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Fall Family Vacation Ideas
Where to Enjoy the Colors of Fall from Coast to Coast
By Donna Smith and Shelly Hemig
About eight hours south of Chicago, you can visit Shawnee National Forest, which is located in the Ozark and Shawnee Hills between the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. In Southern Illinois expect to see more dogwood, as well as sassafras, black gum, ash, hickory and tulip poplar trees.
Missoula, Mont., is an excellent place in the North Central United States to view fall leaves. "One of the best places to see fall foliage in Missoula is Rattlesnake [National Recreation Area]," says Cheryl Logerstedt, mother of three and former resident of the area. "There are many hardwood trees in the area, as well as Tamarack pines, which shed their needles after they've turned colors."
A good place to take a drive, according to the Official Travel and Adventure Site of Montana, is along the Seeley-Swan Highway (Montana Hwy. 83), also found in western Montana. From mid-September through November, the golden yellows from the western larch, aspen and cottonwood trees line the road.
However, Logerstedt says she prefers to walk. "Some of the most enjoyable times I've had have been walking with my children in our neighborhood and purposing to find many different colors, shapes and sizes of leaves, which they all collect in their specially designed leaf bags," she says. "The part we like best is finding a big pile of leaves somewhere and tossing them up high into the air so that they shower down on us, sometimes even sticking to our clothing."
A great place to check out the changing colors of the leaves in Oregon is along the McKenzie Pass-Santia Pass Scenic Byway. This 82-mile loop takes you up and down through two Cascade range passes. There are views of Mt. Washington, the Three Sisters and Mt. Jefferson, as well as the McKenzie River, which is followed for 26 miles by a national recreation trail, in case you'd rather hike.
