous variety of woodland flowers and fern species, the Cobble’s amazingly diverse flora earned it a National Natural Landmark designation. 

Mount Greylock State Reservation: At 3,491 feet, Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts. From its peak on a clear day, you can see as far as 90 miles Pleasant Valley: Pleasant Valley’s trails wind through forests, meadows, wetlands, and along the slopes of Lenox Mountain, making this site an excellent location for easy-to-strenuous hiking. 

Williamstown Rural Lands: Offers nature-based education programs, workshops and events 

Notchview: Notchview is widely known for its access to cross country skiing in the winter, but when the snow melts, there are still so many natural wonders here to take advantage of. 

Grab a Bite or Drink

Firefly Gastropub: offers up a relaxed, gastropub concept, focused on high-quality comfort food. Offerings include an ever-changing craft beer menu, creative cocktail selections, and Chef Andrew’s signature, fresh take on pub fare in addition to seasonally curated specials to enhance Firefly’s primary menu.

M&Ms Tap and Tavern: Start your weekend off right with great food and live music at M&M's Tap & Tavern

The Red Lion Inn: The Red Lion Inn is an iconic landmark whose warmth and character express timeless tradition while its vibrant personality brings the best of the Berkshires to life. We also have four dining choices ranging from our famous Main Dining Room to our alfresco Courtyard open during the summer season. 

The Barn Kitchen and Bar: Experience The Barn and satisfy your craving for an elevated dining experience in the Berkshires. Our Williamstown restaurant serves familiar New England classics and seasonally inspired locally sourced cuisine prepared with an open mind and a fresh vision.

The Proprietor's Lodge: A completely renovated restaurant, right on Pontoosuc Lake with views of Mt. Greylock

BountiFare: The Bounti-Fare Restaurant is located in the heart of the Northern Berkshires on the Adams, North Adams line, just minutes from Mass MoCA and other area attractions. Our meals are deliciously prepared, using the freshest and finest ingredients available, affording you a truly memorable dining experience.

ExtraSpecial Teas: A vibrant, eclectic teahouse serving up 50+ teas, gluten free delights, and much more in the Berkshires.

Local Favorites

Naumkeag: This beloved garden and estate in Stockbridge is always a draw to both locals and tourists, largely due to its splendor and  plethora of events offered. 

Tanglewood: Music venue in Lenox and the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Pack a picnic, spread a blanket out on the venue’s magnificent lawn and take in a concert under the stars like the locals do. 

Shakespeare and Company: Shakespeare & Company is a professional live theatre company in the heart of the Berkshires, presenting a vibrant summer performance season featuring the works of Shakespeare in repertory with classic and contemporary plays.

Williamstown Theater Festival: The Williamstown Theater Festival brings emerging and professional theater artists together in the Berkshires to create a thrilling summer festival of diverse, world premiere plays and musicals, bold new revivals, and a rich array of accompanying cultural events.

Clark Art Institute: The Clark Art Institute is a museum that is family friendly and offers inside, outside and online opportunities for exploration and discovery.  

Jacob's Pillow: Jacob’s Pillow is lauded worldwide as a hub and mecca of dancing, and the dance center of the nation. Each year thousands of people from across the U.S. and around the globe visit the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts to experience the Festival with more than 50 dance companies and 500 free performances, talks, and events

Barrington Stage: Barrington Stage creates theater experiences that engage and excite audiences by entertaining as well as challenging them with the most dynamic and provocative productions possible. 

Hancock Shaker Village: Hancock Shaker Village is a landmark destination of 750 acres, 20 historic Shaker buildings, and over 22,000 Shaker artifacts. It is the most comprehensively interpreted Shaker site in the world, and the oldest working farm in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Hancock Shaker Village brings the Shaker story to life and works to ensure its relevance for future generations. 

Norman Rockwell Museum: The Norman Rockwell Museum illuminates the power of American illustration art to reflect and shape society, and advances the enduring values of kindness, respect, and social equity portrayed by Norman Rockwell.

Colonial Theatre: The Colonial in Pittsfield is a genuine turn of the century theater that has  spectacular gilded architecture,  state of the art technical systems and hosts family entertainment, comedy, live music and more year round.

Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum: Ventfort Hall, located in Lenox, is the home of The Museum of the Gilded Age. Through lectures, exhibits, theatrical performances and other events, The Museum of the Gilded Age interprets the great changes that occurred in American life, industry, and society during the Nineteenth Century, a fascinating period of American history.