Overview

Summering in the Berkshire Mountains is a full-time joy for lucky locals and a vacationer's dream for those drawn to the area by its activities, sights, and culture. This bucolic setting is a woodsy network of artistic, musical, and other big-city cultural offerings which, taken collectively, inspired residents to proclaim the Berkshires "America's Premier Cultural Resort." Berkshire County is wondrously rural, yet within traveling distance of Boston and New York. The Berkshires appeal to metropolitan residents seeking a restful, idyllic getaway and many visitors have purchased second homes there.

The Berkshires beckon visitors year round. Skiers flock to Berkshire East, Bousquet, Butternut, Catamount, Jiminy Peak and Otis Ridge in winter. When the snow clinging to the hillsides recedes and the daffodils and crocus come out, so do the locals. Cranwell Cross Country Ski Center, (413-637-1364) turns into a 380-acre golf facility, with the largest golf school in the Northeast. Butternut (413-528-2000 ext. 213) schedules a series of summer events, and Jiminy Peak turns into a summer playground.

Photographers and artists have been trying to capture - some successfully - the famed "purple light" of these hills for decades. When the light is right the phrase "purple mountains majesty" comes to visitors' minds.

Summer visitors to Jiminy Peak (413-738-5500) can play miniature golf, fish for trout, ride the alpine slide, go rock climbing, or mountain bike down the 14 trails. Jiminy also offers a laser trap shoot, a radio-remote vehicle track, indoor video game center, hiking trails, and a scenic ride to the summit.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra makes its summer home at Tanglewood in Lenox. The Williamstown Theater Festival brings renowned stars of stage and screen to the campus of Williams College for over 200 performances during June, July, and August. This only scratches the surface. Few regions can boast such a concentration of live performances, historic sites, and art museums - such as Mass MoCA, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, or the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge.

Visitors come to witness the brown, orange, red and yellow colors emerge against the purple background in the autumn. After the orchestra returns to Boston, and the curtain comes down for the theater season, the students return to Williams College, producing entirely new musical and theatrical events open to the public, not to mention NCAA Division 3 collegiate athletic events.

The Massachusetts Turnpike goes right through the Berkshires. Exit at Lee, and you can take U.S. Route 7 north or south to any of the regional arteries. Or you may exit the New York State Thruway at Route 22, and drive eastward from Route 22. Air travelers may fly into Albany, N.Y. and approach the region via the New York Thruway or take the scenic route through Troy, N.Y., and drive across on Route 2, otherwise known as the Mohawk Trail.