Seven sensational scenic drives for autumn
— -- Hit the open road this autumn for the ultimate joyride. These seven beautiful routes will lift your spirits with stunning fall color, terrific mountaintop views, and affordable stops and stays along the way.
You can ramble through Ohio's Amish Country, hop the crush party trail in Napa, or choose another route close to home. Grab the camera and fill up the gas tank. It's the most wonderful time of the year for vacation savings.
White Mountain Trail
New Hampshire
Drive: A perennial leaf-peeping favorite, this loop route in "The Whites" takes you through mountain passes and past fabulous rock formations, waterfalls, and natural pools. Time it right at dusk or dawn and you'll see moose in the bogs along Route 302 (Moose Alley) near Bretton Woods. In September and October males bellow mightily to attract mates. Map it.
Stop: Just off the national scenic byway, the Mount Washington Cog Railway or Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway.
Stay: At Appalachian Mountain Club's Highland Lodge, nightly rates in a bunkroom/shared bath are $92 per adult ($77 for AMC members), including breakfast, dinner, guided hikes, naturalist activities, and L.L. Bean gear loans. Purity Spring Resort, located on a spring-fed lake in East Madison, is an affordable family option that includes breakfast, dinner, and activities for $129 per night, per couple, or $195 per family of four.
West Elk Loop
Colorado
Drive: On this loop drive you'll circle western Colorado's West Elk Mountains, follow rivers, skirt canyons, and weave through the incredible aspen groves of Gunnison National Forest. Don't miss the north rim of Gunnison National Park's Black Canyon, where you can see the highest sheer cliff in Colorado drop 2,000 feet into the river below. Map it.
Stop: Explore the mountain wilderness on a trail ride near Crested Butte with Fantasy Ranch Horseback Adventures. In Gunnison, Scenic River Tours leads guided fly-fishing trips and whitewater rafting excursions. For $60, you can join one of Colorado Backcountry's half-day mountain bike rides through aspen forests.
Stay: The historic seven-bedroom B&B, Fresh & Wyld Farmhouse Inn, in Paonia has its own gardens and chickens to feed guests. In October rooms rent for $95 (shared bath) or $135 (private bath) per night and include a local, organic breakfast. Even more affordable is Gunnison's Western Motel, a roadside stop popular among bikers.
Blue Ridge Parkway
North Carolina and Virginia
Drive: The Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile mystical mountain route dubbed "America's Favorite Drive," stretches from Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Shenandoah National Park. Head to the southwestern segment near Asheville, North Carolina, where leaf season runs long. Room rates are less expensive in late September and early November, but the colors are still beautiful. Map it.
Stop: In early fall thousands of migrating monarch butterflies bound for Mexico pass through the mountains 35 minutes south of Asheville. Best view: the parkway's Wagon Road Gap overlook. Nearby, crunch into a fresh-picked apple at Orchard at Altapass or hit the corn maze at Hickory Nut Gap Farm. The Biltmore House Architect's Tour takes you to a 360-degree rooftop view of autumn colors.
