Abandoned Motels of the Mohawk Trail

Have you ever had something planned that you were very excited for, but it ended up not going to plan? Has the same thing happened to you, but you decided to do something else that turned out to be better then the original plan? Well, this is a good example of that. Me and my uncle were going to do Mt.Holyoke but the skies in the area were not clear. We then decided to just drive the Mohawk Trail, but we also found some abandoned motels.

The row of rooms in front of Motel Two.

These motels were plentiful along the road. I can only imagine how busy these places must have been when they were functional. I do want to say, I didn't go close to any building with "No Trespassing" signs or go inside any building. If you visit these motels I also advise you not to go into any of them. These places will be mentioned east to west on Route 2.

MOTEL ONE
The first abandoned motel you encounter driving east to west is gray and mostly roofless, with a white building in front along with a red sign. We visited this one last, but found it to be pretty cool. We didn't get close to this one, as there are multiple "No Trespassing" signs displayed on it. 

Notice the torn roof.

When approaching, I noticed a tree with a blue border around it. I looked closer and realized it was a filled pool with a diving board. I would really have liked to see this place when it was up and running. If anyone has anymore info on any of these, please leave a comment or email me. I want to know when these were functional.

The old pool with the diving board to the right.

MOTEL TWO
This one is the most interesting of all. First, there were no "No Trespassing" signs anywhere on the property but we still didn't go inside any buildings. We began at the gift shop, and all we were doing was enjoying the fantastic vista. From here, Negus Mtn. and Mt.Clark are visible. I wanted to photograph the gift shop from higher up so we crossed the road and saw some shacks in the woods. I was of course intrigued and we explored them.

The sturdiest shack.

The shacks were extremely dilapidated. Some old signs advertising Mountain Dew and Cocoa Cola were stood up in the buildings. There was another small building up the hill we went to. If anyone has any idea what this was I'd like to know. A ruler was on the wall, along with a small compartment with what looked like chicken bones.

The building up the hill.

We continued down slope to the roadside motel. It's basically a line of yellow motel rooms. The room farthest to the left was labeled with a five. This means the other buildings, which I assume are cottages, were running at the same time, as there were four of them. I couldn't help but peek through one of the windows. This one room was stuffed with decorations and furniture from the other rooms. It must have been nice when these were functioning to walk out of your room and have a great view of the Deerfield River.

The roadside portion.

MOTEL THREE
This next one isn't really a motel. This place has several wigwams and a great view looking into Vermont. You can also see Mt.Greylock and Mt.Berlin from the old viewing deck. Much like the last motel, people stop here even today for the views.

Looking into Vermont.

Again, we didn't go up to the wigwams due to the several "No Trespassing" signs. This place is above the infamous "Hairpin Turn" and Golden Eagle Restaurant. My uncle actually stayed here once when it was operational. He was able to identify which hut he stayed in.

Gallery

The view from the second motel. The gift shop is to the right.

The second cottage.

Likely a bathroom.

One of the old signs. Likely taken from the gift shop.

Mt.Greylock from the viewpoint at the Wigwam Gift Shop.

Sign in front of the first motel.

The garage and torn roof.

Likely the restaurant.

The pool, taken from the diving board.

This isn't really a hike, so I can't say I recommend it if you're into hiking. If you like old places and history, I would recommend this. Once again, if anyone has any information on any of these places, I would love to here it. Either leave a comment, or email me. Sorry if this didn't have much personality in it. It's more of a report and less of a blog on a hike. I'm trying to introduce variety to my blog. Hope you enjoyed!