SHEFFIELD -- Its nickname says it all: Hikers' Heaven.
Just minutes by foot out the back door of the Race Brook Lodge, there is a dirt path that leads over a bridge, along a stream, up a hill, through a forest -- and eventually to the Appalachian Trail and Mount Race, with its knockout views of the Housatonic River Valley and the Hudson River.
And not once from bed to breakfast table to mountaintop will you have needed a car.
The Berkshires have always felt a bit too precious for my taste -- the
That's why I adore the quirky, outdoorsy Race Brook Lodge, which calls itself a "chintz-free rustic mountain hideway," a description that couldn't get more apt.
"Bed-and-breakfasts are famous for bath curtains and bedspreads and sheets that all match, and we're opposed to that," says David Rothstein, the lodge's wry, shaggy-haired owner. "We're devout imperfectionists. We're perfectly imperfect."
The lodge is as far from an antique-filled Victorian as can be. The main guesthouse is a restored post-and-beam barn with 15 rooms tucked into its nooks, carved out of its crannies, and wedged under its eaves. Each is different, and each is charming in its own way. Some are snug and cozy, others are airy and spacious. Most have plank floors and ceiling beams. None have phones or TVs. They're minimally decorated, with stenciling and little more.
Our room, No. 11, had a high ceiling, wood floor, queen bed, two odd half-closets with accordion doors, mirrored bureau, and a small bathroom with shower. It felt like a true farmhouse bedroom, a place to bury yourself under the covers with a pile of books on a cold night. The room's one drawback was a big one: Because it faced Route 41 and the main parking lot, the nighttime silence was marred by the slamming of car doors, the loud chatter of arriving and departing guests, the crunching of gravel as vehicles pulled in and out, and the sound of passing autos. If I had been warned about street noise at booking time, I would have asked for a rear-facing room, where the only sound is the gurgling brook.
The downstairs of the main lodge is a sprawling common area, furnished with mismatched tables and chairs, where guests gather for a self-service buffet breakfast of mostly organic, all-natural foods, including whole-wheat breads, no-added-sugar nut butters, whole and cut fruit, cereals, and at least one hot homemade dish each morning (scrambled eggs and veggie frittata on the two days we stayed). It's simple, delicious, healthy food that perfectly matches the earthy ambience .
The oldest part of the lodge, which originally was a farm, dates to about 1790. By the early 1800s, it had become a stagecoach stop where travelers could change horses before continuing on their way. Over the decades, a brick coach house and several cottages were added (in total, the lodge has about 30 rooms), as was a gigantic, wide-windowed, sky- lighted, super-funky barn that's used for retreats, weddings, seminars, and even yoga groups.
Rothstein turned the place into an inn when he bought it in 1990, and he also owns the restaurant next door, the Stagecoach Tavern (stagecoachtavern.net), which is open only on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Don't be fooled by the "tavern" name; the aura is moodily elegant, the food is fancy, and the prices aren't cheap.
The lodge, which also has an in ground pool, makes a good base camp for exploring the museums, historic homes, farms, gardens, and galleries of the southern Berkshires.
As for that nickname, it really is a heaven for hikers. In addition to the Mount Race trail, the lodge offers easy access to Bash Bish Falls State Park, Mount Everett, Mount Washington State Forest, Jug End State Reservation, and Monument Mountain.
The latter, by the way, was the site of what has been called the world's most famous literary picnic, which took place when Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Oliver Wendell Holmes lunched there together in 1850. So a hike up that mountain provides a dose of history as well as a great workout.
Contact Sacha Pfeiffer at pfeiffer@globe.com . 
