MASSACHUSETTS - Berkshires/Pioneer Valley/Mohawk Trail

On a bright winter’s day, antique hounds should get into the car and set out for the Berkshires region of southwestern of Massachusetts, where great antique shopping is clustered in a 20-mile strip from Sheffield to Lenox. As a sampling: Sheffield has Cupboards & Roses Swedish Antiques, with painted furniture from Sweden and Denmark; Painted Porch Antiques, with English, French and Canadian country furniture; and Susan Silver Antiques, selling English & Continental formal furniture, library furniture and mirrors. That’s a tiny taste of what you can find, with more help from the Berkshire County Massachusetts Antiques and Art Dealers Association.

A decidedly outdoor sport moves indoors at the Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center , a public shooting facility on Page Boulevard in Springfield, where shooting lanes are available for use by non-members. If you have wondered about the sport of shooting and want to give it a try, this is a place to do it. Smith & Wesson firearms and targets are available at two classrooms and other support facilities. Through the Try-A-Gun offer, any non-licensed person may use a handgun, one box of ammunition, and three targets. The facility also has a historical exhibit that focuses on the development of firearms and the the Connecticut Valley firearms industry. Phone: 800-331-0852.

Poet’s Seat Tower in Rocky Mountain Park in Greenfield is an idyllic location for walking, bird-watching or peaceful contemplation. Poet’s Seat Tower was built in 1912 and has a long history of poets being drawn to the spot. The park currently consists of three trails which are extensions of a local and regional trail network. The local trails connect other parks, including Abercrombie Field, Highland Park and Temple Woods designated by red, blue and yellow trail markers. The regional trail, The Pocumtuck, connects Greenfield to the Sugarloaf Mountains in South Deerfield and links with the Blue trail in the Rocky Mountain Park creating a regional link to the south. Phone: 413-772-1553.

On the first Friday of every month from September though May, the Springfield Science Museum at 21 Edwards Street in Springfield offers public star-gazing for families from its large rooftop telescope. The program is held rain or shine. If it is overcast, a planetarium show will be presented in place of telescope viewing. The Stars Over Springfield observatory program features an introductory slide show on topics such as space exploration, seasonal sights of the night sky, current astronomical research, or an explanation of events such as an eclipse or the appearance of a comet. Presenters and topics vary. The programs are best suited for families with children ages 8 and older, but younger children are also welcome. Time: 7:30 p.m. Phone: 413-263-6800, ext. 318.

WalkingTalkingTours of Northampton offers a variety of fun, informative walking tours of two of New England’s most lovely and sophisticated towns: Northampton and Amherst. The signature tour of Main Street in Northampton includes scenes and stories of the Old Hampshire County Courthouse, Calvin Coolidge, chocolate making, a special lady honored by the Emperor of Japan, and local food samplings. The tour Movies and More uncovers filming locations, and the Hot Chocolate Walk takes visitors on and exploration of six buildings in downtown Northampton. Fun, historic, memorable. Phone: 413-887-7716.

This is one of New England's most popular destinations, with lots of fun shopping and holiday spirit. Yankee Candle Village on Routes 5 and 10 in South Deerfield offers a unique shopping, entertainment, and dining experience. Explore the largest selection of Yankee Candle fragrances and styles. Stroll through the Bavarian Christmas Village, Nutcracker Castle, and Home Store. Enjoy fabulous candle, home décor, and holiday shopping. Savor freshly made fudge and other sweet treats in the Fudge Shop. Dip your own candles and watch history brought to life in the Candlemaking Museum. Open daily. Phone: 877-636-7707.

Tucked away in a shaded area of Eastern States Exposition, Storrowtown Village Museum, at 1305 Memorial Avenue in West Springfield is a permanent reminder of New England life in bygone days. The Village is an authentic, recreated village of nine 18th- and 19th-century buildings from Massachusetts and New Hampshire, assembled around a traditional town green. A tour of Storrowton offers an intimate look at Early American living with all the ingredients for a meaningful historic experience. Storytelling and activity programs run throughout the year and include topics like Life at the Lowell Mills, Early American Crafts, Maple Harvest Day, Aunt Helen's Herb Garden Tour, Tales of Haunted New England. A great place for children. Phone: 413-737-2443

Lee Premium Outlets on Water Street in Lee, in the heart of the Berkshires, is a shopping mecca. If you can name a national brand, you can probably find it here. Lots of seasonal specials. Open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Phone: 413-243-8186

Wistariahurst Museum at 238 Cabot Street in Holyoke was the home of silk manufacturer William Skinner and his family. The house has stood as an example of elegance and fine architecture since 1874. The museum features original leather wall coverings, columns, elaborate woodwork and an interesting tale of how two generations perceived and used the house very differently. The museum's permanent collection includes decorative arts; paintings and prints, textiles and a rich manuscript collection of family and local papers. Whether it’s a look back in time at the lives of early 1900’s servants, the impact of the Latino community, or a celebration of the work of local painters and photographers, there is always an array of exhibits that will engage visitors. House tours Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, noon to 4 p.m. Phone: 413-322-5660.

The Berkshire region is home to some of the finest dealers of antiques, art, and collectibles in the United States, and this is nothing new. In 1923, an issue of “Antiques” magazine described dealers in Pittsfield, Williamstown, and Great Barrington, and the number continued to grow. A day of antique hunting could begin at Cupboards & Roses in Sheffield for Swedish painted furniture; Elise Abrams in Great Barrington, overflowing with fine antiques for dining; Charles Flint Antiques in Lenox, with fine art and American and European antiques and Robert W. Wise offering estate and fine jewelry. In Williamstown, Library Art & Antiques sells furniture and accessories from all over the world. See more at the website for Berkshire County Antiques & Art Dealer Association.

