Leaf Watch 2010

Park Rangers Anticipate a Vibrant Autumn:
Website Highlights Best Leaf Color in Georgia’s State Parks

For many people, the perfect autumn weekend includes cozy campfires, gooey s’mores and fiery-hued forests. To help leaf peepers plan their fall escapes, Georgia’s state parks will soon launch “Leaf Watch 2010” in partnership with Georgia Forestry Commission to track fall color as it moves across the Peach State and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Whether heading north for hiking and waterfalls or south for canoeing and camping, “Leaf Watch 2010” offers advice on where to find the best color at Georgia’s state parks. Found at www.GeorgiaStateParks.org throughout October and November, travelers can get updates on fall color, learn safe hiking tips, and make reservations for the many campsites, cottages and lodge rooms offered at Georgia’s state parks. New this year is a partnership with Georgia Forestry Commission and a webcam at Black Rock Mountain State Park near Clayton, Ga. Expert foresters will advise travelers about overall color, specific tree species and even the weather’s effect on leaf watching. The webcam will provide a glimpse of color progressing across the Blue Ridge Mountains.

"Fortunately, there are no 'bad' years for fall foliage in Georgia," said Ken Masten, Gainesville District Manager for the Georgia Forestry Commission. "With moderating temperatures and sufficient rainfall in the next weeks, sunny and cool fall days should set the stage for the best showing of autumn color." Typically, Georgia’s mountain parks peak in late October; however, color can be seen as early as September and throughout much of November. Some of the most popular parks for leaf watching include Amicalola Falls, Black Rock Mountain, Cloudland Canyon, Fort Mountain, Moccasin Creek, Smithgall Woods, Tallulah Gorge, Unicoi and Vogel.

Since some of these parks are crowded on the prettiest weekends, visitors may want to explore lesser-known parks, which can be vibrant. Providence Canyon State Park, also called Georgia’s Little Grand Canyon, has hiking trails that highlight sweetgums and sassafras. Hardwoods and mossy rock gardens can be found on the 23-mile Pine Mountain Trail at F.D. Roosevelt State Park in near Columbus. “We are excited to partner with Georgia Forestry Commission this year,” said Georgia State Parks Director Becky Kelley. “They can offer expertise on the most colorful trees in Georgia, and we can provide easy ways for visitors to get out and enjoy this beautiful season.”

Park officials advise visitors to make overnight reservations as soon as possible. It is not uncommon for mountain cottages and yurts to be reserved nearly a year in advance, and many campgrounds fill up on pretty weekends. Amicalola Falls and Unicoi state parks offer hotel-style lodges with restaurants. To make a reservation, call 1-800-864-7275 or log onto www.GeorgiaStateParks.org.



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Fall for Leaves in Georgia

Looking for some fall leaf colors? Look no further than our great state of Georgia. It is currently estimated that the leaf color change is at 30%.

The excessive rainfall in Northwest Georgia has delayed the leaf color change in the area, however, the leaves are just starting to pop in North Georgia.

Head on up to the Lake Rabun, and the Jasper area for some great views.



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Fall Color Predictions For 'America's Best Idea'

T2F Note: The nights are cooling off while the days are just plain beautiful. Now is the time that we folks in Georgia start thinking about weekend trips to the mountains in search of the elusive best fall color and the best apples. Asheville is a great place to visit and is just a short weekend trip away from Georgia. This week's coveted Fayette Front Page Weekender Award goes to Asheville and the Smoky Mountains National Park. See you there!

/PRNewswire/ -- Longtime natives of the Asheville area in the Blue Ridge Mountains, known for its extended fall foliage season, will tell you that the best color displays come later -- toward the end of October. Celebrating the 75th anniversaries of Smoky Mountains National Park in 2009 and Blue Ridge Parkway in 2010, mountain families like Steve Woody's were moved from their homesteads in the 1930s for the creation of the park and are proud of the natural legacy they have left to us all.

