The fall foliage in New England is set to be remarkable – and early

By James Gabriel Martin
September 17, 2020
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© DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
There’s some good news on the horizon for leaf peepers – weather experts are expecting a vibrant (and perhaps early) season this year.

If you’ve been lucky enough to travel through New England during fall, you’ll know that there’s nothing quite like kicking up the rust-colored leaves, hiking the rugged hills or driving down the open roads amidst the captivating hues of greens, oranges, reds and browns. Well there’s some good news on the horizon for leaf peepers – weather experts are expecting a vibrant (and perhaps early) season this year.

According to a Fall Foliage Forecast released by Yankee Magazine’s NewEngland.com, there is “potential for a big color punch this year if the right weather scenario lines up”. The magazine’s fall foliage expert, former meteorologist Jim Salge, has said that the season could go one of two ways, but both will be beautiful. The first scenario sees this year’s especially dry summer leading to more intense foliage colors, especially if it’s kick-started with an early cold spell. Cold fronts from Canada may lead to a striking display that makes the foliage dazzling, but it may lack longevity. The second scenario sees tropical weather activity making for a longer-lasting display that will still delight, although it will be less intense.

vermontVermont experiences beautiful colors every year during autumn © Sean Pavone / Shutterstock

Stressed trees tend to change their colors earlier, and if they do, they are more prone to producing red pigments as green ones fade. Because of this, a short but bright burst of color is expected in late September in northern New England and from mid- to late-October in southern New England.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST NEW ENGLAND FALL FOLIAGE ROAD TRIP ITINERARY


Jim Salge also shared with Lonely Planet what he feels makes New England so unique during that time of year. “About 90% of the land in New England is forested. In the northern zones especially, much of the forest is dominated by sugar maple, which is a tree that can turn anywhere from yellow to bright red depending on the weather and conditions in any given year. Leaf peeping is part of the culture. People drive around, look at leaves, and plan trips each year to coincide with the best colors. Because of COVID-19, this fall will be different. But the outdoors is among the safest places we can be, and many people have responded to the pandemic by getting more in touch with nature. There are still plenty of ways to safely enjoy the beautiful tapestry of colors and the crisp autumn weather.”

Fall FoliageFall foliage expert Jim Salge said this year is likely to be striking © Dene' Miles / Shutterstock

Some of Jim’s favorite spots include Smugglers Notch in Vermont, and Crawford Notch in New Hampshire, protected forest areas where glaciers came through during the last ice age, providing spectacular viewing. The full forecast is due to be updated on www.NewEngland.com. The website also lists suggested outdoors activities and events, as well as weekly posts focusing on the best place to find color on any given weekend.


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What a sustainable restart to travel could look like

Once the COVID-19 lockdowns, quarantines and restrictions end, I know I’m absolutely raring to start traveling again. But one of the things that many of us are coming to realise is just how fragile the world we love to explore is, and how important it is to be good stewards of it while we do so. There’s a whole industry out there for ecologically friendly holidays, and that’s great. But beyond the eco-yurt – although we do love a good eco-yurt – there are choices that we can all make to reduce our contributions to climate change when we start traveling again. Many older aircraft won't return to the skies © imagean / Getty Images / iStockphotoNewer aircraft with lower emissions For most travelers flying to their destination, the airline journey will be the largest part of their environmental footprint. That’s not just because of the emissions produced, but also because they’re released at higher altitudes, which amplifies their effect. Newer aircraft like the Airbus A350, A320neo or A220, or the Boeing 787, have an emissions footprint about a quarter lower than the jets they replace. With COVID-19’s drop in the demand for travel, many of those older aircraft have been retired and won’t return to the skies, and we’ll be flying on those newer and more efficient aircraft. Look out for the newer aircraft when booking – although the kind of aircraft you’ll actually travel on is never guaranteed – and, if none are available, contact your airline to make your views known. Beyond that, you can make a number of individual choices to minimise your personal environmental impact on the plane: bringing food with you, selecting vegetarian or vegan meals on board, and packing as light as possible, for example. Night trains are having a comeback, particularly in Europe © Laborant / ShutterstockMore lower-carbon travel options In many parts of the world, there are great alternatives to air travel for short-haul or even medium-haul travel. These aren’t just lower-impact, they’re often more fun and provide a fascinating slice-of-life view en route. The growing numbers of high-speed rail networks in many regions, as well as their city-center-to-city-center networks, make them a superb option – even for passengers who might previously have jetted between multiple destinations in a single trip. Night trains, too, are having a comeback, as more and more travelers discover how convenient, cost-effective and time-saving a way to travel they are. Keep your eyes peeled for more and more of these being introduced, especially in Europe. But of course it’s often complicated to find, plan and book trips that include rail rather than air travel, and takes, time, effort, and resources. Fortunately new tools and guides are coming online all the time. Much better rail integration One of the areas where a bit more coordination effort is needed is in getting rail networks in particular to play better with each other and with other forms of transportation. An example: if you buy an airline ticket with connecting flights, the airline is (by and large) responsible for making sure that you make your connection or are rebooked free of charge to the next flight, and provided with accommodation if an overnight stay is required as a result. This is known as a “protected connection”. Protected connections are very rarely available in rail travel. Apart from the CIV rules covering international tickets within Europe, which allow for next-train travel if your previous train is late, it can be very complicated and there’s no guarantee space will be available. It’s not just rail-to-rail connections that need work, either. Rail-to-air tickets are growing in availability, but these will usually have a clause stating that the airline isn’t responsible if the rail part of your trip is delayed. Lufthansa’s Rail&Fly service, in cooperation with Deutsche Bahn, states: “Every passenger is responsible for arriving at the airport in good time. Lufthansa accepts no responsibility for missed flights due to the delayed arrival of a bus or train.” Overall, the travel industry really needs to start making it easier for travelers to make more sustainable choices. Several large cities are working to be bike-friendly, but more can be done © canadastock / ShutterstockBetter walking and biking options It’s been fantastic to see so many cities and towns boosting their cycling and walking facilities to help people get around during the coronavirus crisis. The trick with this when traveling, though, is access to cycling in particular as part of an integrated travel network. Making short-term and medium-term cycle rentals available to travelers is often complicated, and without wanting to get into the perennial debate about helmet requirements, making them accessible to those travelers who would like them is not yet mainstream. Some larger cities’ bike-share schemes are a great start, but there’s much for accommodation providers to do here as well. That’s especially true for hotels, which are in a great position to reduce their guests’ environmental impact, whether they decide to create their own bike provisions or partner with a local company to take care of the details. Booking sites too, can do more to flag up these choices or offer them as filters. Travel is important: it broadens the mind, exposes us to new ways of life and new parts of our shared world, and can be a vital part of global development. More than ever, though, it’s crucial to make travel more conscious and more sustainable.

Inspiration

The future of museums amid unsettling times

Global lockdowns imposed to curb the coronavirus pandemic severely diminished the tourism sector. The arts and culture industry, a cornerstone for tourism, and well-rounded communities now face an existential crisis. Museums make up a 13 billion dollar industry in the US alone, where 14 million Americans attend each year. The risk of losing museums will affect the intricate system of artists, tourists, residents, and families. Today, museums across the board struggle in the background. One-third might not make it through the pandemic; the rest may need to reinvent their business models to survive. Museums, at their core, are keepers of authentic heritage, culture, and history. Across the globe, museums showcase over 1 billion objects and artifacts for essential public views. Over the last decade, the industry evolved from scholars and academia to bring in wider audiences through engagement and entertainment. Respectively, their financial model reflected the more hands-on experience brought on by foot traffic and memberships. The Smith Group, based on architectural design in the art space, points out the need for structural changes to stay relevant post-pandemic and among the newer generations. This short term financial and cultural crisis expedited the threat of how museums will keep up in the digital age. Traditional and dated forms of engagement used by many museum websites do not effectively harness the internet. If museums move beyond brick and mortar establishments, they will need to implement more forward-thinking ideas. Museums already use social influencers like celebrities or political figures to market and attract visitors. Still, a new form of marketing, known as niche marketing, can potentially lead museums to use pop culture to interact with the digital world. One example from a recent phenomenon is Animal Crossing, the record-breaking video game from Nintendo Switch. The social simulation game sold over 13 million copies since its release and created a revolutionary community to build an attractive island and visit other users online. The fandom attracts many public figures to its doors, even inspiring New York congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez to reach out to her following within the video game. In a comment made to the Wall Street Journal, David Newbury, an enterprise software architect at the J. Paul Getty Trust, said, “We need to get our art to where people actually are, and they’re in this game.” The Getty Museum recently created a Vincent Van Gogh Exhibition in the game to engage visitors over quarantine. New York-based artist Nicole Shinn launched her art gallery housed within Animal Crossing and featured over 20 contributing artists. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has made its entire collection of more than 406,000 Open Access images available to visit or hang in your island home. These public engagements show promising ideas for museums to interact successfully in the digital world, but still aren’t translating into their current financial model. As museums struggle to stay afloat, these efforts must be two-fold: how will they use the digital space to bring in much-needed funding and how will they use the digital world to funnel traffic back into their establishments. Beyond the museum industry, the ladder might be more critical to the travel sector. If museums engage more online, how will this affect the cultural development and attraction of cities to tourists worldwide? By Kylie Ruffino, a copywriter and designer graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Her focus is exploring the intersection of design and language to realize solutions of forward thinking ideas.

Inspiration

This interactive map will guide you to the best fall colors in the US

To help travelers to plan their trips to catch the leaves change colors in different parts of the US, an interactive map has been created.Now in its seventh year, the 2020 Fall Foliage Prediction Map by smokymountains.com is a visual planning guide to the annual progressive changing of the leaves. It notes that as average temperatures continue to slowly increase, their effect on precipitation patterns and weather will have an impact on the brightness and length of the fall color season across the US. The interactive map was created by analyzing millions of data points and putting them together county-by-county. It has a slider to allow users to follow the changing leaves through the entire fall season, enabling travelers to take more meaningful fall vacations, capture beautiful fall photos and enjoy the natural beauty of autumn. The fall foliage at Smugglers' Notch State Park in Vermont, USA © Naphat Photography/Getty ImagesThere are also articles on the website with information on the science behind why autumn leaves change colour, what the different hues mean and what happens to the leaves after they fall. It also warns that no foliage tool can ever be 100% accurate, as the timing and vibrancy of the colors depends greatly on the unpredictable weather ahead and the major factors impacting peak fall are sunlight, precipitation, soil moisture and temperature. To see more on the 2020 Fall Foliage Prediction Map, please see here.

Inspiration

Over 500 miles of new bike trails are now open to cyclists in the US

Cycling has soared in popularity during the pandemic, prompting cities and towns to reconsider their streets. In California and Wisconsin, officials and local cycling communities have worked with the USBRS to utilize several off-road trails to connect Milwaukee to the Mississippi River at Bluff Siding, and linked Lake Tahoe with an existing bike path in Nevada to create a seamless route to the San Francisco Bay Area. The designation of these new routes will give cyclists more than 500 miles of safe, signed paths and expands the reach of USBRS to 29 states in total. In California, the 233-mile USBR 50 path begins in South Lake Tahoe at the Nevada border. Cyclists will climb over mountain passes, following the Mormon Emigrant Trail before rolling through the scenic Sierra Nevada on the El Dorado Trail, the paved route in the state's historic Gold Rush country. From there, they'll enjoy over 30 miles of car-free cycling from Folsom to Sacramento, before traveling to Lagoon Valley Park and into San Francisco Bay. California's new bike route will start south of Lake Tahoe ©MariuszBlach/Getty ImagesNot only does the new California bike path provide scenic recreational routes for cyclists, it also connects two of the largest communities in the El Dorado and Sacramento counties. "Long term, I hope we can improve USBR 50 to serve not only visitors to the county, but local residents cycling for recreation, biking to work, and running errands by bike," said Mike Bean, Friends of El Dorado Trail board member, who helped designate the new route. In Wisconsin, cyclists will pass 269 miles of forests, vibrant urban areas and cut through the steep, rugged landscape of the Driftless Region. "Establishing this route has been years in the making and it’s a great accomplishment for the state," Craig Thompson, Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) secretary-designee, said in a statement. "More than 70 communities in eleven counties worked together to create this great transportation corridor that will be enjoyed by local, regional and national bicyclists." The USBRS boasts 14,598 miles of bike routes throughout the country, and connects cyclists to picturesque pathways in over 100 National Park sites, including Mammoth Cave National Park and Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. At least 40 states are currently developing more routes and once complete, it will be the largest bike network in the world, providing cyclists of all ages and abilities a safe passage through the country. If you want to hit the open road on two wheels this fall, you can access digital maps for all designated US Bicycle Routes for free here from the Adventure Cycling website, a nonprofit organization that provides national coordination for the USBRS.