OUTDOORS

Prepare for leaf-peeping season with this fall foliage guide

WARM COLORS IN COOL CLIMES

Foliage-hunters, it's time to grab your binoculars-and bring along this handy guide to autumn leaves.

LEAF	SUGAR MAPLE	QUAKING ASPEN
SCIENTIFIC NAME	Acer saccharum	Populus tremuloides
CHARACTERISTICS	Five-pointed lobes (two of which are relatively unobtrusive). They produce dazzling red, orange and golden colors.	Lightweight, heart-shaped and 1 inch to 3 inches long. They turn a bright, cheerful yellow when the temperature drops.
TREE TRIVIA	Although there are many types of maple trees in North America, the 11-point leaf on the Canadian flag isn't modeled after any particular one.	Aspens, widely thought to be the loveliest trees in North America, were once considered a "weed species."

 

LEAF	SASSAFRAS	NORTHERN RED OAK
SCIENTIFIC NAME	Sassafras albidum	Quercus rubra
CHARACTERISTICS	Vary from oval to mitten-shaped, with flowing, rounded lobes. They display the full spectrum of warm colors, from royal gold to bright red.	Have between seven and 11 "lobes" with pointed tips. Come autumn, they turn rusty orange, bronze and crimson.
TREE TRIVIA	Believing that sassafras was a "cure-all" medicine, early American settlers exported boatloads to Europe.	Northern Red Oak acorns can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute- although we don't recommend doing so.

 

LEAF	SHAGBARK HICKORY
SCIENTIFIC NAME	Carya ovata
CHARACTERISTICS	Long and slender, with sleek lines that converge at a single point. They turn a warm golden color before mellowing into a light bronze.
TREE TRIVIA	Colonists used the hickory milk from this tree when they made corn cakes and hominy.

 

PRIMARY COLORS

Here are some of October's best leaf-peeping spots across the country.

EARLY OCTOBER
The northeast hits its foliage peak early in the month. Head to Green Mountain National Forest (802-747-6700) in Rutland, VT (67 miles from Burlington). New York's Adirondack Mountains (www.visitadirondacks.com), also near Burlington, are lovely.

MID-OCTOBER Brown County State Park (www.browncountystatepark.com) in Nashville, IN (60 miles from Indianapolis), and Starved Rock State Park (www.starvedrockstatepark.org; 63 miles from Bloomington, IL) offer eye-popping midmonth views in the nation's heartland.

LATE OCTOBER
Fall foliage lingers well into November in the Mid Atlantic. Serious leaf-lovers should fly into the DC area and head to western Maryland for a stroll along the Appalachian Trail (www.appalachiantrail.org), or explore rural Virginia's Shenandoah National Park (www.nps.gov/shen).