The Western Summit — a west-facing overlook and the historic Wigwam gift shop, opened in 1914, with a three-state panorama across North Adams and Williamstown to Mount Greylock and the Taconic Crest.
A little way past Whitcomb you'll come to a second great overlook, the Western Summit, and you'll want this one too — because now you're on the far side of the mountains, looking west, and the whole world drops away in front of you. Pull in at the old gift shop they call the Wigwam, which has stood right here welcoming travelers since 1914, the very first year the road was open.
From this rail you can see into three states. Straight down below is the valley cradling North Adams and Williamstown; rising over it, big and long, is Mount Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts, with its stone tower just visible on the crown. Beyond that lie the mountains of Vermont and, running off to the west, the Taconic Crest along the New York line. This overlook faces the sunset, so if you time it right on a clear evening, you'll watch the sun go down over the whole Berkshire skyline. In October, with the hills below you turned to fire, it is about as good as a view gets in New England.
Catch your breath and fill your eyes. Because right after this, the road tips over the edge and drops toward the valley — and it does it around the most famous bend on the whole Trail.
Photo: Tichnor Bros. Inc., Boston, Mass. · Public domain
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