SWITCHBACKMOTO
Get the app
The Atlas/Massachusetts/Hairpin Turn Overlook

Hairpin Turn Overlook

The most famous single corner in Massachusetts motorcycling: a sharp hairpin on Route 2 (Mohawk Trail) at 1,700 feet elevation where the road drops 700 feet in roughly two miles. The pull-off beside the Golden Eagle Restaurant frames a 90-mile panorama of the Hoosac Valley, Mount Greylock, Mount Prospect, and slivers of Vermont. The Golden Eagle has operated continuously since 1914, making it the oldest roadside restaurant on the Mohawk Trail. The hairpin sits on the boundary of North Adams and Clarksburg.

Massachusetts
Region
Viewpoint
Stop type
Standalone stop
Atlas
// Why riders stop

The gold-standard photo stop on the Mohawk Trail — every Berkshires ride plan lists this corner first. The dramatic elevation change and valley panorama are impossible to replicate anywhere else on the route.

// Rider photos

Shot by the riders who've run it.

Riders upload photos to their profile and tag the road or stop — tagged shots show up here automatically.

0 rider submissions
Sign in to add a photoUpload & tag from your profile
// Nearby & related
StopMassachusetts
Bridge of Flowers
Massachusetts
A 400-foot pedestrian footbridge spanning the Deerfield River in the village of Shelburne Falls, converted from a 1908 trolley bridge into a continuous flower garden open April through November. The bridge holds more than 500 varieties of plants and connects Shelburne Falls to Buckland across the river. The glacial potholes — the world's largest recorded collection, some up to 39 feet in diameter — are visible from a viewing area steps away at the base of Salmon Falls. A short walk from the Route 2 corridor.
StopMassachusetts
Gloucester Fishermen's Memorial
Massachusetts
A bronze statue of a helmsman erected in 1925 on Stacy Esplanade along Gloucester's working waterfront, honoring the 5,368 Gloucester fishermen lost at sea since the city's founding in 1623. The memorial sits on South Stacy Boulevard overlooking Gloucester Harbor, steps from active fish piers, seafood restaurants, and the route around Cape Ann (MA-127/127A). It is the starting/ending landmark for the classic 54-mile Cape Ann motorcycle loop.
StopMassachusetts
Mount Greylock Summit
Massachusetts
The highest point in Massachusetts at 3,489 feet (1,063 m), reached via a 16-mile paved Scenic Byway (Rockwell Road) open mid-May through November 1. The summit hosts a 93-foot war memorial tower, Bascom Lodge (rustic lodging and food, operated by AMC), and on clear days views extend into five states and parts of New York. Berkshire County spreads below in every direction. The road itself is a winding single-lane climb through beech and spruce.