Massachusetts has a 1914 road with a hairpin turn and cabins frozen in the 1930s

It’s been pulling drivers west since 1914

Route 2 cuts 69 miles across northwestern Massachusetts, from the Connecticut River Valley into the Berkshire Mountains.

You pass through Greenfield, Shelburne Falls, Charlemont, North Adams and Williamstown, following rivers and climbing mountain passes through deep forest the whole way.

In early to mid-October, the leaves turn and the entire corridor lights up. But the fall color is just one reason people keep coming back.

The road itself has stories at every bend.

Native Americans walked this path centuries before cars arrived

Long before anyone paved it, this route connected the Hudson and Connecticut river valleys as a Native American footpath.

Massachusetts opened it as the state’s first scenic auto touring road in 1914, and about 1,800 people showed up for the dedication ceremony.

You can still spot old souvenir shops, roadside cabins and auto-era stops along the way, holdovers from the days when Sunday drives were brand new.

The trail now sits on the National Register of Historic Places.

Shelburne Falls splits between two towns on the Deerfield River

The village of Shelburne Falls straddles the Deerfield River, half in Shelburne and half in Buckland. People once called it Salmon Falls for the native fishing grounds here.

Now the walkable center is lined with independent shops and galleries, and you can park and cover the whole thing on foot in an afternoon.

It makes a natural first stop heading west, the kind of place where you lose an hour without trying.

A 400-foot trolley bridge now grows hundreds of flowers

Shelburne Falls has a former trolley bridge built in 1908 that volunteers turned into a walking garden back in 1929.

The Bridge of Flowers stretches about 400 feet across the Deerfield River and holds hundreds of plant varieties along its span. It reopened in 2025 after a multi-year restoration that cost roughly $3.2 million.

The garden runs seasonally, generally April through October. You walk across it slowly, and that is the whole point.

Glacial potholes here are among the biggest on Earth

Near Salmon Falls, smooth round stone pools sit carved into the riverbed.

Swirling stones and rushing water shaped them after the last ice age, and about 50 of them remain, ranging from six inches to nearly 39 feet across.

The largest on record is right here, part of one of the biggest collections of its kind in the world. A viewing platform and short walk get you close.

Swimming is off limits, but you don’t need to get wet to see why people stop.

A bronze figure raises its arms toward the sunrise in Charlemont

In Mohawk Park in Charlemont, a bronze statue shows a Native American figure with arms lifted toward the rising sun.

Sculptor Joseph Pollia completed the Hail to the Sunrise monument in 1932 to honor the Mohawk nations of the region. A reflecting pool nearby is set with stones from regional groups.

You can pull over and walk to it in a few minutes.

The statue stands quiet against the tree line, facing east every morning the way it has for more than 90 years.

6,000 acres of old-growth forest guard the wildest stretch

Mohawk Trail State Forest covers roughly 6,000 acres in Charlemont and marks the gateway to the byway’s most remote section.

Ancient mountain ridges, deep gorges and some of the oldest trees in New England fill the forest. Trailheads here connect to the long-distance Mahican-Mohawk Trail, and you can hike, picnic or swim in the river.

The Deerfield River runs alongside much of this stretch, so the sound of water follows you through the woods.

The hairpin turn at 1,700 feet has been famous since day one

Near the North Adams and Clarksburg line, the road bends sharply at a spot about 1,700 feet above sea level.

This hairpin turn has drawn travelers since the early days of the byway, and the overlook gives you sweeping views of the Hoosac Valley below.

On a clear day, you can pick out Mount Greylock and Mount Prospect from where you stand. Pull over, get out and look.

The valley opens wide beneath you.

Whitcomb Summit looks into Vermont and New Hampshire

Whitcomb Summit sits at the highest point on the byway, and the views reach the Green Mountains of Vermont and Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire.

The Eastern Summit looks out over the Deerfield River Valley for miles.

Over at the Western Summit, you get panoramic views alongside 1930s-era cabins that still stand from the road’s early tourism days. A World War I memorial elk statue stands near the summit area, watching over the pass.

MASS MoCA fills a former factory with a football field of art

One of the largest contemporary art museums in the country sits in a former mill complex in North Adams. The buildings once held Arnold Print Works and Sprague Electric.

MASS MoCA opened in 1999 and later expanded with more gallery space.

Galleries now fill dozens of connected brick buildings, and one of them is as large as a football field. The museum hosts art, music, dance, film and year-round festivals, all packed into this old industrial campus.

Walk across the French King Bridge 140 feet above the Connecticut River

A steel arch bridge built in 1932 crosses the Connecticut River at about 140 feet above the water. The French King Bridge takes its name from the French King Rock in the river below.

A sidewalk lets you walk out over the span for wide Pioneer Valley views, and rest areas at each end make it an easy stop.

You can see upstream and downstream from the middle of the bridge, with the valley stretching out in both directions.

Williamstown wraps up the drive with art and rolling hills

The byway ends near Williamstown, a college town with a wide Main Street that was planned as a linear town common.

The Clark Art Institute and Williams College Museum of Art sit nearby, so you can trade the windshield for a gallery if you still have the energy. Rolling Berkshire hills frame the town on all sides.

After 69 miles of rivers, gorges, summits and hairpin turns, Williamstown gives you a quiet place to stop and take it all in.

Drive the Mohawk Trail Scenic Byway in Massachusetts

You can pick up the Mohawk Trail along Routes 2 and 2A across northern Massachusetts, running from Athol to Williamstown. The road stays open year-round, so you can drive it in any season.

Peak fall foliage typically hits in early to mid-October, and that is when the traffic picks up too. Some stops along the route keep seasonal hours, so check the official website before you go.

Give yourself a full day if you want to stop at more than a couple of places.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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