Suggestions for a Fall color driving vacation

My wife and I are planning to depart Chicago next Thursday (13th October) with 10 days on our hands to drive some of the more scenic areas aiming to catch fall colors. Our initial plans are to drive east through Ohio towards Pennsylvania and then turn south into West Virgina and Virginia (following Appalachian trail?). Once into North Carolina take a west turn into Tennessee bfore going north through Kentucky and Indiana back to Chicago. We think (?) this is a reasonable circular route but need advice on specific scenic hotspots and highways to hit along the way. We know of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. We know areas around Asheville, NC are recommended. We are happy to base ourselves in one or two locations for a couple of days or more if there are good choices along the way allowing day-trips.

Any advice on scenic drives, small quaint towns, spectacular vistas, etc would be very muc appreciated. Any guide book suggestions to help us would also be well received.

Many thanks as always!

If you're heading from PA into VA and West VA, you'll probably want to take I-81 south. It's an interstate highway, but does offer some fine views of the Shanandoah mountains. Alternately, take skyline drive, its absolutely gorgeous.

Don't know if you'd be interested in this, but in southwest VA (not West Virginia) just 20 mins or so off I-81 is my alma mater - Virginia Tech. The school is absolutely gorgeous in the fall, and make sure you walk around the huge drillfield to catch some spectacular shots of the impressive architecture. Also check out the duck pond area for some nice fall color.

If you continue south on I-81 from Virginia Tech, you will come to a lovely part of southwest VA right across the TN border called Abingdon. Very pastoral setting and wonderful in the fall. There is a local hike there to a dam you can go on with offers some very nice views. From there I believe Ashville is only a short drive away.

Good luck. My wife and I will be making a similar drive through New England in about 2 weeks! We'll be starting with Niagara Falls, head east across NY state to hit lake placid and the Adirondacks, go through VT and NH and into Maine to Acadia National Park, then on up to New Brunswick and back down the east coast to home. Any suggestions?

Hey! The smokeys where where I live... well, close. I live about 45 min from Asheville in a little town called Cullowhee. The locals here are starting to say that the leaf season here isn't going to be that good because of all the rainfall we had over the summer. I'm sure that it will still be beatiful though.
The Biltmore is somewhat of a hotspot around here. While you are around here you should check out the waterfalls. Once in the area, I would pick up a local map of the waterfalls.

I'm hearing it's not a good year in New England and now in NC. If you really want fall color, maybe a little research (via internet) is in order to find the best color this year. Of course, there are other reasons to go to the places you've mentioned.

There's a website that tracks foliage across the country that you can check out ( http://www.weather.com …e.html?from=wxc​enter_maps ). From looking at the map, it doesn't look like there is going to be much color where you are heading (although how often is the weather channel right?) You might think about heading further north as it doesn't look like there is much color down south yet.

Have a great trip, and I look forward to seeing your pictures when you get back!

Come up to Canada (via northern Michigan) and you will find that the colours are fantastic in the Sault Ste Marie, Canada area. They have a day long train trip from there up to the Agawa Canyon just to see the colours...a wildly popular trip (find it on the "net)...they drive east over to Ottawa (down the Ottawa River valley) they to Montreal (or by-pass it) and into New England. Would be perfect for 10 days, and the leaves should be perfect.

If you heed Neon01 suggestions about heading toward VA Tech (I'm and old Hokie, too) make sure you head up to Mountain Lake which is just south of Tech on Rt 460. On the way up the mountain you'll pass one of the few remaining covered bridges in Virginia. It's on private property, but I have managed to steal a few shots without getting chased off.

The foliage change in the North East is late this year. Lake Placid area is finally getting into the peak time. About 2 weeks later then normal. You should hit it good in PA next weekend. Check out FallInPA. Also they have foliage reports and road trips here for PA.

The Allegheny National Forest region is absolutely breathtaking. It's in north-western Pennsylvania (near Cooks Forest, Tidioute, Kinzua reservoir). You could spend a whole week there and run through several memory cards!

The leaves in Harrison County, Oh. are just starting to turn, it's supposed to rain for a couple days, and the nights are getting cooler, I'm guessing in a week there might be more color, but no where near "peak" yet.

I'm from Maine so I would tell you that if you want fall leaves you need to come to New England, it is classic.