1. Inn At Sweet Water Farm
City: Great Barrington, MA
Category: Accommodations
Telephone: (413) 528-2882
Description: You may audibly sigh as you cross the threshold of this gorgeous 19th-century post-and-beam inn that feels more like a well-appointed home than a B&B. The 6 bedrooms (each has a private bath) have gleaming wide-plank wood floors and are decorated with clean-lined antiques and are also wonderfully upscale with line-dried high-count sheets and feather comforters. The farm-to-table breakfasts feature fruit, yogurt and granola, fresh-baked bread, homemade pastries, and eggs straight from the backyard henhouse.
2. Great Barrington Antiques Center
City: Great Barrington, MA
Category: Shopping
Telephone: (413) 644-8848
Address: 964 S. Main St.
Description: More than 30 established galleries offer furniture, textiles, art, jewelry, and decorative accessories from New England, Europe, and Asia in this 50,000-square-foot multidealer store. Highlights among the encyclopedic selection are antique maps and prints, Persian rugs, French seating, American country tables and cupboards, and mid-20th-century modern furniture.
3. Lake Mansfield
City: Great Barrington, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Description: Located just a short walk outside of Great Barrington, Lake Mansfield is a hugely popular local spot for swimming, fishing, and rowing. At adjoining Lake Mansfield Park you’ll find nearly 30 acres of wooded forest that are criss-crossed by several excellent walking footpaths. Lake Mansfield has lots of free parking; grills and shaded picnic tables are available; and there’s a terrific playground for kids.
4. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
City: Great Barrington, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (413) 528-0100
Address: 14 Castle St.
Description: Extensive renovation has returned this Great Barrington landmark back to its original 1905 glory. When it isn’t hosting acts like the Temptations and events like “An Evening with Patty LuPone and Mandy Patinkin,” the Mahaiwe packs audiences in for screenings of The Met: Live in HD and for community theater productions.
5. Monument Mountain
City: Great Barrington, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (413) 298-3239
Description: The huge boulders at the 1,642-foot summit boast crowd-pleasing sights like Mount Greylock to the north, the Catskills to the west, and the Housatonic River valley below. The popular Indian Monument Trail is a moderate 3-mile climb and shouldn’t take more than 2 hours. Monument Mountain has inspired thinkers for years. Locally the mountain is also referred to as the Poet’s Hike. In 1815 Great Barrington native William Cullen Bryant wrote “Monument Mountain,” a poem that tells the legend of how a young local Indian girl took a lover’s leap from this mountain. In 1850 Bryant arranged a hiking excursion whose participants included Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story goes that a thunderstorm caused the group to take shelter under a ledge and it was here that the group passed time reciting Bryant’s poem and drinking champagne.
6. Butternut
City: Great Barrington, MA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (413) 528-2000
Address: 38 State Rd.
Description: With a 1,000-foot vertical drop and 100 percent snowmaking, Butternut is the ideal mountain for families that ski. There are 22 trails, and the varied terrain (mostly intermediate) is served by 11 lifts, plus 2 top-to-bottom snowboard parks. There’s nighttime boarding and skiing and a 7-lane snow tubing center.