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Author Topic: Fall colour in North Carolina?  (Read 7562 times)

olaf

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Fall colour in North Carolina?
« on: July 12, 2010, 01:27:13 pm »

Hi
We'll be touring the Low Country (Savannah, Charleston...etc) in Oct with around 2 weeks spare at the month end. I was thinking of going up to the Blue Ridge Parkway area or maybe over into Tennessee to pick up some Fall colour.

Any advice you guys can offer would be much appreciated.

Regards

Olaf
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Johnny_Johnson

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Fall colour in North Carolina?
« Reply #1 on: July 12, 2010, 02:21:50 pm »

I would expect fall color to be mostly over by month end.

Later,
Johnny
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Ken Bennett

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Fall colour in North Carolina?
« Reply #2 on: July 12, 2010, 02:30:30 pm »

Late October along the Blue Ridge Parkway will offer good fall color, along with plenty of other tourists and photographers. Make lodging reservations now, if not sooner.

Places to go:

Asheville, NC. Beautiful little jewel of a mountain city. Eat at Mayfels. Walk around the arts district. Great spot. Lots of little inns and B&Bs.
Pisgah Inn. A motel on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Nothing special at all -- except the location and the view (and the grilled trout for breakfast. Mmmm.)
Highlands, NC. High end resort town.
Bluffs Lodge. Another motel on the Parkway. Much further north, at lower elevation, pleasant spot. Nearby is the hike up to Caudill Cabin, a steep 10-mile round trip up a tiny gorge where the Caudill family once lived. If you like to hike, this is a nice one.
Hot Springs, NC. Tiny mountain town, a good place for lunch if you go to Max Patch.
Max Patch. A huge bald mountain west of Asheville, near Hot Springs. Reasonable access by car to a parking area around a mile from the open summit. Amazing views from the summit.
Newfound Gap. The spot where the road across the Smokies hits the high point. Big parking lot, lots of tourists, so go very early.

Note that by late October, the fall color will likely be moving from the mountaintops down closer to the valleys. Here are a couple of shots from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park taken in early November. (Taken with my p+s on a hiking trip, so they suck, but may give you a good idea of what that area looks like.)

There are plenty of other great spots. If I recall any more, I'll add to this list. Hope you enjoy it.

--Ken
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luong

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Fall colour in North Carolina?
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2010, 10:26:56 pm »

If at the beginning of Nov you find the higher elevations of the Blue Ridge Parkway to be past peak, you'll very likely find good colors in lower elevations valleys. Instead of sweeping landscapes, concentrate on intimate studies. For instance, in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, places like the Little River Road, Roaring Fork, or Greenbrier offer great color, along with beautiful flowing streams. If you like pastoral scenes, Cades Cove in GSMNP is great.
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Nill Toulme

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Fall colour in North Carolina?
« Reply #4 on: July 14, 2010, 10:52:41 pm »

Quote from: k bennett
...Hot Springs, NC. Tiny mountain town, a good place for lunch if you go to Max Patch.
...

If I recall it correctly, that little road coming south out of Hot Springs down to I-40 is one of the prettiest drives I think I've ever been on in the east. Just magical.  Map says it's 209.  I don't remember that number, for some reason I remember two digits not three, but that's what the map shows.

Nill
« Last Edit: July 14, 2010, 10:53:46 pm by Nill Toulme »
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gdwhalen

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Fall colour in North Carolina?
« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2010, 09:29:32 pm »

Olaf,
    I have lived in Asheville, NC for 20 years.   The last two weeks of October would be a perfect time to drive the Blue Ridge or visit this area.  It can get pretty crowded that time of year so you might want to make some reservations as soon as you are sure of your dates.   The Blowing Rock area is my favorite area but the entire region is a photographers paradise in the fall season.  Every year seems to be a little different as far as the peak of color.  Last year went into early November but as others have said it does depend on elevation.

   I have no idea what you like to shoot but if you have some specific questions feel free to ask.  

Gary
« Last Edit: July 16, 2010, 09:30:02 pm by gdwhalen »
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olaf

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Re: Fall colour in North Carolina?
« Reply #6 on: August 11, 2010, 03:16:18 am »

Just a quick note to thank you all for the hints and advice. Much appreciated! Gary I'll get into some detail planning now and get back to you with any questions.
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kpmedia

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Re: Fall colour in North Carolina?
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2010, 11:14:29 pm »

Some years there is no color.  :-\

In Tennessee last year, a lot of areas went from green to ground, because of weather.
I had this awesome trip to trek the Natchez, but canceled it when I saw how bad it was.
Not what I wanted. Maybe this year?
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gdwhalen

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Re: Fall colour in North Carolina?
« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2010, 05:39:39 pm »

Some years there is no color.  :-\

In Tennessee last year, a lot of areas went from green to ground, because of weather.
I had this awesome trip to trek the Natchez, but canceled it when I saw how bad it was.
Not what I wanted. Maybe this year?

