A road trip is perhaps the epitome of the American vacation, regardless of the route you take. But a road trip through the nation’s most scenic and colorful fall foliage displays? That’s the epitome of an autumn American getaway.
The following drives — found in the Northeast, the Southwest and the mountain ranges in between — will immerse you in some of the best sights and experiences that the nation’s great outdoors offers this time of year.
Most of them have earned a spot in the Federal Highway Administration’s National Scenic Byways Program. Others are state-designated scenic byways.
If you’re short on time this autumn, don’t let that deter you. The following adventures can be pulled off in as little as an afternoon, or savored for days.
1. Cherohala Skyway (North Carolina and Tennessee)
The Federal Highway Administration highlights this National Scenic Byway’s “mile-high vistas and brilliant fall foliage.”
The Cherohala Skyway stretches for some 40 miles, winding through the two national forests for which it’s named, the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee and the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina.
Leaves start turning color as early as September in higher elevations and continue through mid-November in lower elevations.
2. Blue Ridge Parkway (North Carolina and Virginia)
The National Scenic Byways Program recognizes 184 distinct drives, with a special minority of those designated “All-American Roads” that are considered a “destination unto itself.” The Blue Ridge Parkway is one such road.
Travel its 469 miles in autumn, and you’ll be treated to far more than colorful leaves, says the Federal Highway Administration:
“The Parkway provides spectacular mountain and valley vistas, quiet pastoral scenes, sparkling waterfalls and colorful flower and foliage displays as it extends through the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina.”
3. Woodlands Trace (Kentucky and Tennessee)
Woodlands Trace is a 43-mile National Scenic Byway that stretches through the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, which comprises some 170,000 acres of woodlands on an inland peninsula on the Kentucky/Tennessee state line.
4. Merritt Parkway (Connecticut)
Merritt Parkway, a 37-mile National Scenic Byway running through natural surroundings, abounds with magnificent foliage in the fall as well as in the spring, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
You can use the CT DEEP Fall Foliage Report to keep an eye on conditions and plan your trip for peak viewing.
5. Olympic Trail (New York)
Olympic Trail, a state scenic byway, spans upstate New York, including the Adirondack Mountains, stretching from Lake Champlain to Lake Ontario. Along the way, it runs through the village of Lake Placid, which hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1932 and 1980.
6. Mountain Maryland (Maryland)
Mountain Maryland, another state scenic byway, runs through western Maryland. The 193-mile route is punctuated with mountain, forest and river terrains as well as the state’s largest freshwater lake. Points of interest include multiple state parks and small towns like Oakland.
7. Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway (New Mexico)
The Northeast might be known for its fall foliage, but you also can find road trip-worthy displays of color far west of the Adirondacks and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Check out north-central New Mexico’s Enchanted Circle, for example. This looping byway covers some 80 miles around 13,000-foot Wheeler Peak, the highest point in the state.
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