Post date: 10/21/2025
Fall Color Report for October 18, 2025Today I drove the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) from US421 in Deep Gap (milepost 291.8) all the way to Doughton Park, a distance of 54 miles. It has recently been repaved and upgraded and there is only one short section where it is reduced to one lane because the other lane washed down the cliff during Hurricane Helene. But it is completely open to the VA border and beyond.I usually get to this section of the BRP either too soon when the colors haven’t yet developed, or too late after they have peaked. But today I hit it right on – the colors along the drive...
Post date: 10/15/2025
Fall Color Report for October 15, 2025Peak fall color for the High Country (Blowing Rock down to Linville Falls along the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) is happening right now. I’d say the peak started around Sunday and will last into this weekend, although good color will still be around into next week. Some trees are starting to lose their leaves now and so the best color after this weekend will be from the overlooks, although it will still be quite good right on the BRP.I took the drive to Beacon Heights and Linn Cove Viaduct this morning, and as you can see from the attached photos, colors are...
Post date: 10/10/2025
Fall Color Report for October 9, 2025If you are thinking about coming up to the High Country to see the fall leaf colors, do it NOW. Since last Sunday, the trees have rapidly developed good color and the Blowing Rock to Grandfather Mountain section of the Parkway is nearing its peak, which I think will be the middle of next week. That means this weekend (Oct 10-12) and the next weekend (Oct 17-19) will bracket the peak color period.I took the drive from Blowing Rock to Flat Rock (which is a few miles south of Grandfather) and the colors are very nice. Visitors I met on the Rough Ridge Trail,...
Post date: 10/08/2025
Fall Color Report for October 4, 2025Today, my friend Garner Dewey accompanied me on a trip to the Jefferson State Natural Area in Ashe County. This semi-isolated peak, at 4,665’ elevation just outside West Jefferson, NC, is a great place to take the family on an easy hike and has great views in all directions, depending on which overlook or portion of the trail you are at.Garner is an exceptional photographer, and I learned a lot about the technical aspects of taking pictures, including how to focus on small objects using my Pixel phone (which for years has frustrated me). In two seconds,...
Post date: 10/08/2025
Fall Color Report for September 28, 2025Today I repeated my journey from last week, but in the opposite direction, taking the Parkway from Blowing Rock down to Grandfather Mt, then coming back on Rt. 105 to Boone. I am testing my stamina now, and today, I went a short distance on the Rough Ridge Trail up to the boardwalk, but no farther. You get a great view from there, and unless you are adventurous you don’t really need to go to the top, although if you do, you have great views there.Colors have not progressed much from my last report. We’ve had warm weather the past week and that slows...
Post date: 09/18/2025
I took my first fall foliage drive of the season this morning, to both check out how the colors are doing and to see how long I could be out and about, given I had my surgery just over a month ago. I’m happy to report that both tasks were successively accomplished – I was in the car about an hour and a half, traveled about 46 miles, and, was able to see the current state of the leaves. This is about how far I must travel to do lab work, so it wasn’t too much of an exertion. I did no hiking though – not up to that yet. Just drove and stopped at overlooks.So, here’s my report. Leaves are...
Post date: 09/18/2025
Foliage Report for September 16, 2025I need to post this update to my previous report, because since that posting, since there have been some new developments, plus a lot of color has started showing up in the High Country (at least in some places). If any information is wrong here, it is partly due to the fact that no one now answers the phones at the visitors center, possibly due to budget cutbacks that have severely curtailed services at most National Parks this year, and so I can’t get up-to-date information for you.Most importantly, Mt. Mitchell State Park (milepost 355 on the Blue Ridge...
Post date: 09/11/2025
Fall Color Report for September 11, 2025This year we are all hoping for a great fall leaf color season. So far, the weather is cooperating, with lower than normal temperatures here in the High Country (this morning’s low was 45ºF) and mostly sunny skies. If this trend continues for the next 3-4 weeks, then we should have great color on time. That means Oct 12-20 between 3,000-4,000’ elevation, a week earlier if higher, and a week later if lower. I’ll post some graphics soon to illustrate this.Right now we are seeing just the beginnings of fall leaf color in the mountains, while urban street...