Fall in the Adirondacks 2019

I'm not really sure what it is I love most about fall. The colors? Definitely a big part of it. The smells? Nothing smells quite like the leaves on the ground during this season. But I think what intrigues me most about this season is the bittersweet change in the weather. The signal for a cozier time of year which is music to this homebody's ears.

These pictures were taken across the span of about 3 weeks from late September into mid-October. We follow the color as it changes first in the higher elevations and finally ends down by the lake. It was sad to leave this weekend because the next time we head up up there, the trees will be bare. I can't remember a prettier fall than we saw this year.

I get a lot of questions about visiting this area and I will work on updating my Adirondack Vacation Guide soon. One of the most popular questions I get is WHEN to visit to see all this color and it's really difficult to answer that! It changes each year and some years just aren't as pretty. A good rule of thumb is the 3 weeks surrounding Columbus Day - and then use social media to find where the best color is. I follow a few photographers on Instagram and their pictures often point me in the right direction. A few of my favorites from the Adirondacks are Carl Heilman (he's amazing!), Kevin @userwiththatnamealreadyexists and Jess Olm. And over in Vermont Sam Trombino and Dave Long.

Dax is our faithful leaf-peeping companion. 

Here are a two of my favorite houses on Schroon Lake. Can you imagine either of these homes as your family lake house? The first one, Woods Lodge,  was a bed and breakfast but has been under renovation for many years.

Our favorite place to be in all the seasons is out on the trails. They seem to glow at this time of year. Soon they will be covered in snow and we will be on snowmobiles.

Just across the road from this beautiful mountain view is a house that I love. I think the big old trees are the best part and I imagine what I would do to it to add charm if this was my house. I'd start with a big wrap around porch to enjoy that view. Oh, the possibilities!

I'm never quite sure whether I prefer to photograph the foliage against a sunny sky or an overcast one. They are equally beautiful to me. The next picture is the Hudson River. It is amazing to me that this is the same dirty river near our home in NJ and is clear and beautiful up here.

This is our favorite pond to kayak on and, while we were here, we saw the resident loon family probably for the last time before they head south for winter.

We didn't get to take our usual long trip through Vermont this year but we did take a quick trip over the bridge to the Green Mountain State to get some apples one afternoon.

We have been visiting this orchard, Champlain Orchards in Shoreham, VT, since our kids were little. It wouldn't be fall without a stop here.

This is more of a valley so the foliage was a few weeks behind, but still plenty of gorgeous Vermont views.

Finally, we can actually see Fall giving way to Winter in these next pictures. Snow on the high peaks, bright foliage in the lower elevations.

I've shared so many pictures of fall this year and if you made it this far, a huge thank you!! I hope you've enjoyed a peek at some of my favorite places to visit in fall and in all seasons!