Driving from Lenox/Lee to Boston/Salem

Hello everyone

Aussie traveller looking for advice for our travel plans in September 2009. After collecting car in Stamford and driving thru Litchfield areas in CT, we are thinking of staying overnight in Lenox/Lee area, before driving across to Salem on Fri 4 Sept, which I believe is day before Labor Day weekend. What length driving time should I expect? From what I can tell on maps, I would be driving on a major route all the way. Happy to hop off the main road sight-see on the way, and arrive in Salem late afternoon, so any suggestions would be welcome.

The other thought was: after Lenox/Lee, add an overnight in maybe Shelburne Falls area, then drive to Salem, via the Mohawk Trail/Route 2 on Sat 5 Sept. This appeals to me more for some reason... but what do the experts think??

Many thanks!

Driving from Lenox/Lee to Boston/Salem

Hi, From Lenox to Boston on the Massachusetts Turnpike (Rt. 90) will take about 2.5 hours from Boston to Salem is 25 miles, how long it will take to drive there is dependent on time of day. The Friday of Labor Day weekend is a heavy travel day on the highways heading toward the shore or other vacation spots (Cape Cod, New Hampshire) I like your idea of spending an extra night in Western Mass. (Shelburne Falls is a great little town) and then heading out on Rt. 2 to Salem on Saturday.

Driving from Lenox/Lee to Boston/Salem

Thanks, yes we like the look of the Shelburne Falls (SF) area. Would it be better to stay there, or just stay in the Lenox / Lee area for 2 nights and visit SF from there, say in the morning, then continue on that same say to Salem via the Route 2? How long should be allow for driving from SF to Salem? Or... is there a town somewhere along Route 2 that we could have a night, to break the journey from Lenox to Salem?

Any particular accommodations you would recommend in any of these areas?

Thanks!!

Hi, Massachusetts is a very small state (lots to do, lots to see, but geographically small). You can get from one end of the state to the other in about 2.5 hours - the distance from SF to Salem on Rt. 2 according to Mapquest is 121 miles, driving time 2 hours, 21 minutes. Frankly, once you leave the Berkshires and drive east along the Rt. 2 there is not much by way of tourist attractions until you get closer in to Boston. Between SF and Salem the only place I would reccommend stopping at is historic Concord and by then you are only 30 minutes from Salem, so it is probably not worth staying the night. I have not stayed overnight in SF, but there are some B%26amp;Bs reviewed here at TA that you can take a look at. A wonderful place to stay in that corner of the state is The Porches Inn in North Adams, close by to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art - www.porches.com Not too far from SF. North Adams is also close to Williamstown, home to Williams College and the Clark Art Museum, among other things:http://www.villagebeautiful.com/ Here is a good website for all of the Berskhires:http://www.berkshireweb.com/ And here is one for the whole state: www.massvacation.com

Thank you, thats very helpful, and exactly the info I was after. I have been looking at North Adams as an alternative, so will check out those links you gave me. Cheers!

I agree with kendrick, once you leave the Berkshires Rte 2 can be pretty boring. If you%26#39;re not in a rush, I would consider getting on Rte 5 south just past Greenfield and maybe stopping in Deerfield:

http://www.historic-deerfield.org/

Once you%26#39;re done there, continue south on Rte 5 to Northampton, where you can get on Rte 9 west. Take Rte 9 to I495 north back to Rte 2 to make a stop in Concord and maybe Minuteman National Park before continuing on to Salem:

http://www.nps.gov/mima/

But getting back to your original post, staying in Lenox is much nicer than staying in NA. You are only there for a day, so what do you want to do cause you can%26#39;t do it all? Williamstown is also a lovely college town as others have said. I am not familiar with SF. I just think if you come all this way, you should stay in someplace scenic. The drive across route 2 is very easy and it worth a stop in Concord if you have time even if just for lunch and a short walk.

The only other major tourist attraction which I think is worth seeing is Sturbridge Village which can be a day in itself. That is off the Mass Pike and not accessible from Rt 2.

Now I am assuming you are coming up Rt 7 from Litchfield. If it is in your budget a classic place to stay is the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge. http://www.redlioninn.com

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