The spectacle of fall starts in mid-September in northern Michigan and Wisconsin and spreads with a blaze of crimson and gold to southern Illinois and Indiana by October.
The six-week Midwestern autumn odyssey sweeps tree-lined back roads under arches of scarlet foliage, and travelers along those roads can plan to find nearby towns in the full swing of harvest celebrations and Octoberfests.
Whether you like the fall colors on trees that hug bluffs, overhang rustic covered bridges or wind along lakeside parkways, here are more than a dozen weekend drives that promise autumn and the Midwest at its best. Take the back roads and hiking trails to bask in the colors, then stop and celebrate the harvests with barrels of cider, mugs of ale and steaming platters of sausage, ribs, sauerkraut and corn on the cob.
Fall colors come with the shorter days and cooler nights of the season. Plants respond by producing less chlorophyll, the pigment that makes leaves green. In one of nature`s most masterful feats of camouflage, the green masks from view the brighter autumn hues all summer long. But as the green fades in fall, the reds and yellows become visible. Heat and rain influence when the leaves turn, however, and state tourism bureaus maintain information lines, given below, with color status reports. Fall festivals keep to scheduled times regardless of whether nature is on cue.
ILLINOIS
Fall colors typically make their debut in northern Illinois in late September. The colors peak in southern Illinois in October. Illinois conservationists, hesitating to second-guess nature, urge that travelers call their Fall Color Hotline, 217-785-4503. For other information, call the State Tourist Information Center, 793-2094.
Galena, northern Illinois. The rugged tree-lined bluffs and canyons of northwestern Illinois offer autumn in layers of color. The area is a four-hour drive from Chicago on U.S. Hwy. 20. Galena, an old mining town that takes a step back into the 19th Century, remains the crown jewel of the vicinity. Historic blocks of homes and stores scale the bluffs and are connected by winding stairways; they make Galena an architectural wonderland. The town has a full calendar for fall. The Ulysses S. Grant Fall Antiques Market will feature antiques from several states on Sept. 21 at Market House Square. The 36th Annual Fall Tour of Galena Homes, with four home interiors to be featured, is scheduled Sept. 28. The town hosts its 6th annual country fair Oct. 12-13 with folk, pop, gospel, country and blue grass music groups scheduled to entertain. Crafts exhibits and lots of food will be on hand. For area information, call 815-777-0203.
Spoon River Valley, central Illinois. The prairies, brilliant with sunflowers and coppery waves of dry grass, are just as colorful as the autumn woods in this valley. Pastoral hamlets and the river itself add to the charm. The Spoon River Scenic Drive and Fall Festival, Oct. 4-6 and 11-13, offers a self-guided tour through 80 miles of scenic landscapes and country villages with old-time crafts, antiques, historical sites and lots of food available all along the way. Handmade quilts, rugs, toys and homemade apple butter and jams will be for sale. There`s everything from an old grist mill to a pioneers` cemetery in the valley towns. Travel information booths will line the routes. Communities in the area include Galesburg, a 19th-Century town where Carl Sandburg was born; and Bishop Hill, a town founded by Swedish Jansonnists in 1846. Galesburg will open its Main Street to an Octoberfest with a carnival and polka band Oct. 4-6. Take Ill. Hwy. 41 out of Galesburg to reach the valley communities. For details, call 309-293-2143 or 309-647-0771. Springfield, central Illinois. Springfield`s Indian Summer Festival Oct. 12-13 will feature arts, crafts, food, entertainment and activities for all ages. The whole area is Abraham Lincoln territory. Lincoln lived in Springfield for 17 years and received word of his nomination for President at the Lincoln Home preserved on 8th Street. The New Salem State Park on the Sangamon River is a faithfully reconstructed historic village telling the story of Lincoln`s six years before he moved to Springfield. The Sangamon River and country roads around Springfield provide the season`s backdrop of color. Springfield is on Int. Hwy. 55. For festival information, call 217-529-1111.
Carbondale, southern Illinois. The curtain of fall color at the Shawnee National Forest covers the entire southern tip of Illinois, with thousands of acres for autumn hikes, picnics and drives. Carbondale, just north of the forest, celebrates the season with Halloween Fair Days Oct. 25-26. Athletic competitions, costume contests and other events will be held at various locations with downtown Carbondale the hub for food, music and other entertainment. Take Int. Hwy. 57 south to Ill. Hwy. 13 and proceed west to reach the area. For fair information, call 618-549-2146.
