Natural History Wanderings

Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest  has a new fall color report for October 15, 2014

Even though the stormy weather yesterday blew a lot of the early season color of the trees, it’s still early enough for more color to develop. It should be no surprise that at the higher elevations, where most of the color was developing, the weather was the worst. Lower elevations, especially in places sheltered from the winds, will likely provide good fall color in the coming days. Stay tuned for photos later in the week.

The forecast looks good for this weekend and into next week with sunny to partly cloudy days and cool temperatures. Just right for leaf peeping.

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

Remember, you can get the latest forest news and alerts by following us on Twitter, and taking advantage of our mobile app that provides fall color alerts as well as a wealth of information about recreation opportunities in both the Chattahoochee and Oconee National Forests.