by Marc Phillippe Babineau

Created on: September 11, 2008   Last Updated: September 29, 2008

These are the Kodak moments of our lives. The fall foliage is nature's gift to the people in search of aesthetically pleasing landscapes, and when seen in compliment to the Sunset's colours and a reflective body of water, the visual palettes can be outrageously beautiful. In Canada, a famous group of artists, known as The Group of Seven, which included artists such as Emily Carr, Tom Thomson, and A. Y. Jackson, made the colourful settings of fall foliage in the mountainous and lake-dotted areas famous the world over. Taking your loved one, your family, or just a drive by yourself through an area filled with mountains and lakes during the fall can be an extremely relaxing journey, with a sensual overload and an all-encompassing feeling of awe at Nature's powers to inspire.

Day trips to enjoy the fall foliage can be one of the most memorable and beautiful journeys of a lifetime. Planning for a fall foliage day trip can be as easy as finding the nearest lake, mountain, or river that is heavily forested with deciduous trees, and has hiking trails and picnic stops. Another popular destination is a high-altitude lookout point in a heavily wooded area. Deciduous trees include mainly Maple, Elm, Oak, Ash, Walnut and Willow trees, but there are hundreds and hundreds of trees that will have their leaves change colours in the Autumn, and finding a place with as great a mixture as possible will enhance your trip's success. The greater the variety of trees that will be on your travels, the greater the majesty of different colours available mixing in with each other to create a unique scenery that is stunningly and uniquely beautiful.

Your fall foliage day trip should begin with deciding upon your itinerary and destination requirements. You need to decide whether the trip will be the journey, as in a drive with a short stop for a picnic lunch, or if the trip should be a drive to a favoured spot, with your favourite outdoors activity as the main event. Hiking, mountain biking, fishing, swimming and bird watching all call out to the outdoors enthusiasts when the fall time brings the colours out of the leaves. Many people enjoy heading for a new destination for their fall foliage day trips, and some prefer the spot that they fell in love with the first time that they encountered it.

The best places for fall foliage day trips are always the mountain lakes, rivers and streams, or the National Parks and Forests that are fairly close to most major metropolitan areas. Road side picnic areas or shore line parks, the choice of destination should allow for a comfortable driving time. Make sure that your destination is no further a drive than one fourth of the time allotted for the entire outing. This allows for plenty of time for your favourite outdoor activities in the colourful surroundings.

Driving through winding mountain passes, along the edges of grand forests or through one of the Continent's many National Parks can be a fall foliage day trip to remember for the rest of your life. Just pack a cooler full of healthy drinks and water, some fruits and berries, melons and some sandwiches and stop whenever you see a place that makes your heart skip a beat or two.

When you are driving through the mountains in the fall, make sure to bring along the fishing gear, because not only is it the prettiest time of the year, it is also one of the best times of the year to dangle a worm in a mountain creek in the quest of a speckled (or brook) trout. If more active younger children are included in your group bring along some outdoor games, soccer balls or badminton sets.

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