seeing colorful foliage
 

hello,

My family and I live in Florida, this year we would like to go on vacation up north and see the change of season (colorful foliage), Can someone tell me where and when should we go, as this will be our fist time experiencing this. Our plan is to fly to Canada spend a few days and then drive all the way to Florida making stops in different states where we could find this. Thank you for your help.

Well, that plan really won;t work - since the change in foliage depends on the temperatures and the amount of rain for the previous spring and summer.

And trees changing color is a process - they don;t all do it at the same time. so each area generally has about 2 weeks total of good color (early, peak and late). but it's not the same time. It starts in the north and inland and then moves south and along the coast.

So - when the leaves are changing in Canada they will still be green further south - and if you want to see good color everywhere the trip will take about 2 months (leaves don;t change in Central Park until the very end of Oct - when the trees have been bare further north for at least a month.

You're going to have to pick one specific area if you only want to spend a couple of weeks in total.

How much time do you have?

I think I would kind of follow the Appalachian Mountains from North to South.

You could start your trip around Montreal & go through parts of Vermont & New Hampshire & then down through the Appalachians.

You could start around Niagara Falls & then over to the Appalachians somewhere in Pennsylvania & down. This would be my choice if I had never been to Niagara Falls before.

Blue Ridge Parkway is really nice.

Great Smoky Mountains are nice.

Around Brevard, Cashiers & Franklin NC, there are about 20 easily accessible waterfalls. They are on or near Blue Ridge Parkway.

I also like Eastern Kentucky. Red River Gorge/Natural Bridge is nice. Also Cumberland Falls & Cumberland Gap NP.

Fall Creek Falls State Park in mid-Tennessee is nice but may be out of the way.

Usually around early October is when the best colors are.

This is a nice site. You can order a free map.

http://www.byways.org/

<Our plan is to fly to Canada spend a few days and then drive all the way to Florida>
Did you already check with car rental agencies? As far as I know you won't be able to rent a car in Canada and drive one way to Florida US. Maybe you should fly to Manchester, NH or Albany, NY or Burlington, VT and go from there. Still I don't know if you find a rental for from any of these states to Florida.

Blue Ridge Parkway has a nice foliage but nothing compares to the fall in the Northeast

If you want to see how foliage looks in October in Northeast check out my photo album. I have about 70 pictures so don't feel obligated to look at all of them
http://tinyurl.com/85srmm

You might include a visit to Canada by taking the ferry to Nova Scotia from Portland ME.
We always consider Columbus Day weekend in NH to be a great time for foliage. Some areas have a foliage festival such as Warner NH. As a local when we vacation in New England we usually spend a week in a given area of split a week between two different areas such as northern VT and a more southerly location. I think you will have more fun if you spend a week or two in the New England area and don't drive all the way back to FL. With 2 weeks you might spend a week in central/northern VT and NH and then finish up in RI and CT. Granted, even the interstates are pretty that time of year but it can get boring. Foliage will be more picturesque if you visit some small towns. Yankee Magazine has a website with a foliage forum. Some people hunt for the perfect cider donut. I adore the unusual apple varieties you can't find in supermarkets. There's a great corn maze in northern VT (Great Vermont Corn Maze in Danville) for some good exercise and fresh air.
As soon as you choose your itinerary, make reservations. Some people book a year ahead for popular inns.

Thank you all so much for this wonderful information.

NewPlaces,

Thank you, your pictures are amazing, how beautiful!!!,
That is what we want to see, Can you please tell me which scenic roads these are, like I said before we are from Florida and have no idea where exactly to go and were these photos taken at the beginning of Oct. or at the end I'm not so sure when in October to go.

Tribi, here is a link to another album. I added dates so you may be able to figure out when you want to travel.
http://tinyurl.com/885vqq


Last weekend a friend of mine and I came out with itinerary for her. She and her and husband are flying to Manchester, NH on September 25

Day 1 - flying to Manchester, NH renting a car, heading to Maine

Day 2, 3 and 4 - Maine

Day 5, 6 and 7 - NH (White Mountains)

Day 8 and 9 - Vermont

Day 10 and 11 - Quebec City

Day 12 and 13 - Montreal

Day 14 and 15 - Lake Placid, NY and the Adirondacks

Day 16 and 17 - Saratoga Springs, NY

Day 18 - flying from Albany, NY to Houston, TX

All my pictures in theses two albums were taken in the Adirondacks, NY (High Peaks, Lake Placid, Westport, Keen, Keen Valley, Wilmington, Jay). Routes 73, 9N and 86 in the Adirondacks always have many colorful places to stop, hike and enjoy foliage. White Mountains of NH are spectacular usually in the beginning of October. Stowe in VT has an ideal New England scenery and maple trees are always breathtaking. The Adirondacks in October are simply fabulous for foliage. A little later in October Saratoga Springs is flooded with multiple colors. There are so many small local roads and gorgeous places in Northeast it is hard to make recommendations. October is an ideal time to visit.

NewPlaces,
Thank you so much, my husband and I will start making plans and most probably follow that itinerary we still have a lot of time, however we like to start early gathering information. Hope we enjoy it as much as you did.

Enjoy your visit. Try to book your accommdodations soon. This is a very busy season and some visitors book their lodging a year or more in advance.