Attractions in Berkshire County, Massachusetts

Music Festival Chesterwood Option Institute Colonial Theatre Shakespeare Rock College Mount

Berkshire County is home to a wide range of exciting visitor attractions and activities, from skiing to live theatre, music festivals to racing. With entertaining cultural events, fabulous live entertainment, historic landmarks, fabulous skiing, fishing, hiking, dining, and fun kids’ activities, Berkshire County is one of the most popular visitor destinations in Massachusetts. When you visit Great Barrington and stay at the Comfort Inn & Suites, you’ll find a wide variety of interesting and exciting attractions, all just minutes away from our upscale resort hotel. Enjoy our spacious rooms and suites, heated indoor swimming pool, complimentary breakfast, our convenient central location, and visit the many fun tourist attractions and indoor and outdoor activities you’ll find in scenic Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

Tanglewood Music Festival. Enjoy live concerts by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a wide range of other musicians performing classical, popular, and jazz music from June to Labor Day each year. www.Tanglewood.org.

Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. This restored historic theater and arts center offers a full program of classic films, live music, theater, dance, and other family friendly programming throughout the year. www.mahaiwe.org.

The Clark. Art lovers will enjoy perusing this museum’s fine collection of Impressionist, American and Old Master paintings in a serene setting surrounded by wooded trails. www.clarkart.edu.  [Top]

Chesterwood. Visit the home of Lincoln Memorial sculptor, Daniel Chester French, and see the studio where he worked, visit his lush gardens, enjoy the home’s woodland walking trails, an peruse the museum shop for souvenirs. Open daily, 10am-5pm from May-October. www.chesterwood.org.

Berkshire Botanical Gardens. Explore stunning display gardens, a fantastic tropical greenhouse, walk the woodland trails, enjoy special garden events, take a class, and pick up a little something at the gift shop. Berkshire Botanical Gardens is open daily, 10am-5pm from May-October. www.berkshirebotanical.org.

Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. AThis popular dance festival features hundreds of performances and free events, and was dubbed the "Hub and Mecca of dancing in North America" by Time magazine. www.jacobspillow.org.  [Top]

The Option Institute. This unique institution offers a wide range of personal enrichment courses, self-help programs and training certification designed to improve people’s lives and help them claim their own power to create a richer, more satisfying life. www.option.org.

Prime Outlets Lee. This popular outlet mall features more than 60 brand name designer outlet stores and retailers offering savings of up to 65% off. Prime Outlets is open Monday-Saturday, 10am-9pm; Sunday 10am-7pm.
www.primeoutlets.com.

National Shrine of the Divine Mercy. This monument, reminiscent of shrines found in Italy, is a Roman Catholic shrine dedicated to the mercy of God, and offers Italian statuary, intricate floral carvings, and polished marble, all surrounded by gorgeous views of the Berkshires. The shrine attracts more than 50,000 pilgrims is open year-round. Daily Mass is held at 2pm, and Sundays at 10:30am and 2pm.www.thedevinemercy.org.  [Top]

Colonial Theatre. This popular performing arts center offers a wide range of films and live events, including Broadway theater, music, comedy shows, family programming throughout the year. www.colonialtheatre.org.

Catamount Ski Area.Catamount offers the most diverse ski trail network in the Berkshires, with wide, open trails, 32 runs and 119 acres. Offering big mountain skiing and snowboarding, Catamount has trails for all skill levels and offers private and group lessons for both skiing and snowboarding, and a supervised children’s playroom for kids aged 2-6 years. www.catamountski.com.

Stockbridge. This quaint village, situated between the Berkshire Mountains and the Housatonic River, has evolved into a quiet, exclusive village that offers a wide array of cultural activities and a famous Main Street, which is known across America as the epitome of American life depicted in the paintings of Norman Rockwell. www.townofstockbridge.com.  [Top]

Shakespeare & Company. Founded in 1978, this theatre group performs Shakespeare’s classics at the Founders’ Theatre and Rose Footprint Theatre, and provides classical performance training through education programs designed to inspire a new generation of students. Offering live performances May-September. www.shakespeare.org.

Norman Rockwell Museum.Home to the world's largest and most significant collection of original Norman Rockwell art, this museum’s exhibits include famous Saturday Evening Post covers, over 100,000 photographs, letters, artist materials, equipment, furniture, and personal objects. www.nrm.org.

John Dewey Academy. Housed in the historic Searles Castle in Great Barrington, this co-ed, college preparatory boarding school designed for troubled and dysfunctional teens encourages academic excellence in a caring, yet demanding program. www.jda.org.  [Top]

Bard College at Simon's Rock. As the nation's only college of the liberal arts and sciences for high school students, Simon's Rock offers a liberal arts program that challenges students to pursue and succeed in a higher standard of education. www.simons-rock.edu.

Lime Rock Park. This classic 1.53-mile, 7-turn racecourse is nestled in the stunning Berkshire Mountains and hosts a wide range of racing events, from SCCA Regional to midgets, Trans-Am and Can-Am to NASCAR stock cars. Lime Rock is also home to the famous Skip Barber School of Racing. www.limerock.com.

Skip Barber School of Racing. Located at Lime Rock Park, the Skip Barber School of Racing offers instruction in the art of racing, with top notch instructors, equipment and facilities, and everything else you need to start racing like the pros. www.skipbarber.com.  [Top]

The Mount. This classic mansion home was designed and built by Pulitzer-prize winning author Edith Wharton in 1902, and offers visitors a glimpse into the famous author’s life and her interests in architecture, design and gardening. www.edithwharton.org.

Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art-Mass MoCA. Offering a place for artists of all mediums to find education and support, Mass MoCA also allows visitors to view all aspects of art production, from stage rehearsals to sculptural fabrication, developmental workshops to completed works of art and theatre. www.massmoca.org.

Hancock Shaker Village. Hancock Shaker Village offers a variety of programs, tours, exhibitions, and hands-on activities at a beautifully and authentically restored Shaker village, set on 1,200 acres of farm, woodland and pasture, with 20 historic buildings, including a Round Stone Barn. www.hancockshakervillage.org.

Ski Butternut. This family ski area is designed to challenge beginners as well as experts, with 22 trails on 110 acres, downhill and cross country runs, ski rentals, lessons for adults and children, two lodges, a tubing center, and on-site daycare. www.skibutternut.com.  [Top]