Mountain Heritage Remembered

"If you talk to families from the area, there's a peace about the creation of Smoky Mountains National Park," says Woody, whose family was moved from their land in Cataloochee in Western North Carolina. "There was great sacrifice. They had to move from their forbearers' homesteads and livelihoods. But, today they wonder, had the Park not come, what would have happened to the land? You just have to look at other places to get an idea. Now, it is a pristine and wooded place that everyone can enjoy."

PBS Presents "America's Best Idea"

Stories like those of the Woody family are the kind that famed filmmaker Ken Burns had in mind when he began his latest documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea, a six-part series coming to PBS this fall, beginning September 27. The documentary, regional anniversary celebrations and predictions of a healthy leaf season round-out an opportune time to appreciate and experience our natural history in full autumn glory.

Fall Color Predictions

"Every year is a good year for autumn color, depending on where you are in Western North Carolina. We finally had a normal rainfall year. As of September 1, the Asheville airport reports only one inch above 'normal' precipitation. With good growth on the trees, we have all the foliage we need for great fall color. As long as autumn develops normally with cool nights and dry days -- and October is typically one of our driest months -- it should be a colorful season." -- Biltmore Director of Horticulture, Parker Andes

"Drought-stressed trees show more color and turn, more or less, simultaneously. So, our wetter year could make the colors appear more gradually. We don't know what the weather will bring, but fronts that give us cold nights and bright sunny days will start the process in a couple weeks at high elevations, which will be vibrant very soon, and continue down to the low elevations. The later color from oaks and hickories will be nice at the end of October and early November." -- University of North Carolina Asheville Associate Professor of Biology, David Clarke

"Compared to when I was growing up, I think it tends to stay warmer and we see the color later in the season. This was a more typical summer, like the kind I remember as a kid... cooler and wetter." --Steve Woody, Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Gateway City Getaway

Located just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park and along the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Asheville area is steeped in natural history and full of fall adventures. Extreme elevation variations and hundreds of deciduous tree species (the largest number in North America) combine to give Western North Carolina one of most extended and colorful leaf seasons in the country.

Online Resources

-- Weekly Fall Color Reports: Visit FallintheMountains.com
(http://www.fallinthemountains.com/) for expert fall color reports for
Western North Carolina, budget travel info, scenic drives, events,
value packages and insider tips
-- Twitter: Area insiders "tweet" color updates and up-to-the-minute
travel deals @FallColorHunter (http://www.twitter.com/FallColorHunter)
and @AshevilleDeals (http://www.twitter.com/AshevilleDeals)
-- GreatSmokies75th.org
(http://greatsmokies75th.org/welcome-to-the-great-smokies-75th/)
-- BlueRidgeParkway75.org (http://www.blueridgeparkway75.org/)

Fall Value Packages

-- Fall is for Waterfalls Package
(http://www.exploreasheville.com/deals/seasonal-packages/fall-is-for-w
aterfalls/index.aspx)
-- Extreme Fall Color Whitewater Package
(http://www.exploreasheville.com/deals/the-great-outdoors-packages/fre
nch-broad-river-12-day-rafting-package/index.aspx)
-- Wheee! Fall Canopy Tours Zip Line Package
(http://www.exploreasheville.com/deals/the-great-outdoors-packages/can
opy-tours-package/index.aspx)

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Find Fabulous Fall Colors in National Parks

ARA) - Every year, millions of Americans look forward to autumn and the opportunity to take in the beautiful fall foliage. As deciduous trees across the country begin to shed their leaves, “leaf peeping,” as it is known, becomes a pastime of many travelers.

The national parks offer a serene setting and unmatched views to enjoy this majestic transformation. Our parks preserve hundreds of tree species, which, into November, vibrantly paint the mountains and hillsides and fields with fresh shades of red, orange, yellow and purple.

“Visitors come from miles away each year to experience fall foliage in our national parks. It is truly a spectacular time of year,” says Mark Wenzler, director of Clean Air and Climate Programs for the National Parks Conservation Association. “Unfortunately, many of the trees people come to see face threats like air pollution, most of which is caused by exhaust from coal-fired power plants and automobiles. It is essential we do everything we can to protect our national parks for our children and grandchildren to enjoy, as well.”

