MICHIGANDER: IN SEASON
Experience Michigan's fall colors
Kathleen Lavey
When it comes to fall color, Michigan has an embarrassment of riches.
Rolling farmland, hilly woodlands and beach and dune views make Michigan one of the best places in the country for fall color viewing.
Of course, you don't have to leave mid-Michigan for blazing yellows and oranges, deep reds and russets. Take a stroll on the Michigan State University campus, visit Woldumar or Fenner nature centers, or take a hike in the Rose Lake Wildlife Area.
If you don't mind a longer drive, here are five suggestions for getting out and enjoying the beauty fall has to offer.
• Great color drive: H-58 between Munising and Grand Marais, through the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
• Great color spot: Tahquamenon Falls State Park. The park has 46,000 acres of trees, river and waterfalls; walk as much or as little as you like. Perfect fall color event: "Hike Da Falls" Sept. 27. Walk 4.8 miles along the River Trail from the Lower to the Upper Falls; a shuttle will take you back to where you started. Shuttle runs every 30 minutes, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The trail winds through the old-growth forest along the Tahquamenon River. Multiple stairways, hills and exposed roots.
• Another great color spot: Lake of the Clouds, in the western Upper Peninsula. Photographers Todd and Brad Reed photographed Lake of the Clouds, which lies in a tree-filled valley, for their Michigan photo book, "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed" in 2012, and liked it so much they went back last fall with family and friends in tow.
• Unique color opportunity: It's a long haul to Bessemer, but if you're in the area, consider the view from the top of the world's largest ski structure at Copper Peak. Take a chairlift and an elevator 26 stories up and soak in a mountainous, 2,500-square-mile panorama that includes parts of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Copper Peak is 10 miles north of Bessemer on County Road 513 in the Black River Scenic Byway. There are also five nearby waterfalls. It's open on weekends through mid-October; learn more at www.copperpeak.org.
Northern Lower Peninsula, East
• Great color drive: Try the River Road National Scenic Byway, 22 miles extending from Lake Huron westward into the Huron-Manistee National Forests. The route has many scenic overlooks and spots for hiking and picnicking.
• Great color spot: Hartwick Pines State Park. Visit an old logging camp and a handful of white pines from pre-lumber days; there are plenty of hardwood trees to provide a variety of color, which looks especially good against the dark-green pine backdrop.
• Unique color opportunity: Get in a canoe and enjoy color along the banks of the Au Sable River; there are a variety of canoe liveries in Grayling, Mio and Roscommon.
Northern Lower Peninsula, West
• Great color drive: We're not even going to pretend that there's a better drive than M-22 from Traverse City to Northport, then south to Frankfort. There are many stunning drives in the area, but this is extra special. It encompasses Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, lighthouses and color galore.
• Great color spot: M-119 from Harbor Springs to Cross Village, also known as the "tunnel of trees."
• Unique color opportunity: Explore the forest by bike on the Big M Cross-Country Ski and Mountain Bike Trail. The 37.9-mile loop trail system is in a canopy of hardwoods off of M-55 between Cadillac and Wellston. The bike trail is open through September.
Southeast Lower Peninsula
• Great color drive: Around the Thumb. Take M-25 north out of Port Huron and around the Thumb.
• Great color spot: Pinckney Recreation Area, where you can hike or mountain bike along the 17-mile Potawatomi Trail or visit the touristy little hamlet of Hell (there's an ice scream store and plenty of Halloween-themed merchandise).
• Unique color opportunity: The Hidden Forest Trail Run Oct. 12 in Oakland County's Independence Oaks County Park offers runners a chance to commune with the fall colors for 2.5 miles, 5.5 miles or 8.5 miles. Cost is $18 for early registration and a long-sleeve shirt; $8 early registration without shirt; $20 for late registration, with shirt after Oct. 6, and $10 late registration, without shirt after Oct. 6, 2014. A valid daily or annual vehicle pass is required for park entry. Find signup info at www.riverbendstriders.com/RBS_Events.htm.
Southwest Lower Peninsula
• Great color drive: Wineries, cider mills and farm markets dot the landscape in a rough triangle between New Buffalo in the southwest corner, Benton Harbor in the north and Three Rivers in the east.
• Great color spot: Warren Dunes State Park, with 3 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, 6 miles of hiking trails and a 260-foot dune you can climb for spectacular color views.
• Unique color opportunity: The Fernwood Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve, 13988 Range Line Road, Niles. A haven for endangered and threatened Michigan plants and animals with miles of trails, an art gallery, fern conservatory, nature center, library, cafe and gift shop. www.fernwoodbotanical.org.
Pick a route
The state's Pure Michigan travel Website offers 27 color routes around the state. Pick one at www.michigan.org/fall-color-tours.
Why do leaves change color?
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it works like this:
• The timing of color change and leaf fall are primarily regulated by the calendar, that is, the increasing length of night. As days grow shorter, and nights grow longer and cooler, biochemical processes in the leaf begin.
• Three types of pigment are involved in autumn color, including chlorophyll, which makes leaves green and is necessary for photosynthesis; carotenoids, which produce yellow, orange, and brown colors in such things as corn, carrots, and daffodils; and anthocyanins, which give color to such things as cranberries, red apples, concord grapes, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and plums. Both chlorophyll and carotenoids are present in the leaf cells throughout the growing season. Most anthocyanins are produced in the autumn.
• As night length increases in the autumn, chlorophyll production slows down, then stops. The carotenoids and anthocyanins that are present in the leaf are then unmasked and show their colors.
• Certain colors are characteristic of particular species. Oaks turn red, brown, or russet; hickories, golden bronze; aspen and yellow-poplar, golden yellow; dogwood, purplish red; beech, light tan. Maples differ species by species. Red maple turns brilliant scarlet; sugar maple, orange-red; and black maple, glowing yellow. Leaves of some species such as the elms simply shrivel up and fall, exhibiting little color other than drab brown.
• A succession of warm, sunny days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to bring about the most spectacular color displays. old age.
When is peak color?
• Mid-September to early October: Color starts now in the far western Upper Peninsula.
• Late September to mid-October: Most of the rest of the Upper Peninsula; the central portion of the northern half of the Lower Peninsula.
• Early to mid-October: The Keewenaw Peninsula, the Lake Superior coast including Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and a north-south-swath from there to St. Ignace. Most of the Lower Peninsula also peaks at this time.
• Mid- to late October: Lake Michigan and Huron shorelines around the Thumb and from Traverse City south.
• Sign up for weekly fall color updates at www.michigan.org/fall/.