WISCONSIN
Wisconsin has established a statewide tradition of fall festivals and countryside sightseeing called Colorama. The color changes that begin in the northern third of Wisconsin in early to mid September reach the southern counties no later than October. Call the toll-free state tourism line, 800-ESCAPES, for status reports on color changes and other travel information.
Door County, north central Wisconsin. Wis. Hwy. 57 through the Door County Peninsula offers an always dramatic vista of fall color against a backdrop of Lake Michigan and picturesque waterfront villages. In Baileys Harbor, turn off Wis. 57 onto local highway Q to reach the Cana Island Lighthouse and the Ridges Sanctuary for wild trees and flowers. On Wis. Hwy. 42 along the eastern shoreline, stop in Algoma to visit the Von Stiehl Winery, specializing in apple and cherry wines. Green Bay, at the foot of the peninsula, will host a country fair Sept. 14 at the Heritage Hill State Park. The fair will offer games, a box lunch auction, craft exhibits, performers and band concerts. To reach Door County, take Int. Hwy 94 to Int. Hwy. 43 along the eastern shore of Wisconsin. For fair information, call 414-497-4368. For area information, call 414-743-4456.
Burnett County, northwest Wisconsin. Wisconsin calls this Indian Head Country. The St. Croix Indian Reservation and Gov. Knowles State Forest are perfect places to hike through the fall finery. There`s not a superhighway to be found in Burnett County and just about every road promises a scenic drive. The Interstate Park in neighboring Polk County encompasses a rugged landscape of deep canyons carved by the St. Croix River. The area hosts its Wild Rice Festival and Indian Pow Wow Sept. 20-22 at the St. Croix Tribal Center, Wis. Hwy. 70 just west of the village of Hertel. Native Americans will present their traditional dances, such as the silver and turquoise dance. The festival features crafts exhibits and lots of food. Take Int. Hwy. 94 north to U.S Hwy. 53 and proceed north, then west on Wis. Hwy. 70 to reach the area. For festival information, call 715-349-2195. For area information, call 800-826-6966.
Chain O`Lakes, central Wisconsin. Board the sternwheeler Chief Waupaca at Clearwater Harbor on Wis. Hwy. 22 for a 1 1/2-hour cruise of the spring-fed Chain O`Lakes. Brilliant fall colors along nearby Crystal River can be enjoyed on a canoe trip. Old Town Waupaca, a shopping area fashioned on an 1890s village, is just north of the lakes, and Waupaca itself offers Fall-O-Rama `85 Oct. 10-13. The festival will feature fall color tours, pioneer crafts, a sidewalk barbecue and giant tent sale along the town`s Main Street. For Fall- O-Rama and area information, call 715-258-7343. Take U.S. Hwy. 41 north to U.S. Hwy. 10 and proceed west to reach the area.
Old World Wisconsin, southeastern Wisconsin. Old World Wisconsin, in Eagle, is a living historical village adjacent to the Kettle Morraine State Forest with its miles of winding trails. At the village, guides in period costumes show how Wisconsin`s various ethnic groups lived and farmed in the past. Autumn on the Farms, Oct. 19-20, fills the village`s 40 authentic farms and buildings with displays of soap-making, hog-butchering, canning, quilting, spinning and weaving. (The village is open year round but without all these special displays.) Plan to spend at least three hours to see it all, then hike through the forests, where camping, hunting, fishing and picking nuts are among recreational opportunities in addition to just enjoying the leaves. Antiques buffs should plan to visit the shops in the small towns of the area and train buffs should schedule a Sunday ride on the Kettle Morraine Steam Train. The area is about 30 miles north of Lake Geneva via state roads. Call 414-594-2116.
MICHIGAN
Fall colors usually arrive in Michigan`s Upper Peninsula in mid-September, reaching the northern Lower Peninsula in late September and central and southern areas of the state in October. The toll-free, 24-hour state tourism line for seasonal activities is 800-248-5708. For other travel information, call 800-248-5700.