Here are a few national park sites beloved for their brilliant fall foliage, but also facing air pollution issues:

Although nearing the completion of this year’s season, Acadia National Park in Maine is well-known for its beautiful fall foliage. Timing varies each year, but peak colors are typically seen in early to mid-October. The park offers nearly 40,000 acres of Maine coastline for visitors to explore the remarkable foliage and views. Leaf peepers come to see the bright yellow birch leaves, the deep red maple foliage, and the orange hue of the white ash. At an elevation of 1,530 feet, Cadillac Mountain allows visitors to enjoy fall foliage at the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard.

Despite the undeniable beauty throughout the park, Acadia’s forests are threatened by harmful air pollution. To reduce pollution from your car, consider carpooling in the fall, as the park’s shuttle system stops operating after Columbus Day. For more information about fall foliage at Acadia National Park, please see: http://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee, North Carolina) usually experiences a fall foliage season that lasts several weeks. Park trees change colors at various times, depending mostly on elevation. At mid and lower-level elevations, the color display typically reaches peak between mid-October and early November. The park attracts leaf peepers, who want a glimpse of the nearly 100 native tree species, most of which are deciduous. Some of the more vibrant trees include hickories, sugar maple, scarlet oak, sweetgum and red maple.

The fall foliage display at Great Smoky Mountains remains one of the best in the country, but park forests face air pollution threats like acid rain, which weakens trees by damaging the leaves and limiting the nutrients available to them. Visitors might consider alternative transportation options to lessen their own impact at the park, as automobile emissions are a contributor to air pollution. At Cades Cove, one of the more congested areas of the park, NPCA has partnered with the nonprofit Cades Cove Heritage Tours to offer a guided shuttle service for visitors. For more information about fall foliage at Great Smoky Mountains, please visit www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit.

Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky is known for its extensive cave system -- the longest in the world. However, visitors have ample opportunity to explore other features of this national park, as well. Mammoth Cave preserves the forested Kentucky hills, which offer numerous trails for hikers to explore and observe the vibrant fall foliage. Oak, tulip poplar and sassafras are among the trees that scatter park forests and attract leaf peepers annually.

Unfortunately, the park’s beloved deciduous trees are threatened by acid rain year-round. Consider carpooling to the park, and using park trails to explore its changing forests. Mammoth Cave offers trails for every level of hiker. For an updated webcam shot of fall foliage at the park, please visit http://nature.nps.gov/air.

Each of these parks is downwind of dozens of coal-fired power plants, which are the major cause of acid rain and ozone which damage their trees. Fortunately, many electric utilities are now offering their customers the choice of green energy alternatives to coal, like wind and solar power. After returning from your fall leaf peeping trip, consider switching to green energy to help protect the beautiful scenery you just enjoyed.

For additional information about reducing your own carbon footprint to help protect our national parks, as well as the tools to actually do so, visit the new interactive Do Your Part! for Climate Friendly Parks Web site, sponsored by the National Parks Conservation Association in support of the National Park Service’s Climate Friendly Parks program at www.doyourpartparks.org.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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Asheville Fall Foliage Forecast: When is Peak Color in the NC Mountains?

PRNewswire/ -- RomanticAsheville.com, a popular online travel guide to the Asheville area, has released its annual Fall Foliage Forecast. When is the peak color? The good news is that no matter when you visit in October or early November, you can take a short drive from Asheville to find the best color. The leaf color change begins soon on the highest peaks and gradually works down to the lowest elevations.

Here are the times and places to go:

October 3-12: Highest elevations north of Asheville above 5,000 feet show the most color, like Mount Mitchell and Grandfather Mountain.

October 10-20: Color is best in elevations 4,000-5,000', including Mount Pisgah, Black Balsam Knob, and Graveyard Fields.

October 15-25: Head to the 3,000-4,000' elevation range like Looking Glass Rock and Linville Gorge.

October 20-November 1: The city of Asheville (2,200') shows the brightest colors, along with Hendersonville and Brevard. See the waterfalls in Dupont State Forest or visit the North Carolina Arboretum.

October 24-November 5: The color show concludes in the foothills (1,000-2,000'). Visit Chimney Rock Park and Lake Lure.

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