Hello All -
I’m going to be in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, for a couple of days. I was wondering if anyone out there was familiar with the area, and could suggests routes for running or biking. We’ll have our road bikes with us (no mtb) and some time to check out the area, so we’re looking for some advice about nice places to head out to.
Any advice on bars & restaurants also welcome.
Thanks!
-Charles
Berkshire Bike and Blade is a shop up there that might have some good suggestions (http://bikeandblade.com/index.cfm). As for eats, head to Railroad Street. Quite a few digs with a range of victuals from bar food to upscale French, all within walking distance of each other.
Charles–
GB is awesome !
We spend a lot of time there since we’re pretty close by.
For B & R take the road out of Main St. that takes you to Butternut Ski Resort. Lots of scenic winding roads with a lot less traffic( which can be an issue in GB this time of the year) thru the Berkshires, then you can trail run at Butternut afterwards .
As for entertainment…good Indian food on Main St, the Main St. Diner has excellent B-fast and Burgers. Thai food next door is good, and if you want to hang with the " In Crowd " Union Street Bar & Grill is very SoHo like.
Great Jazz at the Railroad Cafe and a MUST stop is Club Helsinki for excellent live music.
Stefan and Dave from Berkshire Bike & Blade are good dudes ! They usually stock some Litespeed Porn .
There are some great places to ride in the Great Barrington area in the southern Berkshires. I grew up in the northern Berkshires where there are a bit more challenging hills. When you get there any local book store will have the Bike Rides in the Berkshires book which gives detailed scenic rides. Look for one going to Bish Bash Falls.
I also found a link to MassBike.org’s site that has South Berkshire trips http://www.massbike.org/bikeways/berkconn/brkcontc.htm - this will give you an idea of areas to ride. If you want some more challenging rides then head over to the towns of Washington, Hindsdale, Becket and Peru (Routes 8 & 143) known locally as the “hill towns”. Beautiful countryside. Have fun.
No specific ideas for you, but I’m visiting friends across the border from there in NY in a few weeks so let me know if you find a “don’t miss” idea.
In general, the roads up there look great for cycling. Great scenery, lots of low traffic options and plenty of hills if you like. Depending how far you want to ride, there are some nice village downtowns along the Hudson in NY (Rhinebeck comes to mind which may be @40-50mi one way) that you could ride out to and then enjoy a nice lunch, etc. before heading back. Probably some closer ones in the Berkshires area as well. In Great Barrington, there were a bunch of dining & bar options right around Main St. (Union Cafe? I think was one that looked like a nice hang-out).