Fall Foliage

I was thinking of visiting Oregon for the fall foliage. Could anyone tell me where the best places are in Oregon to view the fall foliage? Also, could you advise when the fall foliage usually comes in Oregon, or if there is a good website to visit regarding fall foliage in Oregon? Thanks for your help.

Kelly

Fall Foliage

Hi There Kelly-

It seems to me the best time to view colors is mid-October to early November.

I would say the best place to view fall colors are in the Cascade Range- mostly because if the colors aren%26#39;t out at the lower elevations, you can drive to an elevation where the colors are at their peak. I think any one of the highways over the Cascades would give you about the same feel.

Some people call me crazy, but I really like the Willamette Valley (where the valley meets with the mountains-Silverton, Stayton, Corvallis, etc) in the fall for colors. Mostly because there are planted trees that are more colorful, and there are more maples and oaks in this area. Oregon State University campus-in the Willamette Valley- is beautiful in the fall(it is the horticulture center after all!).

There might be some good Eastern Oregon mountains that have color(aspens, etc), but let us know if you want to get that adventurous.

I haven%26#39;t seen a good website realated to this, but it might be out there.

Fall Foliage

Try, Forest Park...in Portland. Yep, right in the city...I love this place.

The Hoyt Arboretum is an excellent starting point...there dozens of miles of trails through gorgeous wilderness full of fall colors....and all conveniently located backdropping downtown.

Yes, I agree with WhiteRabbit!

We were up around there today, walking through leaves on the ground already ..

I%26#39;m with Chinook on this one. The whole Willamette Valley is fantastic! But the drive around the farming communities and small towns of Silverton, Stayton, Aumsville, Albany and in and around Salem are fabulous. I love mid-October for sure in my town. My campus (Willamette) is unbelieveable in it%26#39;s beauty. I purposely avoid driving the freeway and instead drive down the back roads home just to go under the trees. Willamette Valley Vineyards has a phenomenal view of parts of the valley that are breathtaking.

I won%26#39;t take any sides because I think you%26#39;re all right. ;-) But I%26#39;m wondering why you%26#39;re thinking of Oregon for a fall foliage trip, Kelly. With fall foliage as the goal, I fear you might be somewhat disappointed, and possibly completely miss the many better reasons to visit Oregon.

I am with Mistletoe on this one - remember, Oregon and Washington are overwhelmingly coniferous evergreen states. We don%26#39;t have the incredible saturation of fall colors that you get in the Northeast, for example. In fact, we plan to go back east for just that reason!

We do have some areas with great fall foliage, of course, and I think both ideas above are very good examples here in the local area, but worth a trip just to see? If you%26#39;re going to make a trip just for fall foliage, head for the Northeast and make it worth your while.

Come up next summer when you%26#39;re frying eggs on the sidewalk down there and it%26#39;s 75 - 80 and sunny every day here instead, and really enjoy the wonderful things the area has to offer.

If you do come though, you%26#39;ll find the best fall colors near the rivers - luckily there are many of those. As the elevation increases, the colors decrease, and our deciduous trees normally are thickest along the rivers. One example is as you drive along Hwy 22 to Santiam Pass, then double back down Hwy 224 through Estacada, another is the roads along both sides of the Sandy or Clackamas Rivers. Anywhere near McKenzie Pass east of Eugene is probably the best of all.

Across the Columbia, the Washougal River and Lewis River give great colors. The Columbia River Gorge is also a beautiful place in the fall - most of the tree cover on the old highway, and on the Washington side is deciduous species like ash, cottonwood, and big-leaf maple.

Best fall colors usually are around mid-October.

I also agree with the poster above about the Old Columbia River Highway...great drive, lots of maples, tons of color...get out and walk up a couple of the short waterfall trails along the way...Latoural Falls is especially nice (spelling might be off though).

Also, for a beatiful fall hike, head out Highway 26 towards Cannon Beach and take the turn off to Saddle Mountain (about 15 miles from the end of 26)...take you back into the woods and to a campground with one of my favorite hikes around the area...Saddle Mountain...the view from the top is remarkable and you can see the fall colors of all the nearby rolling hills along the way up...not to mention from the top :)

I have to agree with Mistletoe...why Oregon? Don%26#39;t me wrong I love my home state but it%26#39;s known more for the towering evergreens than the fall colors you see in the northeast.

The place we like to visit here in the southwest for fall color is the Brian Head/Cedar Breaks area in southern Utah. Not sure where in AZ you live but southern Utah is a whole lot closer and more colorful.

I pretty much agree with everyone here, lol! The colors here in OR are ok, but are NOTHING compared to the NE! We lived in upstate NY for a couple years, and the foliage in NY and VT were unbelieveable!

But, if you are going to be here, then yes...the valley has some great color, but otherwise you need to get into the mountains. Corvallis in the fall is beautiful (I fully admit I am biased, LOL). Head up to Mary%26#39;s Peak there for some nice foliage and views.

Also agree with the Saddle Mountain hike. Beautiful views!

Once back a few years on AOL Travel Boards, I suggested to people oregon has good fall colors, why go east.

Then one year we did started in Boston worked our way through NH Maine Ontario Quebec, fantastic colors. I no longer say why go east?

However we do have some good fall colors here. My favorite is McKenzie Pass, though for you Gorge is easier access from airport and also good. well I don%26#39;t need to reapet others. tehy all had good ideas.

I will agree with Lisa Willamette U campus is very nice. My work took me to the Capitol and several times during breaks I wlaked around the campus. lot of history there. Well so is OSU. Is the trysting tree still there??