Informe de follaje de otoño para los parques estatales de Virginia Occidental

After last week's dry and brown conditions, recent rainfall has brought a welcome transformation to Douthat State Park. The forest is looking greener than it has in weeks, as the rain relieved drought stress and revitalized the landscape. Dogwoods are beginning to show their classic reddish-purple tones, highlighted by bright red berries. While most oaks remain green, some maples are starting to turn yellow. The weather has been mild, but with cooler nights ahead—lows in the upper 40s—more vibrant fall colors are likely on the way. It's a unique and beautiful start to the season.

Mejor lugar para ver:

• Take a walk along the YCC trail and stop to walk out on the fishing pier to see the best fall colors.

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• Join us for our Fall Foliage History Walk, offered every Friday in October. Take in the crisp air and the brilliant colors of autumn as we stroll along Douthat’s scenic lakefront. This short, easy walk blends the beauty of fall with the rich history of Douthat.

A stretch of dry weather has sped up the season at Douthat State Park. While most of the oaks remain green, the sugar maples and tulip poplars are already putting on a show with brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. The dryness has also caused some leaves to bypass the color change, turning brown and dropping early. With rain in the forecast this week, we’re hopeful it will refresh the landscape and help brighten the colors still to come.

Mejor lugar para ver:

• Taking a walk on top of the dam from the Discovery Center will provide the best views of the fall colors. This spot will also showcase the mountains, lake and the historic CCC-built spillway.

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• National Public Lands Day is this Saturday, Sept. 27. Enjoy free parking and join us for a volunteer workday at our satellite park, Green Pastures Recreation Area. From trail tidying and litter pickup to sprucing up picnic areas, your efforts will help keep Green Pastures welcoming for all who visit.

As September winds down, autumn is making its presence known across the region. At Fairy Stone State Park, temperatures have ranged from a crisp 55F to a warm 86F, giving us a true sense of the seasonal change. Remnants from a tropical storm brought 2.8 inches of rain, keeping the landscape refreshed and vibrant. The colors in the area are becoming increasingly vivid, with brighter hues painting the hillsides. The rate of leaf drop is rising, signaling that peak fall colors are just around the corner!

Mejor lugar para ver:

• Stuart’s Knob Overlook

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• Fairy Stone Hunt: Learn the legend behind the naturally occurring stone cross formations and travel to the special location in the park to search for your own "fairy stone." After a short presentation on what you will be looking for, we will head to the site. Oct. 10, 1-2 p.m., and Oct. 4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12-1 p.m.
• Hiking for the Birds, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. Hit the trail with one of our rangers to see which birds of Fairy Stone State Park are hiding in plain sight along Oak Hickory Trail.
• Magic Trees, Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. Trees have magical qualities that provide us with many important everyday items, as well as a large portion of the oxygen we breathe.
• Fayerdale The Missing Town, Oct. 5 at 3 p.m. Did you know there was once a thriving "boom town" located where our lake is today?

Tulip poplars are shedding yellow and brown leaves, a gentle nod to the season’s shift. Dogwoods flaunt red berries, their foliage blushing into rich purples. Oaks are dropping acorns in abundance, nature’s feast for squirrels and deer. The air still warms to 80 degrees by day, but cools to the upper 50s at night, coaxing color from the canopy. Rain has been scarce, less than an inch all month, hastening leaf drop and muting hues. The landscape hums with change. Soon, maples will blaze, birds will migrate and crisp mornings will carry the scent of turning leaves. For now, we savor the threshold where summer exhales and autumn begins to breathe.

Mejor lugar para ver:

• Lower beach area.

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• National Public Lands Day on Sept. 27. Join us for a guided hike and multiple interactive educational programs, including invasive plant removal and native plants and pollinators lessons followed by a seed bomb workshop and tree planting. Early fall is a prime time to manage invasive species such as autumn olive and Japanese stiltgrass. Thanks to their distinctive seasonal markers, bright red berries on autumn olive and pink seedheads on stiltgrass, make them easy to identify and remove.

It has been very dry here at Hungry Mother State Park, and some of the leaves are starting to turn brown. However, we are finally getting some much-needed rain. This rain, combined with the warm autumn days and cool evenings, will help reveal the vibrant colors of the leaves hidden beneath the green as the chlorophyll begins to break down. The colors should become more vivid in the weeks to come. Although there is still a lot of green, the scattered patches of color throughout the mountains and their reflections in the lake are beginning to make the area shine.

Mejor lugar para ver:

• Driving into Hungry Mother State Park along Rt. 16, many of the beech trees are beginning to turn yellow. Enjoy the yellows as they highlight all the different shades of green at this time of year.

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• Forest Therapy session on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 10 a.m.
• Fall Colors Hike on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 3 p.m.
• Early morning Fall Foliage Kayak Paddle on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 10 a.m.
• Paddle in the Park on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 6 p.m.

We still have a lot of green in Natural Tunnel State Park. With the rain over the weekend, some of the trees began to shed more leaves, and the oaks have dropped a significant number of acorns. We are starting to see some splashes of red, mainly from the beautiful dogwood trees.

