Mohawk Trail, MA-2

Driving

by Plot Along: Northeast

The Mohawk Trail follows Massachusetts Route 2 across the northern Berkshires between Greenfield and Williamstown, tracing an old Native American footpath that linked the Connecticut and Hudson river valleys. When it opened to cars in 1914 it became one of the first scenic auto-touring roads in New England, and it still drives like one: a 40-mile run of river gorges, mountain summits, and a hard hairpin turn dropping into North Adams.

The high point is the climb to Whitcomb Summit, about 2,170 feet, and the descent through the Hairpin Turn, a near-180-degree switchback with a long view west into the Hoosac Valley. Along the way the road passes through Shelburne Falls, home of the Bridge of Flowers, a 1908 trolley bridge replanted as a hanging garden.

Fully paved and open year-round, it's a New England fall-foliage classic. The old roadside trading posts and overlooks give it a vintage motoring-era feel.

Learn more: en.wikipedia.org

Greenfield
The eastern gateway near the Connecticut River, at the Main Street and Bank Row corner in downtown Greenfield where MA-2 begins the scenic climb west into the Berkshires. The traditional start of the Mohawk Trail drive.
Shelburne Falls
A river town built around the Bridge of Flowers, a 1908 trolley bridge that's been planted as a hanging garden since 1929, and the glacial potholes in the Deerfield River below.
Whitcomb Summit
The highest point on the trail at about 2,170 feet, with a wide view over the Berkshire ridges and the bronze 'Elk on the Trail' monument that has marked the route since 1923. The wooded Whitcomb Hill summit itself sits just to the south; hike south from the road to reach the peak.
Western Summit
An overlook on the descent toward North Adams, looking west across the Hoosac Valley toward Mount Greylock and the Vermont line.
Hairpin Turn
A near-180-degree switchback clinging to the mountainside above North Adams. The signature curve of the Mohawk Trail, with a vintage overlook and a long valley view.
North Adams
The western end of the climb, a former mill city in the Hoosac Valley where the trail bottoms out and rolls on toward Williamstown and the New York line. The drive finishes at the Western Gateway Heritage State Park, with parking beside the North Adams Historical Museum and the Freight Yard Restaurant & Pub in the restored rail yard.

Greenfield

Shelburne Falls

Whitcomb Summit

Western Summit

Hairpin Turn

North Adams