Amherst, MA Road Trips

The most popular time to visit Amherst is during autumn, because of the spectacular fall foliage display throughout the area. This usually peaks in mid-October. Views of the foliage can be seen from the surrounding mountains, the hiking trails, and throughout the college campuses. During this time tourists also come to take part in agricultural activities such as apple picking, farmers' markets, and hay rides. The town is usually bustling with college students during the season, making the town congested and sometimes crowded. Although, the students add to the youthful atmosphere of the town and make it lively and energetic.

Gallery A3, 28 Amity Street, ☏ +1 413 256-4250. W-Su 1-7PM. Amherst Art Alliance gallery located in Amherst Cinema complex. Opening receptions first Thursday every month. 1 Emily Dickinson Museum: The Homestead & The Evergreens, 280 Main St, ☏ +1 413 542-8161. Mar-Dec: W-Su 11AM-5PM; extended to 10AM-6PM in June, July, and August. Birthplace and home of Emily Dickinson, and dedicated to celebrating her life and work. Four tours are offered. 2 Mead Art Museum, ☏ +1 413 542-2335. Amherst College. Free. 3 Beneski Museum of Natural History, 11 Barrett Hill Rd, ☏ +1 413 542-2165. Amherst College. Free. (updated Mar 2025) Fine Arts Center, ☏ +1 413 545-2511. Univ. of Mass. 4 Amherst History Museum at the Strong House, 67 Amity St, ☏ +1 413 256-0678, [email protected]. A 1750-era house and 18th-century gardens is the Historical Society's backdrop for the telling of local history by guided tour. Adults $4, Seniors, students and children $3, under 6 free. 5 National Yiddish Book Center, 1021 West St (Route 116), ☏ +1 413 256-4900, [email protected]. Su-F 10Am-4PM. World's only museum devoted exclusively to Yiddish literature and culture. Theater, gardens, exhibits, gallery and English-language bookstore. Suggested donation for adults $12; students and children free. (updated Mar 2025) 6 Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 1025 West Bay Road, ☏ +1 413 658-1100. W-F 10AM-4PM, Sa 10AM-5PM, Su noon-5PM. Collections of picture book art from around the world. Adults $15, Youth (ages 1-18) Students, Teachers, and Seniors (65+)$8.

Because of the large population of college students, there are frequent concerts, and other activities that cater to the college crowd. 1 Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity St, ☏ +1 413 253-2547. Amherst's only non-profit movie theater. Very modern with small but very nice theaters playing primarily independent films. Tickets range from $6.50 to $8.50, offering discount prices for students and members. (updated Mar 2025) Fine Arts Center, ☏ +1 413 545-0481. 145 Fine Arts Center. Located on the UMass campus, this center offers a variety of arts and education programs year round with excellent prices. Make sure to check out their calendar of events when you're in the area. If you're a student at one of the Five Colleges, don't miss your chance to attend a great performance for $7-15. 2 Mullins Center, 200 Commonwealth Ave, ☏ +1 413 545-3001. The Mullins Center is home to UMass Athletics as well as the latest rock and pop bands who frequently make this center a stop on their nationwide tours. There is also a public skating rink as a fun alternative. Just make sure to check their schedule as the rink hours are pretty irregular. (updated Mar 2025) The Norwottuck Rail Trail. Scenic ten-mile paved trail passing through the towns of Amherst, Hadley, and Northampton. Great for biking, jogging, roller blading, or just walking along. There are many places to get on and it's a great way to spend the day with your family, friends, or even on your own, with rest places and picnic tables along the way.

There is an interesting selection of locations for eating out in Amherst, from the traditional college-town fare (pizza, wings, subs) that one would expect from a town with 3 colleges, to some unique and interesting local restaurants. Many are situated in the downtown area, around the intersections of North Pleasant Street (Route 116) and Main Street. Antonio's, 31 North Pleasant St, ☏ +1 413 253-0808. Open daily until 1AM, weekends until 2AM. An Amherst icon serving pizza by the slice. Their cheese pizza is OK but people really come here for their specialty slices such as their chicken blue cheese (white pizza topped with buffalo chicken and blue cheese), quesadilla (chicken, cheese, and pico de gallo topped with tortilla chips), and steak burrito (steak, rice, and beans). Many vegetarian slices too. $3 a slice. Bueno y Sano, ☏ +1 413 253-4000. Boltwood Walk. Giant burritos made from fresh ingredients. Tacos and quesadillas are also on the menu, but the burrito will run you about $6 and you won't be hungry afterwards. The Hangar, 55 University Dr, ☏ +1 413-549-9461. Open daily 11:30AM until 1AM. This place makes chicken wings as an art form. You can get boneless or traditional wings in aptly named sizes such as "747" or "DC-10". Their buffalo sauce has five levels of intensity but their other flavors, such as honey barbecue and teriyaki, are great too. There are an insane number of beers on tap, and you can get delivery too (wings, not beer). Their delivery business is named Wings (549-9464). $5-$10. Pho Noodle Soup, ☏ +1 413 253-0007. 41 Boltwood Walk.