Mejor lugar para ver:

• Cabin area, Birding and Wildlife trail

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• Touring the Galaxy on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.
• Fall Colors Hike on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 2 p.m.

Natural Tunnel State Park has had some beautiful weather this week, with daytime temperatures in the 80s and evenings starting to cool off a bit with lows in the mid-50s. Guests can spot some hints of yellow on the Lovers' Leap Trail, and a few orange trees can be spotted from the Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Interpretive Center.

Mejor lugar para ver:

• Lovers' Leap Trail, Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail Interpretive Center

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• We have two volunteer opportunities in honor of National Public Lands Day on Saturday, Sept. 27. Pretty Problem in the Park is an invasive species removal program in the morning, and a trail cleanup along stock creek in the afternoon.

This week, New River Trail State Park experienced cloudy and rainy conditions for most of the week, with temperatures ranging from the high 50s to the mid-70s. On some days, fog was present, creating a perfectly comfortable yet moody fall atmosphere. Our walnut trees have continued to become more yellow, dropping more nuts with each passing day. Some maples are showing their first orange and red leaves, and our sycamores are a mix of greens, oranges and browns. On the mountains, strong stripes and patches of oranges, browns and some reds can be seen among the green trees.

Mejor lugar para ver:

• Cataratas Foster

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• We are hosting aHaunted History tour at Foster Falls on Oct. 3 at 7 p.m.
• The Virginia Trail Running Festival is taking place Oct. 11-12.
• We are teaming up with the local community for the Harvest Festival on Oct. 11.

Temperatures this past week have been delightfully warm and sunny, with perfect weather for a river float. New River Trail saw several days in the 80s, with evenings in the high 50s and low 60s. The leaves on our walnut, maple and hickory trees have started exhibiting their first signs of color. In a short amount of time, our walnut trees have shifted from green to yellow and are beginning to shed their leaves and nuts. Subtle pops of orange are prominent along the trail and in the Foster Falls area, with Virginia creeper showing off flashy, striking reds. 

Mejor lugar para ver:

• Cataratas Foster

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• On September 27 a clean-up of Baker Island will be occurring as well as a live blacksmithing demonstration.
• October 3, will be the season's first Haunted History tour which is happening at Foster Falls.

Although green remains the dominant color in Smith Mountain Lake State Park, a few select trees are preparing for winter by halting their production of chlorophyll, revealing the underlying colors.

Mejor lugar para ver:

• Along Interpretive Trail Rd. and in the coves near the Discovery Center.

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• Saturday, Oct. 4, join the ranger in the campground at 1 p.m. and indulge your creativity with Camper Crafts.
• To learn more about the park and the history around Smith Mountain Lake, join us at the Discovery Center between 3 and 5 p.m. on Oct. 4 for Discovery Center Exploration.

Due to the warmer temperatures in the last two weeks, the trees at the park are not yet showing much of a change. However, there has been some colors starting to appear in the landscape around the lake. Currently, the predominant colors seen around the park are greens and yellows, but there are a few pops of bright red like black gum and red maples.

Mejor lugar para ver:

• Along Interpretive Trail Rd. and in the coves near the Discovery Center.

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• On Sept. 27, we're participating in National Public Lands Day, the nation's largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands. Become a steward of Smith Mountain Lake State Park and help us clean up Beechwood Trail. We'll provide all tools and materials needed. Please bring water and wear closed-toed shoes and clothing appropriate for the weather.
• Join us on Saturday, Oct. 25, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the Discovery Center for our Goblins and Goodies Halloween event. We’ll have crafts, games, pumpkin-decorating, a costume contest (for ages 12 and younger) and lots of candy. There will also be a haunted hike and autumn hay wagon rides through the park to view the fall foliage.

The Southwest Virginia Museum Historical State Park area has yet to display much color. However, there is a slight change in color at the top of the mountains. Following some cooler nights and recent rain, we expect more color to appear soon. We have some dogwood trees that are now showing their color.

Mejor lugar para ver:

• 101 Train Car and Victorian Garden

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• Although we do not have any special events happening this week. Staff and volunteers will be out in the community doing outreach programs and other activities.

The park is not showing much color yet. We have had some cooler nights, so some color should be showing soon.

Mejor lugar para ver:

• The 101 Train Car.

Por qué visitarlo esta semana:

• For National Public Lands Day on Sept. 27, volunteers will have a chance to give back to their community by contributing to the preservation of a historic landmark in the heart of Appalachia. Park rangers will be on hand to lead this project, from 1 to 4 p.m. which includes scraping, sanding, priming, and painting the gate to the entrance of the museum. All necessary tools and materials will be provided, and volunteers of all skill levels are welcome to participate.
• Also, on Saturday, Sept. 27, we’re hosting Penchants and Proclivities to provide an opportunity for local collectors to share their objects and knowledge, This is the third in a series of events showcasing personal collections from around the region. During these events, participants are invited to display and share their collections with the visiting public in the museum’s Victorian Parlor.