The Pioneer Valley is an excellent place for a weekend away with lots to see and do.
Northampton
Northampton itself is a charming college town with cafes, bars, restaurants, and shops.
Smith College
Founded in 1871, Smith College opened in 1875. The campus and surrounding grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and are beautiful for an afternoon stroll. Take a walk around Paradise Pond and visit the Botanic Gardens and Lyman Plant House.
The Smith College Art Museum
Smith College's Art Museum includes paintings, sculptures, works on paper (prints, drawings, photographs, and books), antiquities, decorative arts, and emerging collections of non-Western art. The building is beautiful and houses an impressive collection.
Look Memorial Park (Florence)
Over 150 acres, Look Park features walking paths for quiet strolls as well as picnic areas, playgrounds, ball fields, miniature golf, paddle boats, and the Christensen Zoo.
Amherst
Like Northampton, Amherst is a lovely college town with a lot of local flavor.
The National Yiddish Book Center
Founded by Aaron Lansky in 1980, the Yiddish Book Center houses a collection of thousands of Yiddish books, papers, and other materials.
Amherst College
Amherst College was founded in 1821. You can walk the grounds, visit its fine museums or its 500 acre wildlife sanctuary.
The Emily Dickenson Museum
Amherst is home to The Homestead, where poet Emily Dickenson was born and lived most of her life, and the Evergreens, home of her brother and his family.
Amherst College Beneski Museum of Natural History
Located on Amherst College's campus, the Museum showcases fossils and minerals collected locally and abroad, many by past and present students and professors.
UMASS Fine Arts Center
UMass's Fine Arts Center houses three different galleries with impressive permanent collections as well as constantly changing exhibits. The center also advances music and the performing arts.
Greater Area
For outdoorsy folks interested in acres of woods, check out Mount Tom or Skinner State Park and the historic Mt. Holyoke Summit House for hikes.
Springfield, just half an hour south of Northampton and Amherst off of I-95, is home to a number of wonderful museums including two art museums, two history museums, and the Springfield Science Center. You can also visit the Dr. Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden and the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Shelburne Falls is a small town located on the historic Mohawk Trail in the Berkshire foothills. It's a scenic drive, about an hour from Northampton and Amherst, and the town is home to the Bridge of Flowers and Glacial Potholes in the center of the falls.
North Adams is home to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, housed in a converted factory building. Mass MOCA one of the largest centers for contemporary visual art and performing arts in the US.