At the Flynt Center of Early New England Life at Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, visitors can peer into the daily lives of Colonial Americans through a range of exhibits and a visible storage area known as the Museum’s Attic. Subjects of recent exhibits include the crafting of Early American furniture; early American textiles, costumes, and fiber arts; and engraved powder horns from the French and Indian War and American Revolutionary War. The Museum’s Attic contains fine decorative arts, including important collections of English and Chinese export ceramics. Hours: April 16-November 27, daily, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Winter hours are weekends only. Phone: 413-775-7132.

Berkshire East’s Beastly Tubing Park at 66 South River Road in Charlemont is open and ready to live up to its name. The park will be open on the weekends in the 2010-2011 season. Berkshire East has three 450-foot tubing lanes and a minimum height requirement of 42 inches. The Beastly Tubing Park is open weekends from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tickets are sold for two-hour blocks. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m. in the West Lodge. Phone: 413-339-6617

Rare artifacts, including the lifejacket that belonged to Mrs. John Jacob Astor, tell the story of history’s most famous doomed ocean liner at the Titanic Historical Society Museum, located at 208 Main Street in Indian Orchard. The Titanic Historical Society's collection, one of its greatest strengths, is its collected works of rare Titanic survivor artifacts, one of the finest anywhere. The collection covers a broad scope of Titanic's rich history, from original blueprints of her tank top. to the 21st century where the ship has become a popular icon from movies and TV. Significant items include the nearly nine-foot Titanic model found at the entrance, authentic English china and place settings from the boat, and a carved oak chair from the dining room. Open year-round, daily, except Sundays and holidays. Phone: 413-543-4770.

Tubing is a fun way to finish off the weekend and provides an optional activity to skiing and snowboarding. The seven-lane tubing park at Butternut Ski Area at 380 State Road (Route 23) in Great Barrington makes sliding downhill fun for everyone! The Tubing Center is located on the far left side of the main parking lot. The center has it's own ticketing building and offers 200 tubes, up to 7 chutes, a dedicated handle lift that makes getting back to the top easy and fun, and total snowmaking coverage. Phone: 413-528-2000.

Children's Museum at 444 Dwight Street in Holyoke is a wonderful and fanciful place where children and adults learn together about art, science, and the world around them. Through hands-on exhibits, children discover how the world works, explore new roles for themselves, and learn by doing. Exhibits are designed by education professionals and are hands-on, participatory, exciting, and fun thinking-doing-discovery activities. When you visit, look for the hospital area, including an ambulance; the papermaking factory; the TV Studio and FETCH!Lab; the forklift truck, the cityscape, the theater, and the creation art studio. Open year-round, Wednesdays to Sundays. Phone: 413-536-KIDS.

Billing itself as a “true family mountain,” Butternut, on State Road / Route 23 in Great Barrington, puts a heavy emphasis of bringing the beginners of all ages and particularly the youngest learners into the sport. From the SKIwee (for age 4 to 12) and miniRIDERS (age 7 to 12) programs through racing workshops, Butternut declares that its group and private lessons are guaranteed to improve children's confidence and skill at skiing and snowboarding. The message is that “first times” are welcome. Phone: 413-528-2000.

The Noble & Cooley drum museum at 42 Water Street, in Granville is located within the historic buildings of the Noble & Cooley drum factory, where guests can experience Yankee ingenuity from the mid-1800s forward. Noble & Cooley is a surviving example of the manufacturing firms that were once plentiful in the remote valleys of New England, and it still operates today. Silas Noble, a mechanic, and James P. Cooley, an entrepreneur, started by making drums in Noble's farmhouse kitchen. The drums sold quickly and in 1856 they built their first factory. Visitors interested in manufacturing history, drums, and the Berkshires region can see where this long-lived business began and watch its continued operations to this day. Open first and third Sundays of the month from noon to 3 p.m. and other times by appointment. Phone: 413-357-8814.

Hasbro GameLand, featuring one of the classic good guys of childhood – Mr. Potato Head – is a dynamic new hands-on exhibit for children at the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum at 21 Edwards Street in Springfield. The exhibit pays tribute to Springfield entrepreneur Milton Bradley and explores games of memory, chance, speed, imagination, strategy and word play. Brightly colored and decorated with images of familiar board games, the bilingual Hasbro GameLand incorporates interactive elements of some of the iconic games produced by the company, such as an oversized, operable spinner from The Game of Life. In the Word Play section kids can play word search games on a large touch screen. The Coordination Station invites kids to test their balance standing on raised wobbly disks. At the Racing Station children compete as they pedal to raise balls to the top of a large contraption inspired by the game Mouse Trap. Fun, fanciful, and sure to be a hit with children. Milton Bradley knows best! Phone: 800-625-7738.

Visit the Ten Thousand Villages store at 82 Main Street in Northampton to browse and purchase beautiful folk art, ceramics, textiles, baskets, jewelry, wall hangings and wall art, pillows, rugs, mirrors, vases, incense, candleholders, and furniture handmade by artists in developing parts of the world. Each product reflects the traditions and cultures of its maker. Enjoy the international music, smell the aroma of gourmet coffee, and taste the luxuriously rich chocolate. Your fair trade purchase of handmade jewelry, home decor and gifts helps improve the lives of thousands of artisans in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Phone: 413-582-9338.

Call him a robber baron, but at least J. P. Morgan took care of his kid sister; the mansion built for her in 1893 is a testament to that. Ventfort Hall in Lenox is an imposing Jacobean Revival-style mansion with a history dating back to the grandeur and opulence of the Gilded Age. Despite its brush with demolition in the 1980s, today the mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and declared an official project of “Save America’s Treasures.” Visitors can tour the grand estate, peruse the art gallery, or simply enjoy the architecture. Open daily year round. Phone: 413-637-3206.