From Snowstorms to Summer Road Trips: A Berkshire Driver's Guide to Year-Round Driving a Subaru

Submitted by Haddad Subaru11:51AM / Friday, May 15, 2026Print Story | Email Story

This article was submitted and written by an external contributor. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of iBerkshires.com.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Living in the Berkshires means four very real seasons — and your car needs to handle every single one of them.

Mud Season: The Berkshire Season Nobody Talks About Enough.

March and April in the Berkshires means one thing: mud. Roads that were frozen solid turn into soft, rutted messes — especially on the smaller roads heading up into the hills around Peru, Windsor, and Savoy. Driveways become a test of patience and ground clearance.

Your Subaru handles this well, but it's worth being thoughtful:

Forester and Outback drivers: Your higher ground clearance is genuinely useful here. Don't be afraid of it, but even All Wheel Drive (AWD) vehicles can get stuck in deep mud if you push too hard.
Watch for frost heaves. After a long winter, Route 116 and the back roads off Route 112 can be riddled with them. Slow down — your alignment will thank you.

Spring is a great time for a full detail and undercarriage wash. Road salt builds up all winter, and the Berkshires use a lot of it. Getting a thorough wash in April, particularly underneath the car, extends the life of your Subaru's frame and exhaust components.

Spring and Early Summer: Back Roads, Waterfalls, and the Berkshire You Fell in Love With

By late May, the Berkshires are absolutely stunning, and this is when your Subaru becomes a joy rather than just a practical tool. The hills are electric green, the rivers are running high, and there are literally hundreds of miles of scenic roads that reward exploration.

Roads worth seeking out:

Route 116 from Ashfield to Conway — winding, forested, absolutely beautiful with the river alongside you.
Notchview Reservation access roads off Route 9 in Windsor — early mornings with mist in the valleys are otherworldly.
The stretch of Route 23 from Great Barrington toward Monterey — past Beartown State Forest, with pull-offs for swimming and hiking.
Your Subaru's boxer engine sits low in the chassis, giving you a lower center of gravity than typical SUVs. On these winding roads, that translates to confidence around corners without the body roll that plagues taller crossovers.
Hawley Road through Charlemont — narrow, hilly, and worth every twist.

Summer: Road Trips and the Big Beyond

Berkshire summers fill up fast with Tanglewood concerts, Shakespeare & Company performances, gallery openings in Lenox, farm stands, and more visitors than we know what to do with on a Saturday in August. But the real Berkshire summer move is the road trip — outward from our hills to the coast, the mountains, or the city.

Popular Berkshire-based summer road trips by distance:

The Short Escape (under 2 hours): Up to Vermont's Green Mountains via Route 7 north, or east on the Mass Pike to Boston for the weekend.
The Medium Haul (2–3.5 hours): Maine coast via I-91 north and I-95, or down to New York City via the Taconic State Parkway — one of the genuinely great scenic drives in the Northeast.
The Long Haul (4+ hours): Acadia National Park, Cape Breton Island, or the Hudson Valley winery circuit extended into a week.

Summer road trip Subaru prep checklist:

Check tire pressure — heat lowers it, and the Berkshires to the coast can mean significant temperature swings.
Top off the windshield washer fluid — summer bugs on the highway are relentless.
Make sure your air conditioning is serviced. Berkshire summers can surprise you with stretches of genuine heat.
If you're towing a small camper or boat trailer, verify your Subaru's tow rating for your specific model and trim.

Fall: The Most Beautiful Drive in America, In Your Backyard

We live in the right place at the right time. Mid-September through late October, the Berkshires become something out of a painting, and the roads here — elevated, winding, passing farm stands and old stone walls and church steeples — are made to be driven slowly.

The classic fall drives:

The Mohawk Trail (Route 2) from Greenfield to North Adams: The Western Summit overlook alone justifies the whole trip.
South County to North County on Route 7: Stop in every town. Take your time.
Jacob's Ladder Trail (Route 20 / Route 112): Links Westfield to the Berkshires through spectacular hill terrain.
Tyringham Valley: Arguably the prettiest mile of road in Massachusetts.

Fall is also time to start thinking about winter again. Schedule your Subaru's seasonal service — tire swap, brake inspection, fluid check — before the Thanksgiving rush. Shops fill up fast.

Winter: Where Subaru Earns Its Reputation

Berkshire winters are no joke. We're talking lake-effect snowbands rolling in off the Taconic Range, ice that forms overnight on Route 9, and the kind of February mornings where your neighbor's sedan simply isn't going anywhere. Subaru's Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (AWD) distributes power to all four wheels continuously — not just when you start to slip, like some AWD systems — which means you're planted before trouble starts, not reacting to it after.

A few winter driving tips for Berkshire roads specifically:

Don't skip the winter tires. AWD helps you go; it does nothing to help you stop. A set of dedicated winter tires (Bridgestone Blizzak and Michelin X-Ice are popular choices) transforms your Outback or Forester into something almost unfair in snowy conditions. The combination of Subaru AWD and proper winter rubber is genuinely elite.
Use X-Mode if you have it. Available on many Subaru models, X-Mode optimizes throttle, transmission, and AWD torque distribution for slippery conditions. On a packed-snow back road or a steep, icy driveway, it makes a noticeable difference.
Keep your Subaru's EyeSight sensors clear. The pre-collision braking and lane-keeping system relies on cameras mounted near the rearview mirror. In heavy snow, these can get obscured. Warm your car and clear the windshield fully before trusting the driver-assist systems.

Allow extra stopping distance on Route 7 and Route 20. These are the main arteries through the county, and after a storm they're often packed and slick before the plows catch up. Subaru brakes well — but physics still applies.

Year-Round Maintenance: Keeping Your Subaru Happy in Western Massachusetts

Berkshire driving is harder on a car than suburban driving. The elevation changes, the salt, the unpaved stretches, the extreme temperature swings — they all add up. A few things worth staying on top of:

Every season:

Check tire tread and pressure
Inspect wiper blades (Berkshire winters destroy them)
Top off fluids

Annually:

Full brake inspection — our hills are tough on pads and rotors
Undercarriage inspection for rust and salt damage
CVT fluid change (check your owner's manual; many Subaru CVTs call for more frequent changes in severe-duty conditions, which Berkshire winters qualify as)

Every few years:

Timing chain and head gasket monitoring — older Subaru engines, particularly the EJ series (pre-2012 roughly), had head gasket vulnerabilities. If you're buying used, have it inspected.
Battery replacement — cold weather is brutal on batteries, and a battery that's marginal in October will fail you in January.

The Bottom Line

A Subaru in the Berkshires isn't a brand choice — it's a practical one that happens to also be genuinely enjoyable. It gets you to work when others can't, it handles a camping weekend with the gear you need, it navigates mud season without drama, and it makes every fall foliage cruise feel exactly as good as it should.

We live somewhere extraordinary. It helps to have a car that can actually keep up with it.