Natural History Wanderings

The recent cool snap should be the catalyst needed to get the fall color to develop. Temperatures are forecast to be a few degrees above average through the middle of next week. This will allow the physiological processes in the leaves to proceed a little more quickly. By Wednesday or Thursday next week, we should see temperatures cooling. It all makes for a peak color season to be right on time from about the 15th of the month through the first week in November barring any severe weather that might blow a lot of leaves off the trees. Your best bet to check the weather and see the color so you’ll know when to make that drive into the mountains is to monitor the Brasstown Bald webcams. You can already see some nice color around the visitor center and some color is developing on the surrounding slopes. Here are some suggestions for driving tours through the mountains this fall. Russell-Brasstown National Scenic Byway U.S. Highway 76 between Blairsville and Clayton State Highway 197 between Clarksville and U.S. Highway 76. Very pastoral and scenic. Other good drives will be along Georgia Highway 52 anywhere between Chatsworth and Dahlonega. For other locations and scenic drives, check out some of the digital maps you can use. “Outdoor Fun in the North Georgia Mountains” Forest Visitor Maps for different parts of the forest