Grand Traverse Bay Area, northwestern Lower Peninsula. Orchards, vineyards and lakes abound in the area. This is fishing country, dunes country and Indian country. The Old Mission Peninsula cuts through the middle of the bay, making for an idyllic fall drive up Mich. Hwy. 37. North up the coastline at Charlevoix, the Beaver Islander offers two-hour ”color cruises” on Lake Charlevoix Oct. 5 and 12. Beulah and Benzonia, two hamlets on Crystal Lake, southwest of the bay, will play host to a Ciderfest Oct. 12-13. A pig roast, carnival, auction, market and square dancing are scheduled as well as the Wormy Apple Fishing Contest, Captain Spys Treasure Hunt, sack races, foot races, a golf tournament and baking contest. Visitors can drive or climb through the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, on Lake Michigan north of the towns. Take U.S. Hwy. 31 north along the western coast of Michigan to Beulah and the bay area. For area information, call 616-947-1120 or 616-947-5075. For boat cruise information, call 616-547-2101.
Cadillac, central Michigan. Cadillac, on U.S. Hwy. 131, is famous for tree farms and acres of colorful sugar bush maples. The town will be host of the Viking Color Festival Oct. 4-13, featuring a farmers market, arts and crafts show, train rides and a band festival. While in the area, take Mich. Hwy. 55 west from Cadillac through the scenic Manistee National Forest to Manistee, a quaint Victorian town where the architecture is as picturesque as the autumn colors. Travel south and west on U.S. Hwy. 31 to reach Ludington, home of a shrine to explorer Father Jacques Marquette. For information, call 616-775-9776 or 616-456-8557.
Grand Ledge, southern Michigan. Trees overhanging the bluffs along the Grand River form a canopy of fall color. The Color Cruise and Island Festival, Oct. 11-13 in Grand Ledge, features a paddlewheel boat cruise on the river along with pioneer craft demonstrations, food and a Saturday turkey roast at Second Island Park. The 45-minute boat ride leaves from the park. Visitors can rent canoes and paddle down the river. Plan riverside hikes and picnics on the Grand or Cedar Rivers. Other points of interest include the Charlton Park Village and Museum in Hastings and the historic Bowen Mills at Middleville. Take Mich. Hwy. 43 from Lansing west to Grand Ledge. For festival information, call 517-627-2383.
INDIANA
The leaves turn bright in October in the Hoosier state, early in the month in the northern sections and later in the south. The toll-free ”Wander Indiana” hot line is 800-858-8073.
Lafayette, northern Indiana. Hoosiers celebrate their French, Indian and pioneering history in autumn with the Feast of the Hunters` Moon Oct.5-6 at the Ft. Ouiatenon Historic Park, West Lafayette. The French built the fort in 1719 on the Wabash River. The feast features Indians, music, entertainment, crafts, food and military campsites reminiscent of the age of trappers and the Revolutionary War. Take Ind. Hwy. 25 northeast along the Wabash River for a scenic view of fall colors. Other spots of interest include Purdue University in West Lafayette and the Tippecanoe Battlefield and Museum, north of Lafayette, where British troops and Indians fought in 1811. Take Int. Hwy. 65 south from Int. Hwy. 80 to Lafayette. Call 317-742-8411.
Parke County, central Indiana. Indiana counts U.S. Hwy. 36 through Parke County among the state`s most scenic fall drives. But follow the fall colors along the back roads to the creek bottoms where trees overhanging dozens of rustic covered bridges complete a post card perfect setting. The annual Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, Oct. 11-20 in Rockville, offers a country market under a huge tent in the courthouse square, tours of 34 covered bridges and home cooking such as beans and cornbread, whole hog sausage, cider and persimmon ice cream. Neighboring Mansfield has a bridge festival the same weekend that features a flea market, bluegrass music, antiques and crafts. To reach the county, take U.S. Hwy. 231 south from Lafayette and turn west on U.S. Hwy. 36. For county festival information, call 317-569-3430. For Mansfield festival information, call 317-653-4782.
Brown County, southern Indiana. Indiana Highways 46 and 135 wind through the state and national forest areas that cover nearly half the land in Brown County. The Brown County State Park, one of the country`s largest state parks, offers rental cabins, a lodge, a restaurant, stables and a horseman`s camp. In Nashville, the county seat, visit the Log Jail built in 1837 and the John Dillinger Historical Museum. An ”Octubafest” is scheduled for Oct. 5 in Bloomington in neighboring Monroe County. The German festival features tuba playing and other German music. To reach the area, take Int. Hwy. 65 south from Lafayette to Ind. Hwy. 46. For fest information, call 812-339-2261. For Brown County information, call 812-988-7303.
