Fall color is about to burst on the scene. Thanks to unseasonably warm temperatures in early October, leaves are just now starting to change color, with the first two weeks of November offering the Evansville area’s best viewing window for peak fall foliage.
Locally
What better place to capture the beauty of fall than at the city’s 220-acre old-growth forest? Wesselman Woods visitors can get close-up views of 55-plus types of trees via more than four miles of trails, including a 1.5-mile handicap-accessible boardwalk. Multi-acre public spaces like the park around the East Side’s State Hospital, Blue Grass Fish & Wildlife Area in Elberfeld, and John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, Kentucky envelop visitors in swathes of color. Elevated views of changing foliage are available at Indian Hill Overlook from a perch above the Ohio River just outside of Newburgh, as well as on boardwalks through Howell Wetlands on the West Side and Twin Swamps in Posey County.
Regionally
East Sider Susan Tromley loves being outdoors, especially for birdwatching. During a recent drive up Interstate 69 to Bloomington, Indiana, she noted that Evansville-area leaves lagged behind their Central Indiana counterparts in changing colors. “I would say after about mile marker 87, it is absolutely beautiful,” she says. “There is so much color. Maybe the most I have ever seen.”
A passion for eagle- and birdwatching compels Diane Ubelhor-Wunderlich to travel across the U.S. Camera in hand, she comes lens-first with gorgeous fall colors in Dubois, Orange, and Crawford counties. “Patoka Lake, Indiana, bursts with color each fall, especially around the Newton-Stewart State Recreation Area and along the shoreline trails,” she says. “A boat cruise from the marina can also give stunning views of golden hills mirrored in the water.”
Take the cross-river ferry from Kentucky to Cave-in-Rock and enter the Illinois Ozarks for breathtaking views from Garden of the Gods’ quarter-mile Observation Trail, Rim Rock/Pounds Hollow Recreation Area, and other Shawnee National Forest standouts.
Worth A Drive
Like many Tri-State residents, Ubelhor-Wunderlich considers fall foliage top notch around Gatlinburg, Tennessee. “It glows in autumn as the Smoky Mountains are ablaze with reds, golds, and amber hues,” she says. Her favorite spots to stop and leaf watch? “The best views are along the Foothills Parkway, Newfound Gap Road, Kuhomi (formerly Clingmans Dome), and Cades Cove,” she says. “Misty ridges and valley meadows create a painter’s dream.”
