My Top 10 autumn color tours

Now that autumn is here - well, almost - people are sending me emails asking if I can recommend some places to see fall foliage in all its billiance.

So, I've compiled this list of my 10 favourite spots that I've seen Mother Nature change into her most colourful coat:

1- New York’s Adirondack Mountains: Just a few hours from New York or Montreal, the colour show put on in this awesome region by Mother Nature is truly one of the most spectacular you’ll ever see. Drives along narrow, winding highways bordered by fast moving streams lead to places like Saranac Lake, Lake George and Lake Placid. In between, a canvas of colour clings to mighty mountains where tress and rock blend together to make one fabulous site.

2- Quebec’s Mont-Tremblant: Just two hours north of Montreal, a blanket of colour spreads across this famous ski region in late September and offers some of the most vibrant shades of natural colour you’ll ever come across. The French Canadian ambience and food just add to the autumn glory in this area of glorious Canada.

3- New Hampshire: This state was always one of my favourites on family fall outings, especially the areas around Franconia Notch and North Conway. The colours in New Hampshire always seemed brighter and the festive mood of the people there in the fall seemed more enthusiastic and genuine.

4- Pennsylvania: We stumbled across northern Pennsylvania’s autumn glory after visiting a cousin in State College, home to the University of Pennsylvania. We were blown away by what we saw. The state has 108 species of native trees and most change colour in the fall.

5- West Virginia: This is a state that gets overlooked by a lot of leaf hunters. However, America’s most forested state offers some of the most brilliant colour changes. Here trees begin turning in late September and the spectacle lasts until late October – the peek season for the colours there.

6- Ontario: The area north of Toronto known as the Muskokas, and the Niagara Falls region, south of the city, are among the favourites for fall colour enthusiasts. The Agawa Canyon train trip is one of the top-rated spectacles anywhere, but the province’s other regions also have much to offer in autumn.
7- Virginia: This state's stunning landscape looks even better in the fall months and drives and hikes along the Skyline Parkway, Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail and many other byways and highways will leave you speechless. Some suggest the Shenandoah Valley offers the best autumn moments but I find it difficult to recommend one Virginia region over another.

8- The Carolinas: Believe it or not, both North and South Carolina offer fall foliage seasons. They’re not as vibrant as their northern neighbours but they’re still pretty spectacular. South Carolina’s Upcountry, set amidst the rugged beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills and along the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway (SC Hwy. 11) are two areas we highly recommend.
9- Canada’s East Coast: Densely forested provinces like Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are the best places to see the changing colours. In the small town of St. Andrews by the Sea, N.B., just across the border with Maine, they celebrate the fall season with parades and fireworks and many cooking festivals.

10- Maine and Vermont: I left my favorite autumn destinations for last. The states of Maine and Vermont are without a doubt the most beautiful of all 50 when fall descends upon the northeast. In small seaside towns like Maine’s Boothbay Harbor to ski centres like Vermont’s Killington and Stowe, and every town and village in between, fall is celebrated like Christmas.