Bonnie Brae Campground

Leisurely stays ought to get started with an afternoon or two on the links five minutes’ drive from base, where guests can play through on the 18-hole course before heading into Pittsfield itself (10 minutes’ drive) to explore the arboretum, visit the Berkshire Museum, wander about Samuel Harrison House and Herman Melville’s Arrowhead, and spend a few bucks in stores. Get a further feel for the area’s history at the museum of paper making (10 minutes), the Hancock Shaker Village (20 minutes) and the Norman Rockwell museum (35 minutes). The site’s also just 25 minutes from the famed Tanglewood – the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra – and the Clark Art Institute, and 30 minutes from the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. For culture of a different sort, head along to the Lebanon Valley Speedway (30 minutes) for races and track days, or let things take a more laidback turn on vineyard tours and wine tastings at the nearby winery (15 minutes). City days are a cinch too, as it’s about an hour’s drive to Albany and its museums, river tours and shopping, as well as visits to the Schuyler Mansion and the New York State Capitol.