Mount Greylock Summit
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.
Rockwell Road begins in Lanesborough and winds through northern hardwood forest before the tree cover transitions to balsam fir and red spruce on the upper slopes — a sub-alpine zone found almost nowhere else in Massachusetts. The road is the paved Scenic Byway that runs to the summit, and it is open roughly mid-May through November 1, so the riding window is real and finite. Plan around it.
At the top, the Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower — a 93-foot granite structure completed in 1932 — anchors the summit area along with Bascom Lodge, a rustic stone-and-timber lodge built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s that offers seasonal meals and lodging. On a clear day the views reach into multiple neighboring states; Wikipedia puts possible sight lines at up to 72 miles. Because tree cover limits the ground-level panorama, climbing the tower earns a full 360-degree look. The summit sits within the Mount Greylock State Reservation, and the road and structures together form a National Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
One of the few New England summits accessible by motorcycle on a paved road — the climb on Rockwell Road is the reward, not just the destination. Views from the top are the widest in the state.
Shot by the riders who've run it.
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