Mount Greylock

tagged: Autumn, Berkshire County, featured, Foliage, Free, nature

Mount Greylock

The carpet of color covering the landscape.

Tom’s brother and sister in law came for a visit from Brooklyn recently. It happened to be one of our bright beautiful sunny Autumn days so we all decided it was a perfect day to visit Mount Greylock! We all met at the visitors center at the bottom of the mountain where Tom & I left our car and jumped in with his family to head to the top.

Now some may think that the whole show takes place at the top but they would be wrong! It’s about a 15 minute drive to the top with a series of pull off spots with amazing sweeping views of what looks like the entire county! All summer long the views are beautiful but the real magic appears in the Autumn when all of the trees change creating a carpet of stunning colors. The mountain was closed for a season or two recently while all of the roads were repaved so the ride up is very smooth and easy on your vehicle.

The tower at Mount Greylock

We didn’t have as much time as we would have liked so we went straight to the top checking out the views as we drove by. At the top parking is either free or only $2. There is also a lodge at the top where you can get food, use the bathroom or just get warm with a hot cup of cocoa. Also among one of the many trails is another empty lodge to stop and relax for the many who choose to hike the mountain. As we walked from the parking lot there was a large 3D map of the mountain ranges that stopped us right in front of the walk way to the tower.

One of the many beautiful views from the top of the tower.

The tower is an old tower, built the same as a light house, sitting on top of the tallest peak in Massachusetts. You take the narrow winding stair case up quite a few flights to the top with views in every direction. I do recommend if you plan on climbing the tower that you visit on a week day because the tower can become very congested quite quickly, but I promise you it is very much worth the trip!

As you enter the tower there is a small room at the bottom before entering the narrow concrete stair well that opened up into the spiral stair case just around the first bend. I will admit it does make me a bit claustrophobic but I would be robbing myself of some of the most beautiful views in New England by not making the trip which is why I was thankful we picked a weekday where there were only a hand full of people using the tower stairs. The staircase wound up about 4 “floors” and each had a place to stop off and rest if you needed it. I didn’t allow myself to stop and just powered my way to the top where there were already a few other people enjoying the view. The walls were labeled telling you which direction you were looking as well as the towns and mountain ranges in that direction. It really is a view beyond words and one I recommend you just go see for yourself!

After climbing back down we checked out the beautiful view in front of us. The cliff appeared to just drop off overlooking part of the beautiful Berkshires. Here is a short 360 view as it was seen by my iPhone.

We spent a bit walking through the paths, taking photos, and chatting about life and the scenes around us. I am going to end this blog with some more shots from the day and I can only hope that you will go take some of your own! The Bascom Lodge also holds events throughout their season, stop by their website to see their up coming events!