Route 23 (Massachusetts) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Route 23 is a west–east route in the western Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

counties of Berkshire

Berkshire County, Massachusetts

Berkshire County is a non-governmental county located on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,219. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield...

and Hampden

Hampden County, Massachusetts

-Demographics:As of the census of 2004, there were 461,228 people, 175,288 households, and 115,690 families residing in the county. The population density was 738 people per square mile . There were 185,876 housing units at an average density of 301 per square mile...

. The entire route is 38.43 miles (61.8 km). The vast majority of the road (approximately 31.2 miles) follows the Knox Trail, the historic route of General Henry Knox

Henry Knox

Henry Knox was a military officer of the Continental Army and later the United States Army, and also served as the first United States Secretary of War....

took to bring cannon from Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States...

on Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain

Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...

in New York to aid in ending the Siege of Boston

Siege of Boston

The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...

in the winter of 1775-76.

Route description

Route 23 begins at the New York state border at Egremont, Massachusetts

Egremont, Massachusetts

Egremont is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,225 at the 2010 census. Egremont consists of two villages, North Egremont and South Egremont....

, as a continuation of New York State Route 23

New York State Route 23

New York State Route 23 is an east–west state highway in the eastern portion New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 26 in the Central New York town of Cincinnatus to the Massachusetts state line in the Berkshire Mountains, where it continues east as...

from Hillsdale

Hillsdale, New York

Hillsdale is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 1,744 at the 2000 census.- History :The region was taken from the Town of Claverack in 1782. The Town of Hillsdale was established in 1788....

. The road passes Catamount Ski Area

Catamount Ski Area

Catamount Ski Area is a ski resort located on Mount Fray of the Taconic Mountains in Hillsdale, New York and South Egremont, Massachusetts. It is one of the few remaining family-owned ski areas in New England.-History:...

and the village of South Egremont before merging with Route 41, just west of Great Barrington

Great Barrington, Massachusetts

Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,104 at the 2010 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, Great Barrington includes the villages of Van...

. It passes the Egremont Country Club and the Great Barrington Airport before passing the eastern terminus of Route 71. At this point the road becomes the Knox Trail. From there the road heads towards the town center, merging with U.S. Route 7

U.S. Route 7

U.S. Route 7 is a north–south United States highway in western New England that runs for from Norwalk, Connecticut, to Highgate, Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 in Norwalk, Connecticut...

, following that road for one mile (1.6 km) before leaving Route 41, with Routes 7 and 23 turning eastward, crossing the Housatonic River

Housatonic River

The Housatonic River is a river, approximately long, in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United States. It flows south to southeast, and drains about of southwestern New England into Long Island Sound...

.
After another half-mile, U.S. Route 7 heads northward, leaving Route 23 to head eastward, this time combined with Route 183

Massachusetts Route 183

Massachusetts Route 183 is a north–south state highway in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The entire route travels from Lenox to Sandisfield at the Connecticut state border. The entire route is long , with several miles running in a silent concurrency with other routes .-Route...

. (There is a Knox Trail marker at this point.) The two pass Butternut Basin Ski Area

Ski Butternut

Ski Butternut is a ski resort in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, located on Warner Mountain in The Berkshires.The ski area was first opened by the New Haven Railroad as Warner Mountain Ski Area in the 1936-37 ski season...

before crossing the Appalachian Trail

Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...

and entering Monterey

Monterey, Massachusetts

Monterey is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 934 at the 2000 census.- History :...

. Just east of the line, Route 183 heads south at the western terminus of Route 57

Massachusetts Route 57

Route 57 is an east–west Massachusetts state route that runs from Monterey to Agawam. The eastern 5.0 miles in Agawam is a freeway that runs from Route 187 to the route's eastern terminus at U.S. Route 5.- Route description :...

, leaving Route 23 alone. From there, the road passes through Monterey, running parallel to and eventually crossing the Konkapot River

Konkapot River

The Konkapot River is a river in southwestern Massachusetts and northern Connecticut. It is a tributary of the Housatonic River, not to be confused with the smaller Konkapot Brook in Stockbridge ....

near the center of town. The road passes Lake Garfield and Chestnut Hill before crossing into Otis

Otis, Massachusetts

Otis is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,365 at the 2000 census....

. The road crosses through a section of Otis State Forest and passes the Otis Ridge Ski Area before merging for a short time with Route 8 through the town's center. From there, the road heads eastward again, passing between Big Pond, Benton Pond and the Otis Reservoir

Otis Reservoir

Otis Reservoir is a reservoir located primarily in Otis, Massachusetts. Small portions are also in Tolland, MA, and Blandford, MA. The lake is popular for boating, swimming, fishing, water skiing, snowmobiling, camping, and water-related recreation. Fish include lake trout, bass, white perch,...

(this area is also the site of another Knox Trail marker) towards the Hampden County line and the town of Blandford

Blandford, Massachusetts

Blandford is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,233 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the home of the Blandford Ski Area.- History :...

. Once in Blandford, the road heads due east, passing Miller Swamp, Jackson Hill and Blair Pond before entering the town's center, at which point the road begins to runs parallel to the south of Interstate 90

Interstate 90

Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in...

(the Massachusetts Turnpike

Massachusetts Turnpike

The Massachusetts Turnpike is the easternmost stretch of Interstate 90. The Turnpike begins at the western border of Massachusetts in West Stockbridge connecting with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway...

). Route 23 enters Russell

Russell, Massachusetts

Russell is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,775 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, heading south of Punchbowl Mountain. The Knox Trail leaves the route at Knox Mountain Road, and the route crosses an overpass over the interstate before finally ending 1.1 miles (1.8 km) east at the junction of U.S. Route 20

U.S. Route 20

U.S. Route 20 is an east–west United States highway. As the "0" in its route number implies, US 20 is a coast-to-coast route. Spanning , it is the longest road in the United States, and the route sparsely parallels Interstate 90...

near the town's center.

Junction list

{|class=wikitable
!County
!Location
!Mile
!Routes Intersected
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=9|Berkshire

Berkshire County, Massachusetts

|rowspan=2|Egremont

Egremont, Massachusetts

Great Barrington, Massachusetts

Henry Knox Trail

The Henry Knox Trail, also known as the Knox Cannon Trail, is a network of roads and paths that traces the route of Colonel Henry Knox's "noble train of artillery" from Fort Ticonderoga to the Continental Army camp outside Boston, Massachusetts early in the American Revolutionary War.-History:Knox...