Where to Go for Early Autumn Color in WV

Every year anticipation builds as fall approaches. Autumns can be glorious in West Virginia as leaves turn from green to gold. And every year we wonder what kind of a year will it be for color. Although much is known about why leaves change color, every year is different. So it’s difficult to predict how vivid the colors will be and what the timing will be. But here are some rules of thumb for where to best appreciate the first colors of autumn in West Virginia.

Highland Scenic Highway - 2012

Highland Scenic Highway

Leaves first start changing color at high elevation, so it’s best to start in the highlands. Although it varies yearly, fall foliage colors generally peak at high elevations in the last week of September to the first week in October. The Highland Scenic Highway (SR 150) is generally radiant with fall colors at that time of year. The Highway runs along the spine of the Allegheny Highlands in Pocahontas County, reaching more than 4,500 feet in elevation on Black Mountain. I like the Williams River Overlook for a panoramic view of fall color. About three miles north of the Big Spruce Overlook, you’ll find a host of brilliant red maples lighting up the hillside. 

Highland Scenic Highway - 2012

Summit Lake

Summit Lake (elevation 3,388), just 10 miles outside of Richwood on SR 39, is another early autumn venue for leaf color. Hillsides of brilliant color reflect in the lake, making an autumn paradise. Golden aspen trees line the trail to the fishermen’s dock. Summit Lake is a must for early fall color odysseys. It peaks about a week after the Highland Scenic Highway. 

Summit Lake - 2012

Blackwater-Canaan Area

Blackwater Falls State Park is another fall color hot spot. Particularly nice is the view of the Blackwater Canyon from either Lindy or Pendleton Points. Highway 32 south of Davis as it ascends to Canaan Heights often has spectacular fall colors. For that matter don’t forget Canaan Valley. The Beall Trails in the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge are good for color. And I would definitely take the Scenic Chairlift Ride at Canaan Valley State Park. 

Blackwater Falls - 2008

Dolly Sods

At 4,000 feet in elevation the color change occurs early at Dolly Sods in Tucker County, too. Although the trees at Dolly Sods can be beautiful, the main attraction is near the ground. At Bear Rocks at the north end of forest road 75, the blueberry shrubs that carpet the earth turn a brilliant red. Acres and acres of scarlet earth--it’s a sight to behold!  

Canaan Valley - 2015

Snowshoe Mountain

There are couple of places in the highlands of West Virginia that I haven’t seen in the fall, but can recommend anyway. One is Snowshoe Mountain Resort in Pocahontas County. At elevations of 4,800 feet, fall arrives early and in glory at Snowshoe judging by some photos that I’ve seen.   

Dolly Sods - 2008

Spruce Knob & Lake

In western Pendleton County, Spruce Knob is the highest point in West Virginia (4,863 feet). Leaves will turn quickly at that elevation. A fisherman friend of mine likes Spruce Knob Lake for autumn colors. Standing at 3,840 feet in elevation, it is the highest lake in West Virginia. In the autumn the lake is encircled with slopes of reds, golds, and yellows. 

Dolly Sods - 2015

Well, I’ve tried to hit the high spots (pardon the pun) of early autumn color in West Virginia. If I’ve missed some places, please leave a comment. In another post, I’ll mention some places in West Virginia that hit peak color in mid to late October. 

An Explosion of Color: Highland Scenic Highway

Most people drive the Highland Scenic Highway for the scenery—and rightly so. There’s not another highway in West Virginia that offers such continuous vistas. Nevertheless, as the Parkway crosses high elevations, it creates and accesses some unique environs for plant communities. Wildflowers and meadows thrive in the abundant rainfall of the high country. Particularly in the summer months, I find as much to see and enjoy by the side of the road as at the vistas. Indeed, it seems as if the entire 23 mile length of the Parkway is lined with summer wildflowers, both common and rare. It’s like a narrow garden winding across the summits of the Allegheny Highlands.

So if you like colorful wildflowers, now’s a good time to drive the Highland Scenic Highway. It’s bursting with color, especially yellow. Starting at the north end off of US 219, Phyllis and I drove the Highway last Friday (Aug 19, 2016), and found large patches of wildflowers lining the roadway. 

It all started at the Red Lick Overlook where a wildflower garden sits in the center of the parking area. Wingstem, large coneflower, and Jerusalem artichoke were growing around the parking area.

   

Wingstem

As we drove south, patches of wingstem were particularly abundant.
We also spotted a large, half-acre patch of Jerusalem artichoke 1 mile south of the Red Spruce Knob trailhead. I’ve never seen so much of this gorgeous yellow wildflower in one place.  

Half acre of Jerusalem Artichoke

Jerusalem Artichoke

Jerusalem Artichoke

A stop at the Tea Creek Meadow highlighted teasel and lots of field thistle. We also saw fields of goldenrod just starting to bloom. Afterwards, we continued on the highway as it descended to the Williams River. About half way down, purple tall ironweed started popping up. With the sun shining on the stalks of ironweed, they took on a brilliant, neon glow. When they mingled with goldenrod, it was quite a colorful show. There was more tall ironweed on the side of the road as we ascended out of the Williams River.

 Field Thistle

Teasel

With the promise of more goldenrod to come, the Highland Scenic Highway is going to be popping with color in the next few weeks.

 Tall Ironweed

Beauty Beside the Road: Orchids on the Highland Scenic Highway

John Muir once wrote: "To the sane and free, it will hardly seem necessary to cross the continent in search of wild beauty, however easy the way, for they find it in abundance wherever they chance to be." Guided by the words of Muir, my wife and I are always on the lookout for “Wild Beauty.” It seems Wild Beauty comes naturally to West Virginia where nature is always at work casting beauty in unlikely places.

