Route 23 is a west–east route in the western

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

counties of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and Hampden. The entire route is . Most of the road, approximately , follows the Knox Trail, the historic route of General

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...

took to bring cannon from

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French milit ...

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

in New York to aid in ending the

Siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army, which was garrisoned in what was then the peninsular town ...

in the winter of 1775–76. Prior to 1939, Route 23 was numbered as Route 17, which extended from Great Barrington to the New York state line.

Route description

Route 23 begins at the New York state border at

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 1,372 at the 2020 census. Egremont consists of two villages, North Egremont and S ...

, as a continuation of

New York State Route 23 New York State Route 23 (NY 23) is an east–west state highway in the eastern portion of New York in the United States. It extends for from an intersection with NY 26 in the Central New York town of Cincinnatus in Cortland Coun ...

from Hillsdale. The road passes

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. Catamount is one of three ski areas in the southern Berkshires; the others are Butternut in Great Barri ...

and the village of South Egremont before merging with Route 41, just west of Great Barrington. 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 (US 7) is a north–south United States highway in western New England that runs for through the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 (I-95) exit 15 ...

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

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...

. After another half-mile, U.S. Route 7 heads northward, leaving Route 23 to head eastward, this time combined with Route 183. (There is a Knox Trail marker at this point.) The two pass Butternut Basin Ski Area before crossing the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

and entering

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

. Just east of the line, Route 183 heads south at the western terminus of Route 57, leaving Route 23 alone. From there, the road passes through Monterey, running parallel to and eventually crossing the

Konkapot River The Konkapot River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in southwestern Massachusetts and northern Connecticut. It is a tributary of the Housatonic R ...

near the center of town. The road passes Lake Garfield and Chestnut Hill before crossing into Otis. 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 (this area is also the site of another Knox Trail marker) towards the Hampden County line and the town of

Blandford Blandford Forum ( ), commonly Blandford, is a market town in Dorset, England, sited by the River Stour about northwest of Poole. It was the administrative headquarters of North Dorset District until April 2019, when this was abolished and i ...

. 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 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

(the

Massachusetts Turnpike The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state li ...

). Route 23 enters Russell, 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 east at the junction of

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

near the town's center.

Major intersections

Gallery

Image:US-7, MA-41 and MA-23.jpg, Route 23 and US 7 leave Route 41 in Great Barrington. Image:MA Route 23 eastbound entering Otis MA.jpg, Route 23 enters Otis. Image:Otis-Knox Trail Stone.JPG, A Knox Trail stone along Route 23 in East Otis.

References

{{Commons category, Massachusetts Route 23
Neilbert.com Massachusetts Route Log
023 Transportation in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Transportation in Hampden County, Massachusetts