The best motorcycle roads in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has a lot of tarmac. We sorted through 64 named paved roads to find the ones worth leaning into.

The headliners

Notch Road

Near North Adams. 8.2 miles, about 20 minutes at a relaxed pace.

Twistiness: ●●●●○ Very twisty

Rockwell Road

Near Cheshire. 7.8 miles, about 15 minutes at a relaxed pace.

Twistiness: ●●●○○ Properly twisty

East River Road

Near Chester. 8 miles, about 15 minutes at a relaxed pace.

Twistiness: ●●●○○ Properly twisty

Route 8a

Near Charlemont. 17 miles, about 25 minutes at a relaxed pace.

Twistiness: ●●●○○ Properly twisty

River Road

Near Florida. 9.3 miles, about 15 minutes at a relaxed pace.

Twistiness: ●●○○○ Flowing and curvy

When you want to settle in

Not every ride is about hairpins. These are longer paved roads that keep twisting the whole way, good for a long cruise where you can find a rhythm.

• Palmer Road, near Palmer: 16 miles
• Main Road, near Granville: 15 miles
• Mohawk Trail, in Berkshire County: 14 miles

How we picked them

We looked at the shape of every named paved road in Massachusetts and measured how much each one bends along its length. Then we ranked them by bends per distance, so a short hairpin road and a long mountain highway are compared fairly. Gravel, tracks, residential streets and anything under about 6 miles are left out.

What this does not tell you: how nice the scenery is, how good the surface is, how busy the road gets, or whether it is closed for snow. Check before you go, especially in the mountains and in winter. Then ride it and see for yourself.

Turn it into a ride

Open the MotoRidez planner and link a few of these into a loop, or hit Surprise Me and let it pick a twisty route from wherever you are. Every ride you record is remembered, so next time it can send you down roads you have not tried yet.