Directions to the Center for Cultural Evolution from the intersection of Route 2 west and the Rotary (exit # 26) of 91 in Greenfield.
(Click for directions from Charlemont, Williamstown and points West along Route 2.)
68 Van Nuys Rd. ~ Colrain, MA
(413) 624-5140
GOOD WEATHER
Best way to get directions here is first to go to Yahoo.maps.com. (I have found they are better for New England than Mapquest...) Put down your starting point and as your destination "223 Mohawk Trail in Greenfield, MA 01301." It is the Irving gas station in Greenfield listed below. Do not work to find better directions via some other coordinate listing because chances are you will get lost. Some conjure roads or take you five miles out of the way. And cell phones (as well as radios) have poor reception on our dark hilly country roads. But not to worry, these directions are tried and true!
From Interstate 91, exit #26 for Greenfield, and gone around the rotary to route 2 WEST...(Be careful, every exit off of the rotary is a variation of route 2...you want 2 WEST!), Follow these directions.
Turn right onto Colrain Rd. at your first stop light; just one block from the Rotary & just before the Irving gas station on your right (which is the 223 Mohawk Trail listed above for the Yahoo connection). Colrain Rd is also just opposite a MacDonald's on your left & signs at your right hand turn point to BJ's and Greenfield Community College). The Center is about 5.5 miles from this turn though there are details along the way, as you will read below.
Go out Colrain Rd. about 3 miles. (You may notice that Plain Rd. forks off to the right after a mile and a half or so -- be sure that you do not fork off onto it by accident.) So, go as straight as you can, until you pass through a colonial village type of settlement; at its end there is a triangle in the road with roads forking around it. There is a sign there, pointing Colrain to your left and Leyden to your right. You want to go RIGHT (towards Leyden) on Green River Rd.
Go 1/10 mi. over a little bridge; then, go diagonally left up Smead Hill Rd., leaving Green River Rd. Clock your odometer from this point! The Center is 2.5 miles from this turn. Go as straight as you can up the hill, bearing left when in doubt (at forks, etc.) until you reach the Center. The road will turn to a dirt one. The entrance to the center is on your right at 68 Van Nuys Rd (Smead Hill Rd. has merged into Van Nuys...though signs are down). Just beyond the drive is a green mailbox with the reflector numbers, "68" on it. The house is down the hill on the right; it is rounded with a cupola on top. Go down to the parking area, and ask for parking instructions, as they are dependent on numbers and weather. If you get lost, call the number above or ask anyone for help. The Center is locally known as the Roundhouse or ReBekka's Place.ICY WEATHER
Directions in case of icy weather.
As three different towns are to plow the hill coming up to the ROUNDHOUSE, if the snow is new and you do not have good snow tires, it is best to detour a few miles to take a more evenly plowed and less hilly route.
SO, if it is snowing, or very icy, do this when you come to the rotary.
Go out route 2 west, and continue on it for about 3 1/2 miles until you see the Coffee Roaster on your left and Strawberry Fields Antique shop on your right. Turn right on Colrain Rd. just beyond Strawberry Fields. Continue on that road for 1.8 miles and take your first right onto Brook Rd. If you pass the Vipassana Mediation Center on your left, you have gone too far. Go about .2 miles and take your first left onto Fiske Mill Rd. Go 1.7 miles (another guess) taking your first right onto Van Nuys Rd. It is a gravelly dirt road cutting through meadows and tricky to see but it is directly across from the yellow farm house of a bigger dairy farm on the left. Go down Van Nuys .7 mile. On your left you will see a post holding the red reflector number "68" just before a paper & green mail box and the drive to the Roundhouse that you will turn into at a wide 120 degree angle. Look for parkers to help you!IF YOU ARE COMING FROM THE WEST...
Coming East on Route 2, go approximately 5 miles past the exit to Shelburne Falls (Route 112 North). You will turn left onto Colrain Rd. It is across from the Coffee Roasters on your right and just before Strawberry Fields Antique Store on your left. There will be a small sign saying "Colrain 5." (If you pass Hager's Market, on your left, you have gone too far. Turn around and take your first right.)
Continue on that road for 1.8 miles and take your first right onto Brook Rd. If you pass the Vipassana Mediation Center on your left, you have gone too far. Go about .2 miles and take your first left onto Fiske Mill Rd. Go 1.7 miles (another guess) taking your first right onto Van Nuys Rd. It is a gravelly dirt road cutting through meadows and tricky to see but it is directly across from the yellow farm house of a bigger dairy farm on the left. Go down Van Nuys .7 mile. On your left you will see a post holding the red reflector number "68" just before a paper & green mail box and the drive to the Roundhouse that you will turn into at a wide 120 degree angle. Look for parkers to help you!