THE thought of autumn leaves conjures up images ofNew England, with its crisp air and hillsides bursting with color. Leaf peepers in North Carolina annually crowd the Blue Ridge Parkway, and in Virginia, the Skyline Drive. Upstate New York is known for bursting color from the Hudson Valley to the hills south of Buffalo.
But fans of autumn color can find it far beyond these well known viewing spots. Communities from Wisconsin to Texas celebrate their own vibrant fall tapestries and invite visitors to come and have a look.
Clarion, Pa., about 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh and just south of the Allegheny National Forest, celebrates its colorful show of Japanese red maples and hickory, ash and oak trees with an Autumn Leaf Festival that has drawn as many as 500,000 people, its organizers say. The festival began in 1953 in conjunction with Homecoming Weekend at Clarion State College, now Clarion University. This year’s, with an antique tractor show, a flea market and other events, runs through Sunday.
Clarion’s claim to fall beauty rests on a country setting, rolling hills and the winding Clarion River: one of the best ways to see the foliage is by renting a canoe at any of several liveries at nearby Cook Forest State Park. “It’s really rural Pennsylvania,” said Tracy Becker, executive director of the Clarion Area Chamber of Business and Industry. Wisconsin has not only pretty fall foliage but plenty of water as well — a winning combination for autumn vistas. “We have more lakes thanMinnesota,” said Lisa Marshall, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. A favorite area for leaf peeping is Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, which covers more than a million and a half acres in the northern part of the state and is partly covered with maple, oak, birch, aspen, ash, cherry and tamarack trees. Visitors stay in surrounding towns including Eagle River, Hayward and Cable, and hiking is popular. “Trees are trees, but I think what we have is the infrastructure,” Ms. Marshall said. “The trail system is phenomenal here.”
She also recommended leaf peeping from a canoe or kayak on the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, made up of more than 250 miles of winding waters that flow through nearly unspoiled wilderness.
Indiana offers online leaf cams on the Web at www.enjoyindiana.com, with real-time camera images of the local foliage in different regions, updated every 15 minutes. Particularly popular in the fall is Brown County State Park, the state’s largest, nicknamed the Little Smokies for its rolling, densely forested hills and thick fogs at dawn and dusk. The nearby town of Nashville, Ind., has art galleries and craft shops.
The deep reds of the East are harder to come by in the West, but there are surprises. In Texas, Lost Maples State Natural Area — a limestone canyon near Vanderpool, about a two-hour drive northwest of San Antonio — is renowned for its beautiful bigtooth maples, as well as its black walnuts, elms and sycamores, all protected by the canyon walls.
In Idaho, leaf lovers in the know drive the Pend Oreille National Scenic Byway, which runs east from near Sandpoint, around Lake Pend Oreille, lined with birch, aspen and tamaracks, along the Clark Fork River and on to the Montana border. On the Teton Scenic Byway, southwest ofYellowstone National Park, the yellow of aspens mixes with the green of Douglas firs and pines against a mountain backdrop.
Ron Gardner, spokesman for the Idaho Travel Council, said that of Idaho’s 83,000 square miles of land, 60 percent was public and much of that was covered in forests that become radiant with color in the fall. “We’re pretty proud of the fact that we have more natural back country than any other state in the lower 48,” he said.
“Most people think it’s just one big, huge potato farm,” he added. “But we think that from the air, Idaho probably looks like a Norman Rockwell painting just about any time of year.”
Details
CLARION, PA.
What: Japanese red maples, hickory, ash and oak trees in the countyside in and around Allegheny National Forest; Autumn Leaf Festival in Clarion (www.clarionpa.com).
When: Peak color in late October; festival ends Sunday.
NORTHERN WISCONSIN
What: Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest for driving or hiking amid maple, oak, birch, aspen, ash and cherry trees and tamaracks; St. Croix National Scenic Riverway for canoeing and kayaking (www.travelwisconsin.com).
When: Leaves in peak color through mid-October
BROWN COUNTY, IND.
What: Brown County State Park for autumn leaves; Nashville for galleries and entertainment (www.enjoyindiana.com).
When: Best leaf viewing in late October
VANDERPOOL, TEX.
What: Lost Maples State Natural Area, a limestone canyon filled with bigtooth maples, black walnut trees, elms and sycamores (www.tpwd.state.tx.us).
When: Fall color in late October and early November.
What: The Pend Oreille National Scenic Byway (Route 200) for birch, aspen and tamaracks; Teton Scenic Byway on Routes 31 and 33 for aspens and evergreens (www.visitid.org).
When: Foliage viewing through late October.
