Smokies Fall Color Update

Great Smoky Mountains National Park has just published their mid-October Fall Color Report on their website. According to the report:

Colder nights at the high elevations in the park have leaves beginning to steadily fall. While shades of red are still present among the mountain ash berries, and witch hazel provides intermittent glimpses of orange, the high reaches of the park are a sea of yellow and gold with infinite shades and hues.

The undulating mountain ridges of the mid-elevations break the yellow expanse of beech, birch, buckeye, and tulip poplar with fiery reds of the black gum and red maple. The orange glow of the sugar maples add to the vibrant palette as well.

Color at the lower elevations in the park is predominantly provided by the reds of the dogwoods. That of the poison ivy and Virginia creeper also provide a sharp contrast to the brown tree trunks on which they are bound. The maples are also beginning to develop rich colors in scattered pockets. Even thought the landscape is still largely green, the rate of color change is rapidly increasing.

You can read the full report on the national park website.

If you need any help on where to hike this fall, please take a look at our fall hiking page.

And if you do plan to visit the Smokies this fall - or even during the upcoming Holiday Season - please take a few moments to check out our Accomodations Listings for a wide variety of lodging options in Gatlinburg, Townsend, Pigeon Forge and the North Carolina side of the Smokies.



Jeff
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