Updated Oct. 8, 2010 with recommendations from Adventure Cycling Association and Bicycling magazine
Some uncharacteristically sunny weather on my bicycle rides in Western Washington has revealed splashes of fall color along the road.
It reminds me that the fall foliage season is underway across the US. I'm convinced that the best way to enjoy that is from a bicycle saddle.
Here are some places to check the progress of fall foliage in your area and resources for more than 60 locations touted for their colorful autumn leaves.
Where to start
A good place to check the progress of the color changes is the fall foliage map at The Weather Channel. The Foliage Network also gets reports from the field, as does the National Forest Fall Foliage Hotspots website.
Once you find where the leaves are changing colors, you can head on over to TrailLink.com, the free and searchable database supported by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.
You can search by trail name, or more importantly, by state. For instance, there are about a dozen off-road bike trails listed for Vermont. Choose the trail, then discover details about the bike path, including the trailhead. A free registration is necessary to see the maps.
Bike routes
As for specific bike routes, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has recommended bicycle trails in past years that are sure to offer a good fall show:
Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail, Vermont, 26 miles;
Paul Bunyan Trail, Minnesota, 110 miles;
North Central State Trail, Michigan, 62 miles;
Hudson Valley Rail Trail, New York, 2 miles;
Virginia Creeper Trail, Virginia, 34 miles.
Meanwhile, Rails-to-Trails members have recommended the following trails for fall foliage:
Pine Creek Trail, Pennsylvania, 62 miles;
Carriage Trails in Acadia National Park, Maine, 120 miles;
Butler-Freeport Community Trail, Pittsburgh, 16 miles.
Bicycling.com has featured fall foliage rides in the past. Here are their suggestions:
Aspen, Colorado
Burlington, Vermont
Angel Fire, New Mexico
Chinook Scenic Byway, Yakima, Washington
Pisgah National Forest, Asheville, North Carolina
Farm country, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Hocking Hills, Athens, Ohio
Sun Valley, Idaho
Squaw Pass, Denver, Colorado, road;
John Scott Loop, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, road;
Hills in the Mist, West Chester, Pennsylvania, road;
Battle Mountain and Tennessee Pass, Vail, Colorado;
Summit County Hike & Bike, Cleveland, Ohio;
Peterson Pass, Bennington, Vermont
Granby to Granby, Granby, Connecticut
Fort Duffield, West Point, Kentucky
Lost Valley, Weldon Spring, Missouri
Elk River Hillside Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Cumberland Training Ride, Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Adirondack Foothills, Saratoga Springs, New York
Sierra Vista Scenic Byway, Oakhurst, California
Highland Scenic Highway, Slatyford, West Virginia, road;
Michigan Fruit Belt, South Bend, Michigan, road;
Lewis Peak, Ogden, Utah, mountain bike.
Adventure Cycling Association routes carry cyclists through spectacular scenery. Here are some that they say are particularly suited for fall foliage:
Adirondack Park Loop, Albany, New York
Allegheny Mountains Loop, Blacksburg, Virginia
Green Mountains Loop, Burlington, Vermont
North Lakes Route, Wisconsin, Michigan
Tidewater Potomac, Washington DC
Underground Railroad, Pennsylvania and Ohio
Washington Parks Loop, Washington state
A few years ago the Seattle P-I listed 4 outstanding areas of Washington state for enjoying the changing seasons from a bicycle saddle: Mount St. Helens/Juniper Ridge; John Wayne Pioneer Trail along the I-90 corridor; the Lily/Lizard Lake Loop Trail near Bellingham, and the areas around Winthrop on the east flank of the Northern Cascades.
The Travels with Terry at the Oregonian suggests 10 locales in the state that should offer good fall foliage, including the Columbia Gorge, Mount Hood, and the Willamette Valley.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources lists 23 bicycle trails around the state that promise fall color this year. Although a few are less than three or four miles long, some are longer and include the 70-mile Little Miami Scenic Trail in southwest Ohio, the 17-mile Adena-Hockhocking Trail along the Hocking River in hilly southeastern Ohio, and the 20-mile Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail between Cleveland and Akron.
AAA has even suggested good areas for checking fall foliage by bicycle in New England, including the 15-mile Revolutionary War-themed ride starting on the Minuteman Bikeway in Concord and heading over to the Battle Road Trail.
There's also a 36-mile loop in New Hampshire's White Mountain region. The recommended route, Loop 203, is in the center-right of the highly detailed White Mountains Region Bicycle Map. [Look in sections I-5 and J-5.]
Events:
The Shenandoah Fall Foliage Bike Festival runs from Oct. 15-17, 2010, and features bike rides ranging from 10 to 100 miles along rolling country roads around Staunton, Virginia. Online registration.
The BikeMo Fall Foliage Extravaganza rolls out Oct. 16, 2010, from Holt's Summit, Missouri. Sponsored by the Missouri Bicycle Federation, this bicycling event features four rides — 17 to 100 miles — based from the town about 5 miles north of Jefferson City.
Tour de Leaves features metric and half-metric centures, as well as shorter fun rides, around Tryon, North Carolina. Oct. 16, 2010.
The Fredericksburg Fall Foliage Frolic gives bicyclists a taste of Texas Hill Country color on Oct. 30, 2010. There are four supported bike rides of 10 to 50 miles on Saturday; maps will be available on Sunday for unsupported rides.
The Kitsap Color Classic, a bike tour of the Kitsap Peninsula in the Puget Sound, rolled out last weekend, but it's easy enough to find roads with light traffic there. Also, the Cascade Bicycle Club still has the cue sheets posted.
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