Adventures for Anyone: Taking Time out to Celebrate My Favorite Time of Year...Foliage Season!

My favorite time of year is here! I love fall. I love leaves at their best. I love taking drives to look at foliage. I love anything pumpkin except beer. I am one of those people who enjoy the last bastions of civilized weather before the winter comes crashing down, reducing my adventures to what I can find on TV and the internet. So, I have taken this opportunity to bring around some great options for leaf peeping.

New England, where I live, is famous for its foliage. People come here from all over the world to look at our leaves, drink our cider, and find out just how many food and drinks you can make from pumpkin. One of my favorite spots in the world is southern Vermont. During Columbus Day Weekend, you can't move there. Everywhere you look are guided tour buses full of tourists looking at the leaves. It's a popular sport in the fall in Vermont. Leaf peeping is one of the most popular sports in New England, second only to football.

If there's one thing I've learned in all my travels, it's that people overlook some great spots because they aren't famous as the best spot. Therefore, I'd like to mention some other fabulous spots to look at foliage across the lower 48.

Right here, in Connecticut are some of the prettiest views around. By the way, that's why I live here. We love the foliage in CT. We have all of our fairs in the fall, countless festivals, and special events; just to celebrate foliage season. We love everything fall. All of New England is beautiful during this season. It's starts out earlier in northern Maine, then it trickles down the coast. We pick up shortly after in northern New Hampshire and the White Mountains, and northern Vermont along the Canadian border. After that, we hit Massachusetts, then Rhode Island and Connecticut. New England in fall is gorgeous.

The surprise spot in New England is Cape Cod. The cape is long famous for its summers and its beach life. Provincetown is famous for its laid back attitude and diversity. But, in the fall, there are still tons of trees and the coastline comes alive with color. Along those shores you will find a special kind of sun that makes the skies a blue that you see no other time of year. It is a very special time to see Cape Cod.

Yosemite and Yellowstone. They are two of the most famous national parks on Earth. Yellowstone is the first one ever created. Once again, you hear about these parks for many reasons, but in the fall they come alive with fiery colors to go along with their dramatic sites. It may be a bit cold in these places, but you can't possibly imagine what all the yellows, reds and oranges do to a place like Yellowstone or Yosemite. And, don't forget most of northern California. The redwoods, the Sequoias, Big Sur. There are tons of foliage spots in the state and the Pacific Coast Highway as well.

The Pacific Northwest. It's covered so heavily in woods that people still argue the existence of Bigfoot. Oregon and Washington are home to the Cascade Mountains and some of the most magnificent waterfalls in the contiguous United States. There are tons of great foliage experiences in the area and so much to see and do. The bonus here is the raiinforest effect, and the fact that your elevation has everything to do with the weather and outdoor temperature.

The American Southwest isn't known for its foliage as a rule, but there are places where it comes alive in the fall. Around Taos, New Mexico are some of the best foliage drives. The forest in the area comes alive with color in the fall and the southern location makes the weather more temperate. Other places that you wouldn't normally think of the foliage are places like Indiana and Illinois and Ohio. These states are largely farmland and not much for woods. However, if you travel to the southern parts of these states along the Ohio River, you will see some amazing foliage and be truly amazed.

Michigan, home of most of the great lakes, motor vehicles, and about to become NFL quarterbacks is home of some of the best foliage anywhere. All along Lake Michigan are wooded areas combined with some of the largest sand dunes you'll ever see. You can stop in Hell and enjoy the foliage and some of the best events of the October season. Frankenmuth is home of german lifestyle and black forest style foliage. You can enjoy Oktoberfest, Christmas shopping and foliage all in the same place. And then, there's Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is one of the best places in the world to look at foliage. It's a can't and shouldn't miss. Michigan's Upper Peninsula connects directly to the heavily wooded state of Wisconsin. Whether you're a Green Bay Packer's fan or just a fan of woods and beautiful scenery; Wisconsin is a must see.

The Great Smoky Mountains are famous for their foliage. Everywhere from Cumberland to Chattanooga is amazing for leaf peeping. There are festivals, tours and maps for great drives all over the place. But, don't forget about southern Appalachia. The Carolinas, and Virginia, along with parts of Georgia and Alabama have amazing foliage. In West Virginia, they have the bridge festival in New River Gorge in the middle of October too. Beautiful foliage and people jumping off a bridge. Beat that.

Another extraordinary place that is overlooked in foliage season is the Ozarks. Based in Missouri, these mountains are beautiful in the fall. There are a lot of places that are beautiful in the fall. Remember, no matter where you are, there are places to go and look at the leaves. Just because you may live in farmland, doesn't mean that there isn't somewhere nearby to go and see the splendor of fall.

One of my favorite areas for foliage are Pennsylvania and New York State. Pennsylvania, despite its eastern location is wild and wooded across most of its area. There are so many great parks such as Bushkill and Rickett's Glen. The leaves are bright and beautiful in the fall. Northern New Jersey is amazing, as is most of the massive state of New York. The fire of fall is appreciated in these areas with festivals, fairs, cruises on the Hudson River, hot air balloons, and so much more. Everywhere you look there are farms, corn mazes, pumpkin picking and so much more to celebrate fall. So, if you're looking for somewhere to look at the leave besides the Kankamangus Highway, check out all the states. There are some great places to go leaf peeping that you've probably never heard of. Check out Brown County, Indiana; Taos, New Mexico; Metropolis, Illinois; the Wisconsin Dells; Mackinaw Island, Michigan; Asheville, North Carolina; Cherokee, Tennessee; Branson, Missouri; Roseburg, Oregon; Telluride, Colorado; and so much more. The leaves are waiting, and winter is coming. Get out to see some leaves before they fall and enjoy!

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https://leafpeepers.com/wpleaf/ny/