Sorry but I don't agree with this.  As I said I have lived in Asheville for 20 years and I have NEVER seen a year with no color.  Just doesn't happen. 

Michael H. Cothran

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Re: Fall colour in North Carolina?
« Reply #9 on: August 19, 2010, 11:42:54 am »

Some years there is no color.  :-\

In Tennessee last year, a lot of areas went from green to ground, because of weather.
I had this awesome trip to trek the Natchez, but canceled it when I saw how bad it was.
Not what I wanted. Maybe this year?

I live in Nashville, TN, and concur with you 100%. Middle Tennessee is NOT the place to come for Fall foliage. We have had bad Autumns for years now.

Sorry but I don't agree with this.  As I said I have lived in Asheville for 20 years and I have NEVER seen a year with no color.  Just doesn't happen.  

You cannot compare Autumns in Asheville, NC with Middle Tennessee (Nashville area, where the Natchez is, that kpmedia refers to). Enjoy what you have in Western NC, but don't think that we have the same spectacular Autumns here. We don't. And last year was worse than our usual lack of Fall. Dirty yellows at best, but mostly leaves falling off the trees with no color change, or changing from green to brown to ground.
Michael H. Cothran
« Last Edit: August 19, 2010, 11:58:57 am by MichaelHCothran »
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kpmedia

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Re: Fall colour in North Carolina?
« Reply #10 on: August 19, 2010, 09:21:52 pm »

Indeed, Nashville and NC are two totally different climate areas. Even Knoxville and Nashville aren't even close to the same.

The last gorgeous fall I remember in Nashville was in October 2006. It had colors that year that rivaled photos I saw from the New England area. I've been waiting for a repeat for four years now. I'll know if I'm good to go in about another 6 weeks! If the trace is bad, I have two alternate locations scouted out.

Weather conditions have to be oh-so-perfect for that to happen. It's still too early to tell. It all rides on September's weather patterns. Too wet, too dry, too hot or too cold, and the leaves either turn from green to brown, or fall to the ground still green. The further south you go, the more perfect it has to be.

But this can happen even in New England. I've had friends up there tell me "there's no color this year" in past years. So always be prepared for a no-color season. You can plan a trip months in advance, but you might find yourself with shades of green and brown to choose from, maybe a little yellow. Be sure to have a Plan B.
« Last Edit: August 20, 2010, 02:25:32 pm by kpmedia »
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Joseph Colson

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Re: Fall colour in North Carolina?
« Reply #11 on: September 22, 2010, 12:38:52 pm »

We'll be touring the Low Country (Savannah, Charleston...etc) in Oct with around 2 weeks spare at the month end. I was thinking of going up to the Blue Ridge Parkway area or maybe over into Tennessee to pick up some Fall colour.

I live in North Carolina and visit the mountains of NC and Tennessee each fall.  The last two weeks of October are ideal for fall color.  As others have suggested, make reservations as soon as possible, as the Blue Ridge Parkway in particular is heavily traveled during that time.  I'd recommend Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, the Tremont area along the river on the way to Cades Cove, and the Roaring Fork Nature Trail near Gatlinburg.  The Newfound Gap road from Cherokee to Gatlinburg has some great spots to stop and get a classic Smoky Mountains shot.  Most of the shots in my 2009 Smoky Mountains gallery (http://www.joecolsonphotography.com/galleries/smokymountains_fall2009/index.html) are geotagged, so you can see where the shots were taken using Google Maps.

MichaelWorley

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Re: Fall colour in North Carolina?
« Reply #12 on: September 22, 2010, 01:39:19 pm »


Listen to Joe Colson! He hasn't missed yet.

And spend some time -- even days -- walking around Charleston [with a camera] "South of Broad," as they say. South of Broad Street is where the amazing old homes are located, many of them dating from a time before you lot held the town for a while during that little dust-up we had in the last half of the 18th Century.

I still haven't seriously reviewed my images from Charleston, but here's a few to give a hint:

http://www.pbase.com/mike_worley/charleston&page=all

Have a great trip!

Mike
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