Amherst Brewing Company, 10 University Drive, ☏ +1 413 253-4400. Daily 11:30AM until 1AM. It's in here as a restaurant and a bar because it's both. The ABC brews and serves a full selection of their own beers. It's not the cheapest place to drink but there are more expensive. A beer or a cocktail will run you $3-4. There is live music on Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, with karaoke some Thursdays. Moan and Dove, 460 West St, ☏ +1 413 256-1710. (Route 116). Open until 1AM. The selection of excellent lesser-known brews is the Moan and Dove's claim to fame. Boasting a constantly rotating list of beers you've never heard of, this is a must-see on a drinking tour of Amherst. This bar does not accept out of state IDs without a backup form of identification. The "college bars", North Pleasant Street. They're pretty much identical: Charlie's, McMurphy's, Delano's. Cheap pitchers or pints of your favorite light American lager. You may want to target one of these bars if you misplaced your valid ID and have to "borrow" someone else's. The Spoke, North Pleasant St. The best dive in town. Not quite chi-chi like ABC or Moan and Dove, but not quite childish like above-mentioned "college bars." Sit down for a $1.50 draft, play some pool (free on Tuesdays), and sometimes they even make free sandwiches. The Harp, 163 Sunderland Rd. Irish bar with live Irish music on Friday nights, and an interesting menu. The must try menu item are the Irish nachos, although the current ones are not as good as their original recipe was. High Horse, 24 N Pleasant St, ☏ +1 413 230-3034.

Accommodations are sometimes tough to get and are damn near impossible during high demand times like graduation, parents' weekend at the colleges, or football Saturdays. Book ahead of time if you know you're going to be in the area. Also look to Hadley or South Deerfield for some closer lodging or stay in Holyoke, or Springfield and make the 45 minute drive. 1 The Black Walnut Inn, 1184 North Pleasant Street, ☏ +1 413 549-5649, fax: +1 413-549-5149. 10 rooms. (updated Oct 2016) 2 Inn on Boltwood, 30 Boltwood Ave, ☏ +1 413-256-8200, fax: +1 413-256-6152. Forty rooms and eight suites. An on-site farm to table restaurant 30Boltwood. Owned by Amherst College. (updated Mar 2025) 3 Emily's Amherst Bed & Breakfast, 71 North Prospect St, ☏ +1 413 549-0733. Great location, close to the center of town. (updated Oct 2016) 4 Allen House Victorian Inn, 599 Main Street, ☏ +1 413 253-5000. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. Historical bed and breakfast inn opposite Emily Dickinson Homestead. 15 rooms $105. (updated Oct 2016) By far the cheapest and best way to see and stay in Amherst, though, is by couch surfing. Being a college town, there are a lot of very receptive, very low-key locals (read: students living off campus) who would love to host friendly travelers. Of course, staying with a total stranger can be daunting, even unsafe, so make sure to contact your host prior to arrival, have a backup plan, and use resources like www.couchsurfing.com which allow users to review and rate couch surfers and hosts.

Route 9 is the main road in and out of town, and it can get pretty busy when the colleges are in session. Extended construction has just been completed on the art deco Route 9 Calvin Coolidge Bridge over the Connecticut River between Northampton and Hadley, markedly easing the congestion as one approaches Amherst. Route 116 is the picturesque central artery through Amherst. UMass, Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the main shopping district are all situated along 116. I-91 is the main north-south artery through the Pioneer Valley area, providing access to Route 9 for drivers approaching from Northern New England or Connecticut and New York City. Please look out for drunk drivers during the nights after college students are finishing their parties! Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA), ☏ +1 413 586-5806, toll-free: +1-877-779-PVTA (7882). Operates a good bus system that can take you between the UMass campus, Northampton, and South Hadley with limited service as far east as Worcester and as far south as Springfield. Inter-campus PVTA routes are free for Five College students, enabling PVTA the claim to fame of operating the second-largest free-fare public transit system in the world (second only to the entire nation of the Netherlands). Peter Pan, 79 South Pleasant Street, ☏ +1 413-256-0431. Buses can take you to Springfield, Hartford, New York City, or further. Megabus. Service from New York City, Hartford, Montpelier, and Burlington.