Get Your Pumpkin Spice Fix on These Beautiful Fall Leaves Tours
Fall foliage or Fall leaf tours and road trips are popular ways to enjoy the stunning natural beauty of the autumn season. From the colorful foliage of New England to the snow-capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains, countless destinations worldwide offer breathtaking fall scenery.
Whether taking a scenic drive, hiking through the mountains, or simply enjoying the crisp autumn air, fall leaf tours are an excellent way to experience the season’s magic.
With so many beautiful destinations, there’s no shortage of options for planning your perfect fall getaway.
- New England: Start in Boston and go through Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, stopping in charming towns like Woodstock, Vermont, and Kennebunkport, Maine. Highlights include the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire and Acadia National Park in Maine.
- The Great Smoky Mountains: Start in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and make your way through the national park, stopping at scenic overlooks and hiking trails. Be sure to visit Cades Cove and Clingmans Dome for stunning views.
- The Blue Ridge Parkway: Start in Asheville, North Carolina, and go through the scenic drive, stopping at highlights like the Linn Cove Viaduct and the Crabtree Falls trailhead.
- Banff National Park: Start in Calgary, Alberta and go through the park, stopping at highlights like Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, and the Icefields Parkway.
- The Alps: Start in Geneva, Switzerland, and go through the mountains, stopping at highlights like Interlaken, Zermatt, and Salzburg, Austria.
- Kyoto: Spend several days exploring the temples and parks of Kyoto, including Kiyomizu-Dera and Eikando.
- The Lake District: Start in Windermere and make your way through the picturesque towns and lakes of the region, stopping at highlights like Grasmere and Keswick.
- The Highlands: Start in Inverness and navigate the rugged countryside, stopping at highlights like the Isle of Skye and Glen Coe.
- Tuscany: Start in Florence and make your way through the vineyards and hill towns of the region, stopping at highlights like San Gimignano and Montepulciano.
- The Cotswolds: Start in Oxford and go through the region’s charming villages and rolling hills, stopping at highlights like Bourton-on-the-Water and Broadway Tower.
U.S. Fall Foliage Day Trips:
- New England: New England is known for its stunning fall foliage, with colorful leaves covering the trees throughout the region. Some popular destinations for foliage viewing in New England include the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Berkshires of Massachusetts, and Vermont’s Green Mountains.
- Hudson Valley, New York: The Hudson Valley has many scenic drives and historic sites, including the Vanderbilt Mansion and the Walkway Over the Hudson. The region is also known for its vibrant fall foliage.
- Rocky Mountains, Colorado: Part of the Rocky Mountains runs through Colorado. Dense fall foliage with stunning peaks make for epic leaf chasing photo moments.
- Shenandoah Valley, Virginia: The Shenandoah Valley is a beautiful destination for foliage viewing, with stunning mountain views and colorful leaves covering the trees. The Skyline Drive offers a scenic route through the valley.
- Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, and North Carolina: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to a diverse range of trees, including colorful maples, oaks, and hickories. The park offers many scenic drives and hiking trails for foliage viewing.
- Door County, Wisconsin: Door County is a popular fall foliage destination in the Midwest, with colorful leaves covering the peninsula’s many trees. Visitors can drive along the coast or explore the county’s charming small towns.
Did you know?
Fall leaf tours is that the timing and intensity of the fall foliage can vary widely from year to year. Factors such as temperature, rainfall, and sunlight can all affect the color and timing of the leaves’ changing.
This means that even if you visit the same destination at the same time of year, you may experience utterly different fall foliage depending on the weather patterns of that particular year. Some trees are more likely to change color earlier or later than others, creating a patchwork effect of different colors throughout the landscape.
A little history:
The history of fall foliage tours in North America can be traced back to the late 1800s when railroads began offering scenic excursions through the mountains and countryside during autumn.
These tours were popular among urban residents, who were drawn to the natural beauty of the changing leaves and the opportunity to escape the noise and pollution of the city.
In the early 1900s, the advent of the automobile made it easier for people to travel to rural areas and explore the countryside independently.Â
