I labeled the trail type as "fire roads" only because all of the other available selections were even worse fits. It's actually an old railroad bed with the tracks taken up and most of the old track ballast removed. It's too wide to call "singletrack."
The Berkshire Rail Trail is different from other rail trails Ive heard of in two ways. First it isnt paved (yet, anyway.) Second it isnt getting much use (probably because its not paved.)
It runs from the center of Adams to the Berkshire Mall in Cheshire, a one-way distance of about 9 miles. The surface is mostly hard-packed dirt, with a few short sections of old track ballast (i.e., small, sharp-edged rock chips jingle stones.) When I first rode this trail a year or so ago, the first mile or so, and numerous shorter sections along the trail, were covered with a layer of track ballast deep enough to make riding exceedingly difficult. But by last fall this was reduced to a few small patches, with ballast stones just scattered lightly over most of the trail.
Theres a very slight, almost imperceptible uphill grade from Adams to Cheshire. Its so slight that you dont even see it, but you can feel it in your legs.
This is not an exciting ride by any means, but its a pleasant one. The scenery is nice spectacular in autumn. The trail follows the south (I think!) branch of the Hoosic River, and passes by three small lakes in Cheshire. Only the first half-mile or so, as you leave the center of Adams, is in town.
Ive ridden this trail twice, and both times I was amazed at the lack of traffic. The first time was a perfect spring day, the Sunday of last years Memorial Day weekend. My friend and I rode the length of the trail and back, and on the entire trip we saw five other people: a kid on a motorcycle pulled onto the trail from a side trail, rode a few hundred yards, and turned off on another side trail; an elderly man was walking his dog on the trail; and we saw three guys fishing in the river. They werent even on the trail, just close enough to it so we could see them. One day last fall we rode the length of the trail again, and that time we didnt see another person all day.
Eventually, the trail is supposed to be paved. But the plans to pave it are presently mired in controversy about how wide the paved strip should be, and the environmental impact of paving it in the different possible widths that are being considered. These matters arent likely to be resolved this year, and maybe not next year or even the year after. Until they are, the trail will remain unpaved.
This trail would be a great place to bring someone whos new to off-road riding, and who isnt ready yet for a serious dirt thrash. It would also be good for an early-season conditioning ride, to start getting your legs back in shape after a winter layoff. And its a great place for a laid-back scenic foliage ride in the autumn.

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Start at the Adams end; that way the return trip will be slightly downhill.

The latest word, from a friend who lives in Adams, is that this trail is about to be PAVED! Grading is to begin during April (2000), with paving to begin as soon as the grading is complete. Due to the work involved in widening the roadbed in some spots where it isn't ten feet wide - the proposed width of the pavement - the job is projected to take a year. When it's finished, roadies will have a nice place to play away from the traffic. But for us MTBers, the end is near for what had been a good place for newbies to get a feel for riding off-road, or for anyone to get back in condition after a winter's layoff.

Customer Service

This is an update of my earlier review.

The trail is paved from the center of cheshire to the birkshire mall. Its about a 4-5 mile trip one way. It is avery easy ride(maybe an hour and a half to ride from cheshire to the mall and back).There are usually a lot of paople on it(biking, rollerlading, etc.)I just started to get seriously into mountain biking and i found this to be a good place for a person to train before going onto a real mountain trail.

Customer Service

It seems the same either way you go.

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Definately try out the trails in savoy once you feel your ready for a real mountain trail.(chck out the reviews for them)

This trail has now been paved. (i think the entire way, but they may still have 1 short section to go) It is a zoo now with lots of trafic from walkers, roller bladers ect. Still a good place to take kids though. Another thing is that the trail runs along a lake- nice views, fishing but a lot of goose crap on the trail.