Point your car toward the Berkshires of Massachusetts and the Green Mountains of Vermont.

When it comes to summer road trips, it doesn’t get much better than a 151-mile drive through the Berkshires of Massachusetts and the Green Mountains of Vermont, according to AAA members.

Of the more than 450 pre-planned road trips AAA offers (42 of which are in New England), five have proven the most popular for summer road trips based on member road trip routing data, according to AAA. Among the top five is a route AAA calls Northern New England road trip.

When you choose this trip, “You’ll travel the backroads of New England on this trek through the Berkshires of Massachusetts and the Green Mountains of Vermont,” writes AAA. “Quaint country inns, steepled churches and weathered barns—some predating the Revolutionary War—dot the roadside.”

AAA breaks the 3-hour-and-53-minute trip down into the following three legs:

Greenfield to Williamstown

“SR 2 traverses the Mohawk Trail, which originated as a Native American footpath; it was declared a scenic byway in the early 1900s,” writes AAA. “At an elevation of 2,272 feet, the highest point along the road is Whitcomb Summit. Sweeping views of the Taconic and Green Mountain ranges are followed by a descent to the trail’s famous hairpin turn.”

AAA recommends stopping at the following three spots along this route: The Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls and Gramercy Bistro and the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), both in North Adams.

Williamstown to Bennington

“From SR 2, the trip heads north on US 7 into Vermont and Green Mountain National Forest, abundant with mossy glades of oak, maple and pine,” writes AAA. “The ‘Green Mountain Boys,’ a division of the Vermont militia, put this region on the map when they captured Fort Ticonderoga in 1775. Along with its Revolutionary War history, Bennington is known for its glazed stoneware.”

AAA recommends stopping at the following three spots along this route: Clark Art Institute in Williamstown and Bennington Museum and Four Chimney’s Inn, both in Bennington.

Bennington to Brattleboro

“SR9, aka the Molly Stark Trail, dips and climbs through Green Mountain National Forest,” writes AAA. “Just past Searsburg (which is famously home to a wind turbine farm) is the Harriman Reservoir or Lake Whitingham. Created in 1923, the body of water boasts a surface area of 2,039 acres. Your tour ends in Brattleboro, the site of Vermont’s first permanent English settlement.”

AAA recommends stopping at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester along this route.

You can view a map of the entire route here.

The remaining summer road trips in the top five, according to AAA, are Las Vegas to National Parks; Northern California and Southern Oregon coast; Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina; and Black Hills, South Dakota.

By: Boston.com