National parks actually glow in autumn. From the fluttering gold of aspens and larch in the parks along the spine of the Rocky Mountains to the oranges, yellows and reds of the hardwood forests that cover Eastern parks and even on the Southwest’s sandstone, fall is the season of incandescence in the park system.

Where do you find these rainbows? Here’s your guide to the "best bets" for fall color in the National Park System.

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Shenandoah is renowned for its colorful fall kaleidoscope. Proof of its popularity is found in the bumper-to-bumper traffic you encounter on the Skyline Drive and the illuminated “No Vacancy” signs on area lodges, motels, and B&Bs.

The 105-mile-long Skyline Drive reliably presents an artist’s palette of maroon, yellow, and gold from about mid-October to mid- November. Colors generally peak in Shenandoah during the last half of October.

Shenandoah National Park is a sure bet for fall color, but you might want to schedule your visit at mid-week to minimize the crowds as much as possible/Kurt Repanshek

If you don’t have the time, or patience, to drive the road’s entire length, pick one end of the park to explore and time your visit accordingly. Since this elongated park is oriented north to south, the colors vary considerably in elevation; colors arrive up to several weeks earlier in the north and at higher and middle elevations.

The extended season in the south, and at lower elevations, provides you with options. Many species of small trees and shrubs, such as sassafras and sumac, remain vibrant long after the oaks peak.

Recommended hike: Dark Hollow Falls to the Stony Mountain Trail and back to Big Meadows via the Rapidan Fire Road.

Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia/North Carolina

This rolling, 469-mile two-lane road links the spectacle in Shenandoah with an equally colorful show in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And there’s plenty of eye-catching display along the way.

Make sure, though, that you’re planning the “where and when” of a visit. As in Shenandoah, the foliage season unfolds from north to south and from higher to lower elevations. Depending on location, colors may peak from early October (elevations above 5,000 feet) to mid-October (3,000- 4,000+ feet) to as late as mid-November (lower elevations near Asheville/ Lake Lure).

Expect to share the splendor of the brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows with lots of other travelers. On October weekends, the Parkway’s busiest time of year, it may seem that the whole population of the eastern United States has decided to take a leaf-peeping drive on the Parkway. Travel on weekdays if you can.

Remember, gas stations are scarce, so fill your tank before you go.

Recommended photograph: Mabry Mill against a backdrop of sycamore and yellow poplar with the mill’s reflection in the pond in the foreground.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina/Tennessee

Within the more than 521,000 acres of Great Smoky stands the largest tract of old-growth forest in the eastern United States. And that forest, under the right conditions, bursts in so many hues of crimsons, yellows, purples, browns, and golds that the leafy display rivals those of the New England countryside.

Colors generally peak in mid- to late-October at higher elevations (which have a climate similar to New England’s), but can start as early as mid-September with the turning of “early” trees such as yellow birch, American beech, mountain maple, hobblebush, and pin cherry.

At lower and middle elevations, where the color tends to be most spectacular, the blend includes such beauties as sugar maple, scarlet oak, sweetgum, red maple, and hickory.

East-west trending Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road) gets the bulk of the leaf-peeping traffic, which is typically quite heavy (especially on weekends), but the Clingmans Dome Road and the Cades Cove Loop are very popular as well.

An alternative to the Newfound Gap Road is the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail near Gatlinburg. This narrow, steep, winding (but paved) one-way road passes through color-rich forests and offers glimpses of Roaring Fork Creek as a bonus. If this experience is on your list, you’ll need to be willing to drive slowly in congested, stop-and-go traffic.

Recommended hike: Flee the crowds with a loop hike on the 7-mile Boogerman Trail in Cataloochee. Check with rangers on the state of missing bridges.

Acadia National Park, Maine

When you see how Acadia blends its evergreens and hardwoods in a master artwork, you’ll understand why the Hudson River School of painters was so inspired by the landscape. The park’s forests offer some of the best fall foliage in New England. Many visitors particularly like the vivid contrast of the flaming hardwoods, the dark greens of the spruce, fir, and pitch pine, the white bark of the birches, and the blues and greens of the sea.

Acadia National Park is typically a front-runner when it comes to fall color in the National Park System/NPS

Colors begin to show in the higher and cooler places by late September. Catch the fall foliage at its peak—usually during the first few weeks of October—and you can enjoy spectacular views along the Park Loop Road and atop 1,530-foot Cadillac Mountain. For a more macro approach to the color season, wander the Wild Gardens of Acadia to see the transformation of native plants and shrubs from the growing season to dormancy.

While the Park Loop Road is an easy path to take to enjoy this showy season, park your vehicle and take to bikes to pedal the carriage roads to truly immerse yourself in the colors.

Recommended pedal: Rent a bike, if you don’t have your own, in Bar Harbor and tie into the carriage roads off Duck Brook Road.

Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Maine to Georgia

This nearly 2,200-milelong footpath offers colorful vistas every step of the way. Northbound thru-hikers, if they planned their trek with the color show in mind, will spend weeks-on-end cruising through the richly gilded forests on their way to Mount Katahdin. Southbound hikers, if they didn’t start too late, could catch a similar show as they walk along the Blue Ridge Parkway and through Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Day-hikers, meanwhile, can pick and choose when to head down sections of trail to ensure they are greeted by the peak displays. Early October in Shenandoah can be perfect, and you can avoid most of the traffic on the A.T. by jumping off onto trails that wind through the park’s officially designated Wilderness areas.

Recommended hikes: Just about anywhere along Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway.