roster (2017), recommending that "for admiring the fall foliage... Adventurous travelers can enjoy aerial views of the changing scenery from a hot air balloon or private helicopter tour." Similarly, Huffington Post lists Lake Placid, New York as one of
(2017). "Lake Placid offers a beautiful autumn lakeside scene with autumnal shades. Enjoy a cup of coffee as you admire the red and gold colors reflecting on the calm waters," the features adds.
Back to New York's Hudson Valley, the Mohonk Preserve (top photo) is the state's largest visitor and member-supported nature preserve, with 8,000 acres (32 km2) of cliffs, forests, fields, ponds, and streams. Located on the Shawangunk Ridge, a part of the Appalachian Mountains 90 miles (140 km) north of NYC in Ulster County (shown in red), the preserve maintains 40 miles (60 km) of trails for hiking, cycling, running, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and horseback riding, and has over 1,000 climbing routes for rock climbers. In the fall, watching from a hilltop hut, you'd see the forest canopy glow like embers under a setting sun. We doubt anyone would be unmoved by all that.
Also in the Hudson Valley, Storm King Art Center (middle and lower photos), named after its proximity to Storm King Mountain, is an open-air museum located in Mountainville in Orange County (shown in red), about an hour's drive north of Manhattan. Spanning approximately 500 acres (200 hectares), the site showcases probably the United States' biggest collection of contemporary outdoor sculptures — man-made works of art strategically scattered among nature's lush vegetation and forest patches, which, in the fall, take on a soul-soothing, heart-warming shimmer. — Text and photos by ANPJ/2
One of several gazebos overlooking the canopy of Mohonk's forest reserve The drive to, stages of fall foliage in, and sculptures of Storm King Storm King's rolling hills blanketed with grass and tall trees
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