For instance, last Tuesday (August 9, 2016), we went in search of a purple fringeless orchid that had been spotted on the Highland Scenic Highway by a member of the staff at the Cranberry Mountain Nature Center. Having a rough idea of where the orchids were located, we slowly drove the Highway looking for them. On our second pass, we caught sight of them. Growing on a tall central stalk they stood out from the grasses and ferns growing by the side of the road.

Purple Fringeless Orchid

Purple Fringeless Orchid

That’s what amazes me about Wild Beauty. Like gold, it’s where you find it. In this case a perfectly beautiful and relatively uncommon orchid was just growing beside the road not more than 20 feet from the pavement. You just never know where and what you’ll find when you go searching. What’s more even common flowers can appear uncommonly beautiful. For example, we found some field thistle growing in the berm of the road, too. It was beautiful in its own right. So was some St. John’s wort.

Thistle

Thistle

There’s just so much beauty scattered about we could easily trip over it. More about the beauty at our feet and by the roadside in future blogs. 

St. John's Wort

Wildflowers on the Highland Scenic Highway: Part 2

Most people drive the Highland Scenic Highway for the scenery—and rightly so. There’s not another highway in West Virginia that offers such continuous vistas. Nevertheless, as the Parkway crosses such high elevations, it creates and accesses some unique environs for plant communities. Wildflowers and meadows thrive in the abundant rainfall of the high country. Particularly in the summer months, I find as much to see and enjoy by the side of the road as at the vistas. Indeed, it seems as if the entire 23 mile length of the Parkway is lined with summer wildflowers, both common and rare. It’s like a narrow garden winding across the summits of the Allegheny Highlands.

TEA CREEK MEADOW

Across from the Little Laurel Overlook north of the Williams River crossing, lies the Tea Creek Meadow (GPS: Lat. 38.341527, Long. -80.163410). This 40-acre man-made meadow is composed of fill dirt created by the road cuts on the Parkway and is chock full of wildflowers all summer long. Early in the summer, buttercups carpet this gorgeous field in gold. Scattered among the buttercups are other wildflowers such as yellow goat’s-beard and rough-fruited cinquefoil.

Purple Cone Flower

In late summer, large patches of crown vetch dot the meadow, along with purple cone flower, tall bellflower, black-eyed susan, virgin’s bower, field thistle, and teasel, to name a few. Lovely stands of sweet goldenrod grace the meadow in September.

Sweet Goldenrod

You can walk among the wildflowers down an easy path mown through the meadow. The path is part of the Tea Creek Interpretive Trail (TR 489) that runs the length of the field and then descends the foot of the fill dirt pile into a small wetland and beaver pond area where a new set of wildflowers grow. Interpretative signs and benches help educate the mind and rest the weary feet. The trail loops back up the slope of the fill dirt and onto the flat meadow where another mown path leads back to the trailhead. The entire trail loop, probably no more than 0.8 miles, is an easy excursion and well worth it for the wildflower display.

Tea Creek Meadow

RED LICK OVERLOOK

Continuing to the north end of the Highway, the Red Lick Overlook (GPS: Lat. 38.309662, Long. -80.137348), the last overlook on the Highway, is a worthy wildflower stop. In the middle of the parking lot and around the periphery, some gracious souls have planted a wildflower garden where beauties abound. Bee balm, tall bellflower, evening primrose, fringed loosestrife, and a Turk’s cap lily plant flourish in this garden in the wild. The view from the overlook is pretty sweet, too.

Turk's Cap Lily

Bee Balm

Phyllis and I are eager to explore the Parkway again this year, for we know that more beautiful wildflowers are just waiting to be found. Whatever species we discover, a trip along the Parkway in summer is like driving down a wildflower garden 23 miles long. Add the scenic overlooks, and you have beauty afar and beauty at your feet. What more could you ask of a lovely summer day in West Virginia?

Red Lick Overlook

Wildflowers on the Highland Scenic Highway

While cruising the Highland Scenic Highway a few years ago, my wife, Phyllis, and I spotted a young couple hunched by the side of the road photographing something in the ditch. Being a photographer, this piqued my curiosity, so of course we stopped. We discovered that the young lady was a Ph.D. Candidate at the Department of Biology at Duke University. The two had found a somewhat rare fen orchid just a few inches tall. Phyllis and I are wildflower enthusiasts, so we shared in the excitement of their find. But we weren’t entirely caught off-guard by the discovery.

Wildflowers Abound

Earlier that day, we had already found and photographed some large purple fringed orchid plants along State Route 39/55. Moreover, we were en route to a patch of wild columbine along the Highland Scenic Highway. We knew the wildflower delights this highway had to offer. Indeed, wildflowers are as much a part of the Highland Scenic Highway experience as the scenic views from which it draws its name.

Large Purple Fringed Orchid

Wild Columbine

Two week ago we cruised the Highland Scenic Highway again and found plenty of wildflower action. Found a nice patch of Wild Columbine on the east side of the road just a little south of the Highway's junction with FS #461. This is close to the North Fork Trailhead (TR 272). GPS coordinates are Lat 38.292741, Long -80.247213.

Wild Columbine

Bee Balm
It must be a good year for Bee Balm because we saw plenty of it. The Bee Balm grew in large stands particularly on the south end of the Highway (south of the crossing at the Williams River Road). Turk's cap lilies were also blooming well. Several plants and groups of plants were seen. 

Bee Balm

More about wildflowers on the north end of the Highland Scenic Highway in my next Blog. 
Click Part Two.

Turk's Cap Lilies