Mohawk Trail (page 3 of 4)

Points 7-9

7. Hairpin Turn
At the Western Summit, a popular launching point for hang gliders, the view reaches on toward the sunset. The trail then zigzags down, turning a full 180 degrees at a dramatic Hairpin Turn. Back when the road first opened, cars ascending eastward from North Adams tended to overheat, and near this point the radiators of many would boil over. The owners would get water from the restaurant here -- it's still in business -- and gaze out over the valley and the mountains beyond.

8. Mt. Greylock
Rising to 3,491 feet above sea level, Mt. Greylock ranks as the highest peak in Massachusetts. And what a splendid vantage point it forms. From the observation tower at its summit, you can see the Catskills and Adirondacks in New York, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the high peaks of New Hampshire, and the entire sweep of the Berkshires. The road to the top, a 10-mile switchback detour along Notch Road, takes you through a state forest reservation encompassing some 12,000 heavily forested acres, including a 200-year-old stand of stately red spruces. Wildlife is plentiful, with beavers, porcupines, coyotes, foxes, snowshoe hares, black bears, and bobcats all lurking in the shadows. Spend time also looking at the plentiful wildflowers in spring and the shaded glens and moss-banked creeks in summer.

9. Williamstown
Somewhere in everyone's mental file cabinet there exists the image of a picture-perfect New England village. Williamstown comes close to that prototypical ideal. Classic white clapboard mansions line its tree-shaded streets, along with Gothic stone churches and the handsome buildings of Williams College, which has been thriving here since 1793. Its town parks are fine spots for impromptu picnics or sunbathing, with a chance to wind down -- all in all, an idyllic climax to the varied scenery to be savored along the Mohawk Trail.

• • Road Trips
• Family Travel

• Maine Coast
• Although Rte. 1 offers its share of eye-catching delights, the twists and turns that characterize the coast in this corner of America are best seen from secondary roads that meander down long peninsulas and across out-of-the-way islands.
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• Adirondack Adventure
• The Adirondack Park, the largest wilderness east of the Mississippi, sprawls far and wide across upstate New York-a rugged, pristine realm where forests and mountains reign supreme.
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• Delaware River Loop
• Astride the border between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, a narrow notch in the Kittatinny Ridge provides a natural gateway to this pleasantly pastoral river valley.
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• James River Plantations
• Some of time's finest treasures can be found along this drive, which starts in the modern city of Richmond, passes centuries-old plantations, then ends in one of the places where America began.
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• Brandywine Valley
• Cultivated by one family -- the Du Ponts -- and immortalized by another -- the Wyeths -- this lush and lovely landscape seems like a painting come to life.
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• More Great Road Trips!
• 

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