It’s that time of year again.
Pumpkin Spice Lattes have appeared in the coffee shops.
Nights are cool and crisp, with the faint aroma of burning wood from fireplaces and stoves permeating the air.
What better time than fall for an RV journey from Ottawa?
Peak Fall Colour – What Is It, When Is It, And How Can You Find It?
Autumn brings with the short but sweet season of leaf-peeping. Sometimes the best colour is our own backyard, virtually or even literally.
Depending on when you’re reading this and when you plan to hit the road in your RV or trailer, you could drive an hour or two to catch some prime foliage – or you may need (and want) to take a journey of several hundred miles to see peak fall foliage.
Let’s pause right there.
Defining Peak Colour
What, exactly, is “peak fall foliage?”
It’s not an exact science, says Jeff Folger, also known as “Jeff Foliage” for his love of autumn colours particularly across the incredibly scenic US region of New England.
“It’s more of a mystical art,” says Folger. “The truth is, it’s impossible to forecast where and when it will happen or even IF it will happen.”
And yet peak fall foliage does exist. It’s just defined a little differently depending on whom you talk to.
At its essence, peak fall colour is when trees are all showing orange and red but have not turned to rust nor shed their leaves yet.
Finding Peak Colour
This is, as you can imagine, a tricky thing not only to predict but even to pin down.
An overnight rain or wind storm can take a peak fall situation and turn it past-peak very quickly. You may have heard or read about a certain spot and planned to head out the next day in your RV, only to find out that morning (or worse yet, when you arrive) that the colours have taken a turn for the worse.
One of the great enjoyment factors of owning an RV or trailer is being able to pick or change destinations on the fly – and take your accommodations with you.
That’s why it’s great to be able to say, “okay, so these colours aren’t peak anymore, but let’s drive an hour or two away where they are still peaking.”
By the way, the days leading up to Peak Colour and the days afterward can also be magnificent. It all depends on how Mother Nature cooperates.
How to Plan to Find the Best Fall Colours
Thanks to modern technology we have a plethora of planning tools at our fingertips.
There are many fine resources out there that we can use to plan for finding fall foliage.
Fall Planning in Ontario and Quebec
If you’re looking for a reasonably short RV journey from Ottawa, Eastern Ontario or the Outaouais, here are a few resources for somewhat real-time fall foliage updates:
- Ontario Fall Colours Progression Report
- Fall Colour at Ontario Parks (shows everything from Algonquin Park and further north, where colour starts early, to parks in southern Ontario and along Lake Ontario where you might find colour into late October or even beyond)
- Fall Colours in La Belle Province of Quebec
You can easily Google some search terms like “Ontario fall colours,” etc., and find more that have come online recently.
Planning for Fall Foliage in an RV Journey to New England
A couple of years back we published an article about RV journeys in the fall in glorious New England. You may find it helpful to read (or re-read) that article here.
A few sites and forums that cover New England fall foliage include:
- US fall foliage prediction map (New England and beyond)
- Yankee Magazine does a live map and a prediction map on their New England today fall foliage site (they’ve got some great to-do and to-see ideas as well)
Scenes of Vermont is an online forum with a section devoted to fall foliage – the community is super helpful, and we encourage you not only to get info here but to post your RV journeys and real-time fall foliage findings as well (to help others on the road!)
In addition to planning for where the fall colours will be, of course you’ll also want to plan where you’ll be.
Book Ahead, But Be Flexible
There’s a fine line, a delicate balance if you will, between uber-planning well advance and hitting the road at the last minute.
You can have a general idea of where there will be nice scenery and a good chance (statistically speaking) of finding fall colours.
And if you’re doing this, you can bet that others are doing the same.
Campgrounds and RV sites in areas like Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and even much of Ontario can fill up fast for those peak fall days and weeks. Thanksgiving weekend in Canada is Columbus Day Weekend in the States, and that coincides with great fall colours in many places every year.
Booking ahead is therefore highly advised for peak dates, and still a good idea at other points.
It wouldn’t hurt, however, to build some flexibility into your planning. Find out the cancellation policies before booking.
If you’re somewhat a risk-taker and don’t mind picking up and going at the drop of a hat, you might find some places booked up but others with availability or even deals to be had.
The great thing about operating an RV or trailer is that you have flexibility built into your lifestyle.
Start in Ottawa, Start with Travel-Mor
Wherever your journeys may take you, we’d love to chat with you about where you’re headed or where you’ve been. RVs and trailers are our passion here at Travel-Mor Trailer Sales in Ottawa.
Contact us today to set up a tune-up or other service for your RV or trailer before hitting the open road on that next journey.
We also carry RV parts and accessories.
Hey, we event rent RVs and trailers, for those who are looking for a one-off fall foliage trip, for example, or want to dip their toes before taking the plunge into the RV experience full time.
