I am planning a trip for early October. I have often thought of flying to Chicago and driving around Lake Michigan, ending up back in Chicago. Would this be a good trip to take in October? Would the weather be ok? How about foliage? What would some of the "don't miss" places be? Thanks for you help!

I think October may be a little late, especially for the northern areas-northern MI and WI may already have snow. 2 weeks earlier may be better. I don't know anything about WI but MI has lots of beach/tourist towns along the shore, some that are cute, some not. I personally like Traverse City, but that may be because I spent a summer there in college.

Peak color is usually very early to mid-October, depending on what part of your route you are talking about. I would opt for late September to very early October, before the weather begins to change from crisp to brisk. Maybe plan a stop near Horicon Marsh, where the Canada geese will begin to congregate by early October. Personally, I think the Michigan side of the lake has the better views, although the stretch in Upper Michigan from Escanaba to the Mackinac Bridge has some very impressive stretches, too. You can go out to the island on a ferry. If you want to, you could also take the carferry between Manitowoc, Wisconsin and Ludington, Michigan.

Webiste: (http://www.ssbadger.com)

Thanks, I was afraid mid-october might be a little bit late. I have some committments that would keep me from going until the first week of October at the earliest. Maybe I can at least make it 1st or 2nd week of October. Actually, being from south Texas, seeing a little snow might night be all that bad as long as its not a blizzard or something.

Mid-October should be near peak color time for southern Wisconsin. The northern areas of the state would be past peak.

Not necessarily, xxx....I'm in a corner of NE Wisconsin where the first week-two weeks of October can still be pretty well counted on for good color.

And that ferry ride is a neat experience, Richard.

You are correct, arjay. It always depends on the type of fall that we have. I just wanted to let Richard know that it's unlikely to have any type of lasting snow at that time of year except for waaay "up north."