Last call for WNC fall foliage: As a 'great season' ends, where to go for the best views?

Sarah Honosky, Asheville Citizen Times
·6 min read

ASHEVILLE - As Western North Carolina wraps up its fall foliage season, which some experts say has been the best season in a decade, locals and visitors can seek out the final leaf color this weekend in the area's lower elevations.

Warmer weather means the Asheville region may see one more week of fall foliage, especially in elevations of 1,500 to 3,000 feet, according to Beverly Collins, a biology professor and fall foliage forecaster at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

In almost all variables, weather has cooperated for a nearly perfect season, she said, with cold weather coming fast and early compared to recent years, bright, sunny days and cool nights ensuring popping colors and bright, red pigment in turning leaves.

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With no major storms or rainfall to knock back the foliage and the weather turning slightly warmer over the weekend, colors are able to hang on for a few more days of vibrant views.

“This has been one of the most colorful falls that I have seen in my time,” Collins said. It's the most colorful foliage season since she came to WNC in 2007, she said, though she noted this year is actually more similar to historical autumns than most. It may feel early for those who have become used to delayed, warm fall foliage seasons, but it is actually closer to an on-time season than previous years.

Collins' observations were echoed by other biologists, park rangers, professors and foliage enthusiasts.

“I would say this is the best year in the last 10 years," said Howard Neufeld, professor of plant eco-physiology at Appalachian State University in Boone who also runs the “Fall Color Guy" Facebook page. "At least, in terms of the vibrancy of colors, the timing and the fullness of the colors.”

Where should you visit?

While the highest elevations are past their peak, such as those along the Blue Ridge Parkway north and south of Asheville and at popular area summits, he agreed elevations around 1,500 to 2,500 feet were still worth a visit.

Colors are on the wane in the "High Country" around Boone, Neufeld said, but he recommended some lower elevation destinations, such as Chimney Rock and Gorges state parks.

Chimney Rock State Park is located in Rutherford County, 25 miles southeast of Asheville, and overlooks Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure. Chimney Rock is 2,280 feet in elevation, while the top parking lot is 1,965.

Olivia Slagle, spokesperson for Chimney Rock Management, which runs the private, fee area of the park containing the elevator and some of the most popular hiking trails, said the park was at its peak the week of Oct. 31, but anticipated colors for the Nov. 4 weekend would still be "gorgeous."

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After what she called a "particularly stunning" fall, at this point in the season, she recommended the Hickory Nut Falls Trail, a 1.4-mile out and back culminating in a 404-foot waterfall.

Slagle also said the Exclamation Point Trail, at 2,480 feet elevation, will offer a view of all of Hickory Nut Gorge and the changing colors in the valleys.

“Down here at this elevation we are kind of seeing the last of it as color fades away in Asheville and some of the higher elevations," Slagle said. "So if you’re still looking for some great leaves, coming down into the gorge, into this 1,000- to 2,000-foot elevation, is a great way to catch the tail end of the season."

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Over at Gorges State Park, in Transylvania County near the South Carolina border, park ranger Skyler Hill also recommended some trails below 2,000-foot elevations, such as those at the Frozen Creek Access on Frozen Creek Road in Brevard.

At the visitors center, the highest point in the park at 3,000 feet, Hill said they were at "the tail end of the fall foliage season," but vibrant red maple, red and black oak were still hanging on.

“I’ve been in Western North Carolina for well going on nine years, and I believe this is probably the best fall foliage season since I’ve been here,” Hill said. More than the colors, he noted the length of the season, prolonged by a lack of extreme weather and good conditions.

Neufeld also recommended Rainbow Falls, a popular recreation spot in the Transylvania County area of Pisgah National Forest, which can be accessed at Gorges State Park. He said visitors seeking fall color are advised to get there this weekend, Nov. 4, or the following week.

Motorists travel through Ferrin Knob Tunnel No. 1 on the Blue Ridge Parkway October 18, 2022.
Motorists travel through Ferrin Knob Tunnel No. 1 on the Blue Ridge Parkway October 18, 2022.

Meanwhile in Asheville, he said colors were likely just past peak.

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This was echoed by Jonathan Horton, UNC Asheville professor and chair of the biology department, who focuses on plant physiological ecology.

He said Asheville leaves peaked the week of Halloween, and though colors are starting to fade, trees losing foliage, he is still "gobsmacked by how beautiful it is most mornings" on his walk to work.

“It’s been a perfect storm for great color this year,” he said. While many oaks are still red, early turners, such as maples and poplars will soon be bare. “This has been a great year, one of the best years I can remember in a while ... I would think this week and weekend will be the end of leaf season, at least in this area."

Horton said now would be a good time for a trip to Lake James State Park, located in Burke and McDowell counties 50 miles northeast of Asheville at about 1,200 feet elevation, or any of Asheville's river valleys.

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Collins also said this was a good time take a drive along rivers and streams, where hillsides will likely have some color left.

“Whatever your favorite drive is, you’re still going to see color looking out," she said. "It’s just going to be more muted and more leaves off the trees."

Will WNC see such a brilliant leaf season again?

As a "great season" wraps up, the question becomes if WNC will see such a brilliant fall again anytime soon, or if people should expect a return to the status quo of the last few years.

Collins cautioned that with climate warming in play, there are likely to be more falls reminiscent of recent years, though greater "weather variability" can also be expected.

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“We could get these blips of really nice fall weather, like we had this year,” Collins said.

Horton also anticipated the leaf season would be moving later, though he said the change would likely happen slowly.

Neufeld said it was too early to declare a trend of the warmer, later fall foliage season of the last several years, starting in 2017, but given the warming trends in other parts of the world, “It’s probably more likely that this is going to become rarer in the future, and not more common."

"We’re lucky to see it this year," Nuefeld said. "But next year, who knows?”

Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky. 

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Fall Foliage in WNC: As the season ends, here's where to get your fix