Monterey is a small town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States.

[1] Prior to settlement by European-American colonists, the area of Monterey was inhabited by Mahicans, the local Native American tribe.

In the earliest days of 1776, General Henry Knox passed through the town, bringing cannons from Fort Ticonderoga in New York to aid in ending the Siege of Boston.

Palo Alto and Buena Vista were also considered, but thought to be "too foreign sounding".

[2] The town was mostly known for its sawmills, but today it is a rural community, known more for its recreational areas in the state forests and along Lake Garfield.

[3] Monterey is bordered by Tyringham to the north, Otis to the east, Sandisfield to the southeast, New Marlborough to the south, and Great Barrington to the west.

Monterey lies in the southern end of the Berkshires, at the headwaters of the Konkapot River.

Much of the northwest corner of town is dominated by Mount Wilcox and the lower portion of Beartown State Forest.

Amtrak service can also be found in Pittsfield, along the east-west Lake Shore Limited.

The nearest national air service at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

The population density was 35.2 inhabitants per square mile (13.6/km2), which ranks it 20th in the county and 325th in the Commonwealth.

Monterey employs the open town meeting form of government, and is led by a board of selectmen.

On the state level, Monterey is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by the Fourth Berkshire district, which covers southern Berkshire County, as well as the westernmost towns in Hampden County.