Car Guy Magazine Car Guy Magazine Issue 1014 | Page 38

Flowers adorn this pedestrian bridge
in Shelbourne Falls.

signs today to warn motorists of this curve, but
modern automobiles don’t have the failings of
the early horseless carriages and the curve is now
far more interesting due to its history than to the
thrill of taking it with no brakes.
Along this part of the trail are many observation towers promising a four-state view, many
souvenir shops with the must-have item for the
folks back home, and many cabin-style hotels
still looking for guests. Once you get past the
summit, you proceed down the western slope,
which has been described by its promoters as
“America’s Switzerland.” As you descend toward
North Adams, you arrive at the Famous Hairpin Turn. This has been a must-stop for travelers
since the 1920s. At this dramatic turn — which
is one of the most popular postcard views of the
Mohawk Trail — your ubiquitous observation
tower was erected along with the Hairpin Turn
tourist shop. This was not just a tourist facility,

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but it was the only tourist shop offering free water for the many overheated engines struggling to
make the summit.
One of the last remaining buildings of this
tourist complex is the still-operating Golden Eagle restaurant. This building was turned ninety
degrees and relocated back away from the curve
to avoid the crashing cars and trucks, which had
a tendency to end up it the front of the shop.
The western terminus of the Mohawk Trail
is Williamstown established as a plantation in
1753. Williamstown is home to Williams College and The Clark.
The Clark is The Sterling and Francine
Clark Art Institute. It is a world-renowned art
museum and research center with one of the
largest collections of French Impressionist paintings in the world.
A pretty side trip out of Williamstown is
the small winding road to the top of 3,500 foot
Mount Greylock. At the summit is the Veterans

Memorial Tower in remembrance of the casualties of all wars. On clear days you can see not
only the Berkshires, but New Hampshire and
New York as well.
Many people associate the Mohawk Trail
with the fall foliage season but it’s more. It is
American history with a palate of changing colors with the seasons. When you tour the trail,
relax and take your time. Enjoy the road and
what the towns have to offer. Stop and climb an
observation tower. Buy some dorky souvenir. Eat
at some roadside stand that ma and pop started
in 1915. Walk down the street in Deerfield and
wonder what it was like to live in that colonial
period.
There are not many places in America where
you can get in a nice car and drive back to 1669,
watching history change along the drive. You can
do this on the Mohawk Trail and you don’t need
a DeLorean and plutonium to do it.