North Adams lies in a bowl of mountains in the far northwest corner of Massachusetts, in the Berkshires, with Mount Greylock, the state's highest peak at about 1,060 metres, rising just to the south. For most of the twentieth century it was a mill town, and the vast brick factory complex on the edge of downtown, once the home of an electrical equipment company, was converted into MASS MoCA, one of the largest contemporary art museums in the country. The town has the slightly worn, determined look of a place that has reinvented itself, and the old brick storefronts have cafes and galleries.
The Mohawk Trail, Route 2, is one of the oldest tourist roads in America, opened in 1914. It follows a path used by Native peoples long before, and it crosses the Hoosac Range with a famous hairpin turn on the western side, where the road drops into North Adams in a tight bend with a view over the valley. Nearby, the Hoosac Tunnel, almost five miles long, was bored through the mountain in the 1850s and 1860s for the railroad, a project that took more than two decades and cost the lives of nearly two hundred workers, and is still in use today. The Western Summit lookout offers a view over the town and toward Vermont and New York.
For the ride, the western climb is the most memorable part. The road climbs steadily out of the valley with a series of tight bends, clear views and good surface, then runs east through forest and farmland along the Cold River. The curves are many and varied, and in the first half of October, when the maples turn red and orange, the road is famously beautiful and crowded. Weekends in foliage season bring heavy traffic, and mid-week is far better. Winter closes parts of the area with snow, and spring can bring mud and frost heaves.
North Adams has several fuel stations, supermarkets and restaurants, and nearby Adams and Williamstown, home to a well-known college, have more. The road east of town has fewer services, with small shops and diners in villages, so fill up in town. A lunch at a diner, with local maple syrup on offer in season, is a pleasant way to rest.
At the hairpin, take care on the outside of the bend, where gravel collects. The view back over the valley is worth a stop.