Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has some great fall colors, but are they the best in the National Park System?/NPS
Hard to believe, fellow park travelers, but the first day of fall is next week, on Tuesday. Already the hillsides around Traveler headquarters are taking on the hues of fall, albeit largely muted due to the long-running drought. But across the National Park System there are spectacular fall colors to take in. Where do you think they are?
We know great displays can be found along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and in the mountains of Acadia National Park, and in the hollows of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. But what about the fall displays of larch in Glacier National Park? The shimmering yellows of cottonwoods set against redrock in the Horseshoe Canyon annex of Canyonlands National Park?
There are countless other great fall foliage displays on tap in the coming weeks. Tell us where you think the best are, and we'll mention them in an upcoming podcast.
Comments
Minnesota's North Shore. Isle Royale!
The Keweenaw Peninsula Michigan Upper Peninsula between Calumet and Copper Harbor!
North Cascades National Park's extensive fire scars and avalanche paths are matched with even more reds and golds on the Mountain Loop Highway, including Stevens Pass - once considered as potentially part of the park. Most of this color is in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest currently, but some of it may soon be included in a proposed expansion up toward the highest passes and more golden Larch forests framed by alpine peaks. Go to AmericanAlps.org for photos and details. These fall colors clarify the intimate relationship of fire and avalanche codependency.
On the Blue Ridge Parkway, of course.
Danny Bernstein
www.hikertohiker.com