Were sharing 10 amazing places to escape for a Fall trip including mountain getaways, cool crisp air, and fall leaf colors changing.

1. Mt Rainier National Park
2. Mammoth Lakes
3. North Cascades National Park
4. Shennendoah National Park
5. Lake Tahoe
6. Asheville
7. Rocky Mountain National Park
8. Gatlinburg, TN
9. Cherry Log, GA
10. Acadia National Park

Check out our other Fall episodes for more leaf peeping inspiration!

Fall Mountain Escapes – Episode Transcript

0:35

Today we’re talking all about the perfect fall getaway.

My dream fall getaway is being a nice secluded log cabin in the woods, preferably with a hot tub surrounded by fall foliage and where you could take in the scent of the forest and hike and explore the area.

1:04

There’s something about the fall season that is special, with the transition from heat and warmth to cool, crisp evenings and the change and the ecosystem that that has.

If you’re a nature lover like us, it’s really fun to watch and there are certain places that make the Fall season so much more enjoyable and are the perfect getaway locations to experience it.

1:24

Fall is really one of the best seasons for the colors alone.

They’re so pretty.

Like you said, the weather gets a little cooler when you’re in a really hot place.

That feels like such a relief when the cool weather starts to finally come in.

You can wear boots and sweaters and cute little fall outfit, so that’s cool.

1:41

One of my favorite things about fall though is heading to destinations like mountainous regions or places in the northeast that are really, really well known for the fall colors.

And fall is the perfect time to do this because you know those places are a little bit harder to get to.

1:57

Maybe the roads are a little windy and definitely not going there in winter.

When it starts to snow fall, fall is.

That sweet spot.

So in this episode, we’re going to go over 10 prime time locations that are perfect fall getaways for you.

But.

Before we get into there, let’s give them a few tips for fall travel.

2:15

Definitely make sure to look up the peak fall foliage times for each area, because in the north it peaks a lot earlier than it does in the South.

Very good point.

So watch the weather too.

Some of these places close roads down by specific months, or maybe they have a lot of traffic because they have a lot of tourists coming in.

2:34

Another really good tip is to pack in layers.

This is fall.

It could still be warm during the day, but cool and crisp at night, or depending where you are up in the mountains, really cold that night.

Even in fall before that, snow or rain really starts to settle in.

So pack in layers.

2:50

Great tips guys.

So we’re going to start with a location #1, which is Mount Rainier National Park on the West Coast, located in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest.

We have a full episode on Mount Rainier.

It’s going to be episode 68.

You know, they’re older episodes when they’re labeled with numbers here because we stopped doing that a little bit.

3:08

But episode 68, far back in the archives, go check it out.

We visited in September of 2020.

Mount Rainier National Park is a really, really pretty park.

It’s got this gorgeous, huge mountain, AKA Mount Rainier.

You can’t miss it.

3:24

It’s really beautiful.

It’s this iconic peak of the Cascade Mountain range really, really pretty to see and has very vibrant fall colors during this season.

Yeah, one of the best places to see the fall colors is the Skyline Trail.

We have hiked that trail.

3:39

It is an iconic trail in Mount Rainier National Park.

It’s a little challenging, a little steep.

It is a little sun exposed, but it has beautiful meadows, wildflowers, forest and really great views of Mount Rainier.

And although the tree stay green, the vine Maple and the huckleberry bushes and the large turn red and golden, so that provides the perfect fall colors.

4:04

And when you’re here, be sure to take a quick offshoot to the Myrtle Falls Viewoint and grab a picture of the falls cascading with Mount Rainier in the backdrop.

An I want to say don’t fuck U like Kim fucked UI mean.

We took a photo here.

You didn’t even realize Mount Rainier was in the background.

Honk him.

I was just so awestruck and by the gorgeous waterfall that I didn’t notice the massive mountain in the background.

4:24

Yeah, so don’t be awestruck by the waterfall to miss the mountain and don’t be so awestruck by those color changes of those bushes and shrubbery that Brittany was mentioning that you also miss the fact that Mount Rainier is there, so beautiful.

I really loved it when we were here in the spring was really nice, but I can only imagine that fall, what it would be with that weather transition and that color change.

