Connecticut River Scenic Byway
Connecticut River Scenic Byway is a National Scenic Byway in Massachusetts. Within Massachusetts it covers roughly 40 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Connecticut River Scenic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
The Connecticut River Byway crosses 39 miles of the Connecticut River Valley in western Massachusetts, following Routes 63 and 47 through Franklin and Hampshire counties. A National Scenic Byway, it passes through Northfield, Erving, Montague, Sunderland, Hadley, and South Hadley, linking a chain of Colonial-era river towns amid family farms, forested hills, and open pastures, with more than 1,200 nationally significant historic properties along its length. Historic Deerfield, an open-air museum preserving one of New England's best-documented colonial villages, and the 1782 barn housing the Hadley Farm Museum anchor the byway's historical core, while the Summit House atop Mount Holyoke and the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum add further depth. Mount Sugarloaf, Mount Toby, and Mount Holyoke all offer hiking trails with sweeping valley views, and J.A. Skinner State Park connects to the 215-mile New England National Scenic Trail.
- 39 miles on Routes 63 & 47
- National Scenic Byway
- 1,200+ historic properties along the route
- Historic Deerfield open-air museum
- Summit House, Mount Holyoke
- New England National Scenic Trail access
Designated for its historic qualities
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Places to stop along Connecticut River Scenic Byway
Northfield Drive-In
One of the last drive-in movie theaters left in Massachusetts, showing double features on summer nights.
Montague Book Mill
A 19th-century gristmill on the Sawmill River turned used bookshop, cafe, and gallery, famous for its slogan about books you don't need in a place you can't find.
Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation
A red sandstone peak with a summit road and observation tower looking over the river's broad farmland.
Sunderland Buttonball Tree
A huge old American sycamore on Main Street, said to be one of the largest in the Northeast.
Porter-Phelps-Huntington House
A 1752 farmstead museum in Hadley telling the story of three generations of a prosperous river-valley family, with summer concerts.
Hadley Farm Museum
A restored 1782 barn full of farm tools, wagons, and household objects from the valley's agricultural past.
Mount Holyoke Summit House
A 19th-century summit hotel in Skinner State Park with views of the oxbow in the Connecticut River that inspired Thomas Cole's famous painting.
Where to Stay along Connecticut River Scenic Byway
No campgrounds are listed close to Connecticut River Scenic Byway yet, but there are rooms near the route.
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What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.