10 National Parks to Visit This Autumn

In fall, the many-hued foliage of these hardwoods blaze brightly, recalling the “year that Maine burned.”

By early fall, hiking is superb in this region. You can watch as piñon jays and Clark’s nutcrackers flit among 800-year-old piñon trees, taking seeds.

After nightfall in the fall and spring, rangers lead visitors toting red flashlights on “owl prowls,” in search of barred owls, with their call of “who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?”

Late spring through fall is best for enjoying the Towpath Trail and hiking trails; colorful foliage is a bonus in autumn.

After the summer, the tundra is washed with autumn color.

With fall foliage being a rare find in western Texas, when the bigtooth maple trees turn their dazzling shades of orange, red, and yellow (usually in late October and early November) visitors come from all over to witness them.

Autumn colors peak at higher elevations in early and mid-September. After that, be prepared for anything from sunshine to snow.

On a crisp September day, when the aspens are turning golden and the first snow dusts the highest peaks, it’s hard to imagine a more appealing and rewarding place.

Tracing the spine of some of Virginia’s most striking mountains, Shenandoah National Park famously cloaks its soft slopes in yellows, oranges, and reds every fall.

In the autumn, the green of conifers such as pine, fir, spruce, and white cedar is complemented by the colorful foliage of maple, birch, aspen, and oak.