“Every leaf speaks bliss to me/ Fluttering from the autumn tree,” wrote Emily Brontë. Whether it’s golden ginkgoes or fiery maples, there’s just something about fall foliage that stirs the heart. But planning a trip to see the changing colors requires careful planning. Leaf peeping season is short, and the timing varies dramatically depending on the weather and your destination. Here are a few ideas for the best places to see fall colors — and the best ways to travel there.

Leaf-Peeping Trip Tips

• Watch the weather. The intensity of fall foliage depends a lot on the conditions of the three or four months prior. Dry summers can stress trees, causing them to drop their leaves early and resulting in less intense colors. A cool and dry autumn, on the other hand, results in glowing crimsons: “The reds (anthocyanins), which require sunlight for production, are enhanced by cold and sunny days,” the Harvard Forest explains.¹

• Check the calendar, then book early. A few thousand other leaf-peepers also want to book those charming B&Bs in Vermont, so don’t wait until the last minute to plan your trip. While the timing of fall colors varies year to year, you can expect the prettiness to peak in September in New England, in mid- to late October in the Mid-Atlantic states, and then late October to early November in the Great Smoky Mountains.

• Protect your trip with insurance. A lot of people skip travel insurance for short trips, but weekend getaways aren’t immune from travel mishaps! If you, like a majority of Americans, take a lot of quick trips (aka micro-cations), an annual travel insurance plan can protect them all. Road trips can be covered, as long as your destination is 100 miles or more from your home. And if you’re renting a car for your leaf-peeping adventure, an AllTrips plan includes rental car damage and theft coverage (available to residents of most states). 

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The Best Places to See Fall Colors

A covered-bridge fall tour of Vermont: Photographers will love visiting the impossibly charming covered bridges that dot the state — the perfect focal point for fall foliage pictures. The area in and around Woodstock, VT is one of the best places to see fall colors and bridges, too. The Deer Brook Inn suggests a driving itinerary that takes you to seven, including the Windsor-Cornish Bridge, which is the longest covered bridge in the U.S. (Why does New England have so many covered bridges? There are a few competing theories, but most likely it’s to protect the structure from deterioration due to weather.²)

A classic coastal Canadian train ride: The Ocean is Via Rail’s 21-hour route from Montreal to Halifax. Special offerings include Acadian wine and cheeses, plus local music and history lectures. To truly treat yourself, book a Sleeper Plus berth. While the first half of the trip takes place at night, you’ll wake to see the ocean. Grab a seat in the glass-domed Park car for panoramic views of fall foliage and farmland.

A leaf-peeping bike ride through the Shenandoah Valley: Every October, the Shenandoah Bike Foliage Festival draws around 750 riders to the winding roads of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. “You’ll pass bucolic farmlands (where the pace of life slows down so much, you may even pass a few horse-drawn buggies), trees loaded with changing fall colors, historic Civil War battlefields, and small towns with picturesque town squares and classic Americana architecture,” the festival organizers say.³ The weekend offers rides for every level of cyclist, from a flat family route to a challenging century ride.

A winding drive on the San Juan Skyway: With gigantic groves of golden aspen, Colorado as one of the best places to see fall colors. Dedicate a day or two to driving the 235-mile San Juan Skyway, a loop that goes from Durango through red mountains, historic mining towns and forests ablaze with fall color. One stretch is known as the “Million Dollar Highway,” either because of the price tag of its construction or the gold ore hidden in the roadway’s fill.

A train ride through western Kyoto: With vibrant maples, Japan has some of the best fall foliage in the world. The season’s color change is called koyo or momiji, and the term for leaf-peeping is momijigari: “red leaf hunting.” The autumn foliage season typically begins in mid-September on the northern island of Hokkaido, and continues from mid-October through early December in places to the south.⁴ One traditional way to experience momijigari is to take the Sagano Scenic Railway from Kyoto, then return on the Hozugawa River cruise.

A bus and train tour of New England: Why drive yourself when you could just kick back and watch the trees go by? Vacations By Rail offers several leaf-peeping season tours of the northeast, including an eight-day exploration that includes three scenic rail excursions, trips to historic sites and towns, and fall foliage galore in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and New Hampshire.

A road trip to see the Great Smoky Mountains’ fall colors: The Smokies, in Tennessee and North Carolina, are famous for having some of the best fall foliage in the world. Because of the elevation changes, the color begins in mid-September with yellow birch, American beech, mountain maple and more; then climbs higher until early November, as the sugar maple, scarlet oak, sweetgum, red maple, and hickories turn.⁵

Wherever your autumn bliss takes you, don’t forget to safeguard your vacation with travel insurance from Allianz Global Assistance. Every year, more than 55 million American travelers trust us to protect them on the journey. Get a quote.

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