Adams is the town most Berkshires itineraries use as a parking lot for Mount Greylock. That undersells it. The mill town on the Hoosic River, wedged between Greylock's east face and the Hoosac Range, has a ski history that sent its sons to war on skis, the birthplace of one of the most consequential Americans of the nineteenth century, the newest outdoor center in the county, and the quiet end of the best rail trail in western Massachusetts. On a November weekend, nobody is competing for the trailhead.

The Thunderbolt

In the fall of 1934, thirty men from the Civilian Conservation Corps cut a ski trail straight down Greylock's east side above Adams: 1.6 miles, dropping more than 2,000 vertical feet, with pitches up to 35 degrees. It was named after a roller coaster at Revere Beach, and it raced like one.

The first Massachusetts downhill championship of the U.S. Eastern Amateur Ski Association ran on the Thunderbolt in 1935, and from then through the late 1940s it hosted national and international races in front of thousands of spectators. The town built a ski culture around it. When the Army formed the 10th Mountain Division in World War II, 20 men from Adams enlisted, more per capita than from any other American town.

There is no lift. The Thunderbolt is still skied, by people who hike up first, and in the snow-free months it is a steep, direct climb toward the summit. Plan it as a serious hike, not an afternoon stroll.

Susan B. Anthony's birthplace

On East Road, the house where Susan B. Anthony was born on February 15, 1820, still stands. Her grandfather David Anthony built it in 1817 as a gift to his son Daniel, her father. After restoration from 2006 to 2009 it opened as the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum in 2010, and it has been on the National Register since 1985.

The museum keeps reduced fall and winter hours, open several days a week on a guided-tour schedule with small group sizes. Check the schedule and reserve ahead. It is a small house and an hour well spent: the story of where the suffrage movement's most persistent organizer came from, told in the rooms where she started.

Greylock Glen Outdoor Center

Developing Greylock Glen was a long-awaited project for the town of Adams. The Glen is the 1,000-plus acres of meadow and forest at the mountain's eastern foot. The Greylock Glen Outdoor Center finally opened on October 11, 2024: a 9,000-square-foot, net-zero building with exhibits, a café, restrooms and classrooms where Mass Audubon runs nature programs. It is a town department, and the master plan develops less than 50 acres of the property, leaving the rest as conservation land.

The Glen Meadow Loop leaves from the back door, a gravel, gently graded walk through young forest, wetland and meadow, with the mountain filling the view the whole way. Trails and parking are open dawn to dusk; the center runs Wednesday through Sunday on seasonal hours. Leashed dogs are welcome on the trails, on leads of ten feet or less.

The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail

The Ashuwillticook runs on the old Boston & Maine Cheshire Branch for about 14 miles, from Pittsfield through Lanesborough and Cheshire into Adams. It is paved, car-free, about ten feet wide, and a state park in its own right. The Adams end is the quiet one. Walk or ride south toward Cheshire for a flat out-and-back with the Hoosac Range on one side and Greylock on the other.

Downtown

Park Street is the main street, a row of brick commercial blocks from the mill era with a handful of diners and lunch counters among them. Small-town hours apply: breakfast places close early afternoon and some keep short weeks. Call ahead before planning a meal around any one spot. For a full dinner reservation, North Adams and Williamstown are a short drive north.

An Adams day

• 9 AM: Breakfast on Park Street, then a drive up to the Glen
• 10 AM: The Glen Meadow Loop, with a stop inside the outdoor center
• 12:30 PM: Lunch, then the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum on its afternoon tour slot
• 3 PM: The rail trail toward Cheshire until the light starts to go
• Evening: Dinner in North Adams or back at the rental

Cannabis in Adams

Adams has a licensed adult-use retailer on Columbia Street, so there is no need to plan a stop in Pittsfield on the way up. Verify licensed status via the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission at masscannabiscontrol.com before buying from any store, and expect a valid photo ID check; adults 21+ only.

Everything else on this page is public space. Massachusetts state law prohibits cannabis consumption in public spaces, and that includes Park Street, the rail trail, the Glen and its trails, the state reservation and the museum grounds.

• Purchases stay sealed and in the trunk while driving
• Consumption belongs in a private residence or rental where the owner allows it
• Start low, go slow with edibles, and never before a hike
• Never drive after consuming; Route 8 and the roads up to the Glen are dark and narrow by 5 PM in late fall

Nearby

North Adams and Williamstown sit just north, and Pittsfield is the drive south along Route 8. The town hub for Adams collects everything else filed here. Licensed stores are listed in the dispensary directory, and the current Berkshires calendar is on the events hub.