Watching the seasons change — fall bicycle rides

Lake Washington bike trail

Updated for 2008 — See “57 choices for bicycling through fall foliage”

Depending on where you live, it might be a little late in the season for taking scenic bike rides to catch sight of brilliant leaves along roads and trails.

If there's still time in your area, or you just want to see what's available to bicyclists in other parts of the country, Bicycling magazine and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy recently created a list of “leaf-peeping” bike tours.

Unfortunately, they both ignore the Pacific Northwest. Although people mostly think of giant conifers and other evergreens inhabiting the region, there's nothing more colorful than our local big leaf maples whose leaves have turned bright yellow in the fall.

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

The conservancy lists five trails in each of five different regions on its Rail-Trails: Autumn and the Art of Leaf-Peeping. Note: Some of these trails might not be suitable for cycling. Check the links for maps and other details.

New England

Kennebec River Rail Trail—Maine; 6.5 miles 
East Bay Bicycle Path—Rhode Island; 14 miles 
Island Line Trail—Vermont; 12 miles 
Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail—Vermont; 26 miles Airline State Park Trail, South—Connecticut; 22 miles  

Lower Northeast

Pine Creek Rail Trail—Pennsylvania; 62 miles
Lehigh Valley Trail—New York; 15 miles
Catskill Scenic Trail—New York; 19 miles 
Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail—New Jersey, 68 miles
Ogden Mine Railroad Path—New Jersey, 2 miles  

Mid Atlantic

Western Maryland Rail Trail—Maryland; 22 miles
Capitol Crescent Trail—Washington, D.C.; 11 miles
Washington & Old Dominion Trail—Virginia; 45 miles
Greenbrier River Trail—West Virginia; 77 miles 
New River Trail State Park—Virginia, 57 miles 

Southeast

Johnson City/Elizabethton Area Bicycle Routes—Tennessee; 6 miles
Longleaf Trace—Mississippi; 41 miles 
Lake Brandt Greenway (part of the Greensboro trail network)—North Carolina; 2.6 miles
Blue Ridge Railroad Historic Rail Trail—South Carolina; 7 miles
The Arkansas River Trail—Arkansas; 12 miles

Great Lakes

Hockhocking Adena Bikeway—Ohio; 19 miles
Traverse Area Recreational Trail—Michigan; 10 miles
Old Plank Road Trail—Illinois; 21 miles
Delphi Historic Trails—Indiana; 10 miles
The Badger Trail—Wisconsin; 40 miles

Bicycling magazine

Bicycling lists 10 Fall Foliage Rides at its website. Visit for details of each of the rides and maps. They are:

Colorado — Squaw Pass, Denver; 18-mile climb to Mount Evans

Colorado — Boulder's back roads, Boulder; mountain biking on hard-packed roads

Michigan — Fruit Belt, South Bend; road riding through orchards and vineyards in southern Michigan

New York — Otisco Lake, Syracuse; 55-mile loop in upstate New York

North Carolina — John Scott Loop, Winston-Salem; bicycling through the Pilot Mountain foothills

Pennsylvania — Hills in the Mist, West Chester; 50-mile ride starts with climbs, then rollers

Utah — Lewis Peak, Ogden; mountain biking in Wasatch-Cache National Forest

Virginia — Mason Neck, Alexandria; 53-mile route from Fort Hunt National Park

West Virginia — Highland Scenic Highway, Slatyfork; sustained climbing and spectacular views promised

Wisconsin — Levis Trow Mounds, Eau Claire; 30 miles of singletrack