The Best Places to Take in the Autumn Scenery
Fall is a great time to travel. Not only will you enjoy beautiful scenery that’s often enhanced by autumn foliage, you’ll also enjoy contending less with other tourists!
If you are traveling overseas, you’ll bump elbows with fewer travelers, as well as pay lower airfares and prices all around if you travel in the fall months. If you’re staying local, you’ll spend less time swatting mosquitoes and more time enjoying the scenery and attractions — including all the fabulous fall festivals from across the country.
Even heading to beach destinations in the fall is worthwhile as the quaint seaside towns will be quieter and chilly evenings invite you to cozy up to bonfires on the sand. October is the ideal month for a fall vacation as its right in the heart of all that is wonderful about autumn, when colors will be at their peak and weather at its crispest.
Whether you want to stay closer to home or head to a foreign nation, these are the best places to travel in October.
The Lakes Region, New Hampshire
One of the best spots to view the fiery reds, golden yellows and brilliant oranges of autumn is in New Hampshire. You’ll discover some of very best hues inland, and at higher elevations, such as the Lakes Region which includes Lake Winnipesaukee, Squam Lake, Lake Ossipee, Mirror Lake, Newfound Lake and Lake Winnisquam.
The region is protected from harsh coastal winds and often provides a long leaf-peeping season that runs from late September through late October. Take out a kayak or canoe on any one of the lakes to find some of the most spectacular views with red maples along the water’s edge reflected into the water.
Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia/North Carolina/Tennessee
If you’re thinking about a fall road trip, one of the best to take is The Blue Ridge Parkway, which snakes through Southern Virginia into North Carolina and culminates in Tennessee. It links two national parks, Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains, and offers one of the most stunningly scenic drives in the nation.
The very best time to embark on it is in October, right when fall is in full swing. Shenandoah National Park awaits with some 500 miles of trails to explore, boasting dense forests, ancient caves, towering mountains, mist-enshrouded waterfalls and more.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park features changing hues that are unlike anything anywhere else in the world, including golden poplars, maples in every crimson shade you can imagine, scarlet sourwoods and orange sassafras.
If you’ve got the itch for a road trip this fall, be sure to check out some of the most scenic drives in the world.
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Wicklow National Park, Ireland
Visiting the Emerald Isle in October means fewer tourists to contend with, often fabulous weather, and B&B hosts that have more time to spend with their guests. This time of year typically brings crisp but cool air and days with bright blue skies, while trees are covered with in vibrant golden hues.
Wicklow National Park is an ideal place to explore in the fall, with its multitude of scenic hiking trails, including an incredible trek that will bring you from Lough Tay to Lough Dan. Other highlights are historic sites such as Glendalough, one of the most important monastic sites in Ireland, founded by Saint Kevin in the sixth century.
Aspen, Colorado
The Rocky Mountain State is renowned for its breathtaking display of Aspens that blanket the mountains with amazing hues of vivid yellows and golden bronze shades. There are few better places to experience it than along the road to Independence Pass, which leads to the posh mountain town of Aspen.
The highest paved pass in North America, it peaks at over 12,000 feet above sea level, the dramatic mountain peaks rising into the nearly-always bright blue skies above a jaw-dropping array of fall colors.
Bavaria, Germany
Southern Germany hosts some of Europe’s most impressive scenery. In the fall, the nearly endless Alpine forests pop with brilliant hues against mountains dusted with snow.
Bavaria is somewhat the “Vermont of Europe” when it comes to the number of deciduous trees, where around every corner it feels as if you’ve stepped into a different Bob Ross painting. Of course, this is also the time for Oktoberfest and plenty of wine festivals, as well as being an ideal season for hiking through the Alps and taking romantic horse-drawn carriage rides.
And the castles! You can visit some 25 historic castles and palaces here, such as the legendary Neuschwanstein Castle that was named after Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle, Linderhof Palace, Nuremberg Castle and the Burghausen Castle, all surrounded by magnificent foliage.
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Leavenworth, Washington
Looking for a taste of Bavaria but aren’t able to travel overseas? Leavenworth, a Bavarian-style town set within the eastern slopes of Washington State’s Cascade Mountains, makes for one of the best fall vacations in the Western United States due to its beautiful autumn colors — and festivals.
There are numerous fall foliage routes that start here, including Highway 2, which stretches all the way to the Greater Seattle area. Along this scenic drive you’ll be awed by the brilliant yellow trees that are reflected in Lake Wenatchee, just north of town.
By driving south on Highway 97, you’ll find the forests of Blewett Pass covered with vibrant red huckleberry bushes, aspens and cottonwoods. October features its world-famous Oktoberfest, held throughout much of the month.