Fall Foliage Drives in New York State
Late September to late October, the Catskills and Adirondacks are ablaze with flame-colored leaves, making these regions the obvious destinations to visit. But many other areas of the state offer leaf-peeping opportunities too, and some of the best itineraries for optimal leaf-viewing are below.
What really sets New York State’s leaf-peeping apart is the fact that you’re not limited to road trips through these regions. In fact, name a mode of transportation and you can probably find a fall foliage tour that will offer you a special view, the kind that can’t be seen from the car. Possibilities include Erie Canal boat rides, either guided or self-piloted; aerial leaf-peeping from the Whiteface Mountain Cloudsplitter Gondola in Lake Placid; and glider and biplane rides at the Harris Hill Soaring Center in Elmira or the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in the Hudson Valley.
The New York State tourism website, www.iloveny.com, offers tips about prime fall foliage spots, as well as information about discounts, deals, and fall foliage packages.
Finger Lakes Fall Foliage Drive around Seneca Lake
Start/end: Geneva to Watkins Glen. Route: Rte. 14 and Old Corning Rd. Distance: 35 miles (56 km). Drive time: 45 minutes-1 hour.
If you like your fall foliage reflected in the water and your drives punctuated with occasional stops for wine-tastings, then this Finger Lakes drive will tick all the boxes. This drive is short but impressive, ideal for a time-crunched traveler.
You’ll start in Geneva, at the northern end of Seneca Lake, and drive south on Route 14 to Watkins Glen, the southern end of Seneca Lake, tracing a path along the western side of the lake the entire way. Once in Watkins Glen, be sure to pull over into the parking lot for Watkins Glen State Park. Grab your camera, get out of the car, and take a quick hike along a trail that winds around craggy rock formations that have been eons in the making. Frame a shot of you and your traveling companions near one of the park’s dozen waterfalls, with blazingly brilliant leaves edging the photograph.
Best of the Catskills
Start/end: Kaaterskill Wild Forest to Hunter Mountain. Route: Rte. 23A. Distance: 9 miles (14.5 km). Drive time: 30 minutes.
It’s not the length of the drive; it’s what there is to see along the way that matters when it comes to fall foliage. Plus, the short time in the car means you’ve got more time to explore by foot—and by air!—at each of the end points on this itinerary.
Start in the Kaaterskill Wild Forest, where maples will show off their impressive array of colors as you hike toward the Kaaterskill Falls, which has a 260-foot (79 m) drop. Once you’ve got your fill of hiking, hop back in the car and drive 9 miles (14.5 km) north to Hunter Mountain, where you can board the Scenic Skyride, a gondola that will slowly drift you up to a height of 3,200 feet (975 m). From there, you won’t just enjoy the Catskills—you’ll be able to take in the panoramic view of the leaves on the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts and the Green Mountains of Vermont.
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Adirondacks Fall Show
Start/end: Lake George to Lake Placid. Route: Rte. 9N and Rte. 73W. Distance: 80 miles (129 km). Drive time: 1.5 hours.
This is the leaf peeping itinerary for travelers with plenty of time to wind through the twists and turns of Adirondack mountain roads. Start at the southwestern end of Lake George and make your way north to Lake Placid. Along the route, you’ll pass through iconic Adirondack scenery, beautiful any time of year, but especially in autumn.
That Long Island (Leaf) Life
Start/end: Sands Point to Greenport. Route: I-495 and Route 25 eastbound. Distance: 85 miles (137 km). Drive time: 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Long Island isn’t only for summer! Start at Sands Point Preserve, on Long Island’s Gold Coast (which inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby), where you’ll breathe easier seeing yourself amid the manicured gardens and the surrounding grounds. Hiking trails lined by maples and oaks eventually yield to the Long Island Sound—where else can you enjoy the beach and brilliant leaf color simultaneously, followed by (if you fancy it), a tour of one or more Gilded Age mansions?
From here, drive east on I-495 and Route 25, noting how beach towns and vineyards also change with the season, and end up in Greenport, where you can enjoy the town’s camera obscura, right on the waterfront.
Hudson Valley’s Scenic Views
Start/end: Harriman State Park to Bear Mountain. Route: Seven Lakes Drive. Distance: 11 miles (17.7 km). Drive time: 20 minutes.
Seven Lakes Drive really will take you past seven lakes, and that alone should sell you on this route. But there are so many bonus points for this fall foliage itinerary too. If you take the train from New York City into the Hudson Valley, you’ll hug the Hudson River and enjoy riverside fall foliage even before you take the wheel (just make sure you snag a window seat!).
Once you’ve picked up a rental car to drive this deceptively short route from Harriman State Park to Bear Mountain, you’ll soon see how the 20-minute drive can easily turn into a longer one, with all the charming Hudson Valley towns that Seven Lakes Drive winds through.
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