Running east from North Adams toward Greenfield and I-91, and taking its name from the warpath used for raids against Algonquian settlements along the upper Connecticut River Valley, the Mohawk Trail (Route 2) was one of the nation’s first scenic highways, improved and paved as early as 1914 as part of a massive state effort to lure tourists into this cash-deprived farm belt of New England. If you’re driving an overloaded or underpowered vehicle, you’ll appreciate the thrill and radiator-popping risks that once attended the slow switchback grind up around the attention-getting Hairpin Turn at the edge of the Western Summit. The turn is so tight that signs insist on a 15-mph speed limit, and people who don’t abide by the rules are likely to find themselves screeching around past the sightseers at the Golden Eagle Restaurant. Further up, at the top of the hill, the tidy Wigwam Summit Motel ($50–80; 413/663-3205), one of many photogenic old motor courts along the route, has been taking in guests since the road was built. Don’t be fooled by the short stretch of gentle ups and downs east of the summit over the glacier-flattened mountain peaks: The route east along the tortuous Cold River ravine quickens the pulse, even in these days of power steering and anti-lock brakes, especially if you get sandwiched between a pair of 18-wheelers, whose burning brake pads sometimes scent the air all the way down the valley.
East of the summit, dropping down into the valley of the Deerfield River, you pass groups of kayakers and some roadside stands offering rentals of inner tubes—the whitewater equivalent of a recliner, and the preferred mode of transport for those interested in relaxing and enjoying the ride. More serious river runners may want to sign up for one of the trips offered by Zoar Outdoors (413/339-4010). There are also some enticingly kitschy old Indian trading posts, packed full of postcards, plastic tomahawks, and moccasins; my personal favorite is the Big Indian, fronted by a historically inaccurate, politically incorrect, and photogenically irresistible 35-foot-tall statue of a Plains Indian. Another giant Indian statue, a half-ton bronze entitled Hail to the Sunrise, stands along Route 2 just west of the town of Charlemont.
