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Hi All, a while back I asked for recommendations for fall color sites in Colorado, Utah, and the Four Corners. I thank all of you who responded but our trip plans have taken a rather unexpected twist. We are actually heading to Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, returning through New England, down the Blue Ridge Parkway and back west on I-40. Soooooo, any suggestions are welcome.

We've found some Fall Color hotlines, nothing posted yet of course, and I bought a couple of Robert Hitchman's guides but most of the travel guides on line are shills for the Motel/Hotel folks and not too much help.

Along with your suggestions for photo sites, we're needing camping suggestions. We're traveling by Sportsmobile so we're pretty self-contained and usually like to avoid KOA campgrounds.

Don't you just love this LF community?:)

JD

Very jealous! Sounds like a dream trip to me.

Cades Cove near Gatlinburg, TN is very nice if your timing is right with the fall colors.

Around 2002 we took a trip into the Maritime Provinces (New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia). The purpose of the trip was to do a little genealogy on PEI and to photograph the fall colors.

While living in Virginia at the time, the two preceding years had been drought and the leaves were already brown before their time. In 2002 there was too much moisture and the leaves were black with mold.

So because the leaves in Virginia and West Virginia are usually prime the second week of October, I figured that farther north the leaves would turn earlier. I planned the trip for 9/28 through 10/12. I did my homework by calling the Canadian Tourist Bureau.

My question was: "Will there still be leaves during this time?"

The answer was: "Oh yes, there will be leaves."

And there were leaves. The problem was that they were still green. We didn't encounter changing foliage until returning through Maine. It turns out that the climate is a little milder there. Because of the ocean currents, plant life is on a different cycle.

When you are planning your schedule and talking to the Tourist Bureau, the question you want to ask is, "What dates can I expect the fall colors to be in their prime?"

Cheers,

US Rte 1 south along the coast until you get tired of it. Pick it up in northern Maine.

Wow, you're covering a lot of territory. I assume you are mostly after fall foliage scenery. I can only generalize on peak color in the north but Cape Breton - last two weeks in Sept. Mid Nova Scotia - Annapolis Valley - first week to second week Oct. New Brunswick - mid provence - last week Sept to first week Oct. Maine, northern New Hampshire, northern Vt. first to second week Oct. MA. Ct. second to third week Oct. Catskills NY. say third week Oct. NJ. about third to fourth week Oct.

Cape Breton is really magnificent but remember there is a lot of coniferous forest so one must seek out the deciduous areas. Check out the area around Lake Ainsle and in the National Park near the north end there is a virgin stand of ancient sugar maples that I have always assumed would be splendid at peak color (maybe last week of Sept.). Drive to the northern tip of the island to Meat Cove (most spectacular campground there perched on a grassy knoll above the ocean). Checkout Morrisons restaurant at Cape North one of the few places you can still hear Gaelic spoken among the patrons.

Further south in Nova Scotia the Annapolis Valley is deciduous and a fruit growing region with beautiful farmland. I like the little college town of Wolfville and the Blomidon Neck to the north. I think there may be some campgrounds in the vicinity - there certainly is one at The Lookoff on rte. 358 where I often stay with my Casita.

The interior of New Brunswick is deciduous regrowth forest from years of logging and fire but can be very spectacular color in the form of red maples and sugar maples with scattered aspen. The coast has large sections of boreal forest virtually taiga like. Fundy National Park is worth a visit for the cobble beaches.

The coast of ME around Acadia National Park is my stomping ground and comments about nice locations can be found elsewhere here.

I would certainly extoll the virtues of the New England Villages of NH, VT, MA, RI, and CT and might advise a visit to any of three Shaker villages - Sabathday Lake ME.Caterbury NH. or Hancock Village in western MA.

If you come up with any detailed questions about the Canadien and New England areas just holler, I'm familiar with much of the area.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

The area around Amherst on HW 6 near Chignecto Bay,,, I've been to Cape Bretton and it's a cool place and it's about 22 hours from Yarmouth N.S.

The Hudson River valley around West Point and northwestern New Jersey can be quite beautiful in the fall.


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Rick

from I 40 you can exit and head east to US 441 and take that through the smokies. the last few years fall color has been a bit later than one might expect. late october has been the peak. many of the roads in the smokies (including the cades cove loop) have just been resurfaced and are in the best condition i've ever seen them. once going through the smokies and shooting about for a couple days you can leave via little river road through the park and either head back to I 40 via US 321 in Townsend or if you want to see more of TN/NC, take the foothills parkway off 321 a few miles north of townsend and when it dead ends, turn south on US 129 (the tail of the dragon) to robbinsville NC. then drive west across the cherohala skyway. the cherohala is a beautiful winding drive in teh montains that tops out above a mile altitude. at the west end in tellico plains, TN you can head up to I 75 toward chattanooga. from there you can take I24 to nashville to reconnect with I40. it is a bit of a detour compared to staying on 40 but may be well worth it as the tail of the dragon is perhaps the premier motorcycle/sports car drive in the U.S. and the cherohala is outstanding with virtually no development.

in good years there is spectacular color.

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Originally Posted by ralnphot

US Rte 1 south along the coast until you get tired of it. Pick it up in northern Maine.

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Eastern Maine has some beautiful lake areas you won't see if you come across in St Stephen/Calais (Kal-Iss, not Kal-aye). Houlton qualifies as northern Maine, so come across and drive route-1 southward from at least there. After enjoying the coast (Acadia, Penobscot bay, various peninsulas, etc..) get down to Portland and head up through Windham, lakes region into western Maine. Then you can go across to North Conway NH and enjoy the white mountain national forest. Lots of nice roads there and countless places to stop and go for nice 1-2 hour hikes. Some of the ski areas in NH offer foliage rides to the top of the mountains. (I'm sure some of the Maine ones do as well, but you'd have to check) Where to go from there, I'll suggest other people's advice.