About the Pioneer Valley
Known for its scenery and as a vacation destination, the Pioneer Valley features mountain ranges, rolling hills, fertile farmland and golden meadows — all surrounding New England’s premier waterway, the Connecticut River. The diverse landscape gives visitors and residents access to a wide variety of activities including alpine skiing at resorts such as Berkshire East and Blandford Ski Resort and seasonal festivals that draw millions of visitors.
The region is served by Bradley International Airport, located just 30 minutes south of Holyoke Medical Center in the town of Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
Just ten minutes from Holyoke is The Quadrangle, an extraordinary grouping of two art museums, two history museums, and a science museum that features the United States’ first planetarium. Springfield Symphony Hall provides an outstanding venue for classical music, Broadway tours, concerts and stand-up comedy shows. Families flock to New England’s largest and most popular amusement park, Six Flags New England in Agawam, as well as the Emily Dickinson House in Amherst, the Springfield Armory National Historical Site, and the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield and the Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke. (Basketball was invented in Springfield and Volleyball in Holyoke.)
Healthcare and social services employ 15 % of the local workforce, making it the leading industry in the region.
Local Attractions
- Beneski Museum of Natural History, Amherst College, Amherst
- Children’s Museum at Holyoke, Holyoke
- CityStage & Symphony Hall, Springfield
- Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst
- Hampshire College Art Gallery, Amherst
- Historic Deerfield, Inc., Deerfield
- Holyoke Creative Arts Center, Holyoke
- International Volleyball Hall of Fame, Holyoke
- Jacob’s Pillow Dance, Becket
- MassMutual Center, Springfield
- Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, Amherst
- Memorial Hall Museum & Children’s Museum at Indian House Memorial, Deerfield
- Mohawk Trail Concerts, Shelburne Falls
- Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley
- Mullins Center, Amherst
- Museums 10, Amherst
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Springfield
- New Century Theatre, Northampton
- Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge
- Northfield ARTSfest, Northfield
- Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge
- Paradise City Arts Festivals, Northampton
- Sevenars Concerts, Worthington
- Shelburne Falls Area Business Association, Shelburne Falls
- Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton
- Springfield Museums & the Dr. Seuss National Memorial, Springfield
- Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Springfield
- Storrowton Village Museum, West Springfield
- Tanglewood, Lenox
- The Fine Arts Center, Amherst
- Titanic Historical Society, Indian Orchard
- Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown
- Wistariahurst Museum, Holyoke
