Add to the cascade of fall colors with a waterfall
When the warm days dwindle down to a precious few is the time seniors can saddle up and enjoy the sunset without the crush of summertime crowds.
If you're not traveling these September days, you might be mapping a fall-foliage trip to scenic areas that require early booking for accommodations. In other words, if you don't plan ahead, take your tent and sleeping bag because you might not be nodding off in a feather bed.
It is the soft time of year when tranquillity and gorgeous colors of the outdoors are enhanced even more, from a photography point of view, at least, by waterfalls in the background.
An example: The Great Lakes region is noted for its deep gorges and sparkling waterfalls in addition to spectacular fall foliage.
In Wisconsin, the South Shore Lake Superior Circle Tour is recommended from Superior, Wis., to the Montreal River in Michigan's Upper Peninsula (www.superiortrails.com). There are many parks with waterfalls and gorgeous scenery on this route, including Amnicon Falls State Park in South Range. Pattison State Park contains the Big Manitou Falls with a 165-foot drop, the highest falls in Wisconsin.
For more information, contact the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, (800) 432-8747, and the Upper Peninsula Travel & Recreation Association, (800) 562-7134.
To find other waterfalls on your fall-foliage trip, visit the USA Guide to Waterfalls at www.waterfalls-guide.com. The site also includes a Leaf-Lookers Guide to many states, recommending roads to travel where the autumn scenery is rewarding.
West Virginia is one of the most-visited fall-foliage states, boasting both the Appalachian and Allegheny mountains. Just about anywhere you go you'll come across spectacular visages of brilliant colors, beginning in late September and lasting through much of October.
The New River Canyon, noted for its white-water kayaking and rafting thrills, is also a leaf peeper's paradise, especially the vistas from and around U.S. Route 19 and U.S. Route 60 from Hico to Charleston. The Canyon Rim Visitor Center makes a good starting point for viewing two famously photogenic bridges in the vicinity: the New River Bridge and the Chesapeake & Ohio Hawks Nest Bridge in Hawks Nest State Park.
Cathedral Falls is a 60-foot cataract about 35 miles southeast of Charleston via Route 60 near the community of Gauley Bridge. This is where the Gauley and New rivers join to form the Great Kanawha River. You can view the falls at Mile 38 of Route 60.
For more information, contact the West Virginia Division of Tourism, (800) 225-5982.
The Litchfield Hills of Northwest Connecticut are prime leaf-peeping country with a watery bonus thrown in. In addition to massive hardwood groves of brilliant colors, the area contains several worthy waterfalls, some with dramatic drops.
Falls Brook, just north of Kent in Kent Falls State Park, plunges 200 feet. A path newly cut this past year beside the falls offers close-up views from bottom to top. Though this particular waterfall is nestled amid pines and hemlocks (not flaming foliage), the overall scenery of northwestern Connecticut is ablaze during the first three weeks of October, with the second week usually being peak.
Expect mild days and cool nights for roaming the colonial towns, rolling hills and river valleys of this rural area of Connecticut.
A list of descriptions and locations of about a dozen photographable cascades is available from the Northwest Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau, (800) 663-1273. Ask for a guide to the many bed-and-breakfasts in the area, and make your reservations early.
In Bushkill in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, you can see eight scenic falls, all privately owned, but open to the public, the more famous being the Bridal Veil and the two Bridesmaid falls. To arrive there from I-80, take Exit 309 and follow U.S. Route 209 north to Bushkill Falls Road in Bushkill (there is a blinking light at the intersection). There are signs directing you to the various trails leading from Bushkill Falls Road. For information, call (570) 588-6682.
Dingmans Ferry in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is another popular location for rapid water amid colorful trees. The Web site blurb describes the area thusly: "This set of three cascades in the George W. Childs Recreation area, about 1½ miles up Dingmans Brook from Dingmans Falls, gives the visitor another perspective; same waterway, different world." From I-80, take Route 209 north just west of Stroudsburg, to Pennsylvania Route 739, turn left and go 1.2 miles to Silver Lake/Factory Road. There should be a sign pointing to George W. Childs Recreation area. Turn left and continue 1.75 miles to the parking pullout. For information, contact the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area at (570) 426-2452.
John Hilferty's column for
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