MidwestWeekends.com (mobile)
Because life's too short to stay home …
Trip Hints
Favorites for Fall
Toasting Oktoberfest
These festive tributes to Bavarian tradition put the oompah into fall.
Pursuing the hues
With luck, leaf peepers can squeeze seven weeks of color out of fall.
15 great trails to ride in fall
Here's where to get your fill of flora, fauna and fall colors.
Fall in Door County
On this Wisconsin peninsula, autumn colors gild a much-loved landscape.
Colors of the North Shore
In fall, eager crowds pursue the hues along Lake Superior.
15 great fall views
From these overlooks, see rolling waves of color light up the landscape.
Cheap fall getaways
Here are 20 places to enjoy autumn colors without going into the red.
Best of fall
The chase is on as autumn colors start to coat the countryside.
30 classic fall hikes
For autumn scenery, these beautiful trails are the best of the best.
An autumn Saturday dawns, sunny and mild. It's a perfect day for hiking — but where?
This time of year, you could walk down the street and see something nice.
But if you're looking for the kind of hike that makes you marvel at nature and feel glad to be alive, you'll probably have to look a little farther afield.
15 great fall drives
Here are 15 great places to chase the colors through glorious autumn landscapes.
On a crisp, sunny fall day, we all get the urge to go for a drive.
The countryside is alight with color, and there's a lot going on — art-studio tours, corn mazes, hay rides and harvest festivals in every little town.
And you'll be chasing the colors, of course.
So many festivals, so little fall
The season is short, so go on a power trip and catch two or three festivals each weekend. Here's where to go.
In this part of the world, fall is sweet but way too short.
All of the quaint little towns along rivers and in the bluffs have to pack their autumn festivals into the same six weekends, rolling out parades, pumpkin contests and oompah bands for all the leaf-peeping tourists.
The choices are paralyzing. Flea market or scarecrow contest? Pumpkin regatta or studio tour? Yodeling contest or dachshund races?
15 great late-fall getaways
It's the mellowest time of the year, and hotel rates drop with the leaves.
Late fall — when crowds fade and hotel deals appear — is one of the best times to make a getaway.
For hikers, it's the sweet spot between the fall-color rush and hunting season. For shoppers, it's the time to get a head start on the holidays, before the craziness starts.
More often than not, the weather still is gorgeous, and stubborn oaks and willows offer color that lasts into the middle of November.
Autumn in the studios
On fall art tours, treasure hunters strike gold.
In September and October, artists everywhere throw open their studio doors, inviting the public to see some fall colors along with fine art.
It's tempting because of the scenic landscapes in which so many artists live: the bluffs of northeast Iowa, the coulees of southwest Wisconsin, the towns around Lake Pepin, the lumpy terrain of the Ice Age Trail.
10 cool ways to see fall colors
When the trees put on a show, get a front-row seat that can't be beat.
In fall, you don't need to limit yourself to seeing the colors while speeding by in a car or even at a snail's pace from a hiking trail.
You also can watch the show on horseback, by boat or from a train. Or try a different kind of conveyance — say, covered wagon, chairlift or Venetian gondola.
The important thing is get out there and see as much as you can while it lasts. Here are 10 cool ways to view the hues.