4:46

This is a good time to mention quickly all of the resources that we have available for you spotties.

So if you go to our website, travelsquadpodcast.com, you can find trip itineraries, travel planner templates, a course on how to start your own podcast.

We have a biweekly newsletter that you can sign up for.

5:02

It has all the information on trips that were going on, recent episodes, deals, all of that kind of stuff.

We also have a killer Amazon storefront that we’ve built every travel product that we’ve ever mentioned in episodes listed there so you can easily find it.

We even talk about different trips that we’re planning that you all can join.

5:20

We have an Etsy shop with our travel squad, podcast, merch and different seasonal gear that can help on your travels. #2 on our list of perfect fall getaways is going to be Mammoth Lakes.

It’s located in eastern central California on the Sierra Nevada mountain slopes.

5:37

Yeah, Jamal and I visited in November of 2021.

Fall is a great time to visit because in the summer everyone comes to hike, swim in the lakes and everything like that, and in winter everyone comes to ski or snowboard.

So fall is one of those, just like shoulder season downtimes where you’re going to miss a lot of the crowds.

5:55

Have you ever been to Mammoth Lakes, Kim?

I have nots.

So bonus though, Mammoth Lakes is, like I said, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

You can get to Mammoth Lakes very easily through Yosemite through Tioga Pass if you happen to be going during the right season.

6:12

That road does close down for winter and in early fall, so you may be able to catch it for a quicker route through if you’re in the Yosemite region.

But like Brittany said, Mammoth Lakes is perfect in the fall.

One of my favorite things that we did and perfect for the fall weather is go to Wild Willy’s Hot Springs.

6:31

These are Hot Springs that are not even in the mountains.

It’s just kind of in that Meadow flatland area.

So you get to see the mountains as a backdrop.

You park in a parking lot, go on an elevated boardwalk to these natural Hot Springs, and with that crisp fall air, getting in that hot water.

6:48

So perfect.

That has your name all over it, Kim.

It sounds amazing.

We did some hiking in the area and has really good hikes.

We like the Crystal Lake Trail.

It has really good views of the pristine Alpine lakes, panoramic views of Lake George and Lake Mary, and there’s a lot of rock formations and whatnot, so really beautiful.

7:10

We also went to convict Lake.

It’s about 15 minutes outside of the Mammoth Lake area, but has beautiful turquoise blue water, dramatic mountains surround it.

People go fishing there as well and it has a unique history as well.

Yeah, the reason why it’s named Convict Lake is because, and I think it’s 1871, a group of convicts escaped prison in Carson City, NV and took refuge near the lake.

7:36

The convicts killed a lot of people and there were shootouts and the surviving convicts were eventually captured, but this was their hideout.

But history aside, this is kind of a little flat path at a lake at the very foot of the slope of the mountains, and it was so serene and beautiful here.

7:55

I could only imagine further and fall what it would look like with color change.

So #3 on our list is North Cascades National Park.

This is also up in the state of Washington in the Pacific Northwest.

We visited here in September of 2020, and it’s up north, so it means cooler weather.

8:16

It’s a remote location, It’s not that far from the Canadian border.

Fewer crowds and definitely the opportunity for fall foliage.

We also talked about N cascades in a previous episode, Episode 69.

We visited here around the same time that we did Mount Rainier, which was #1.

8:34

Even if you’re not a hiker, this is 1 fall getaway that you really can enjoy.

Just, you know, driving through the park or getting out and looking at the viewpoints or the overlooks, you’ll get a ton of good leaf peeping in.

One of those really good ones is the Diablo Lake Vista Point or the Washington Pass Overlook.

8:51

Both of those will give you really good fall color views.

That’s a really good point that you mentioned, Kim.

One thing that I did not say, but you bring a a good point is that a lot of the places and sights to see within this National Park are great, just little overlooks or small little trails that don’t really involve a lot of hiking.

9:10

So you can really get those fall vibes by not having to do a lot and just enjoy going yourself at leisure.

Driving through the park, Diablo Lake is exceptionally beautiful.

The color blue I’ve never really seen on a lake before like that.

It was so impressive and I can imagine that fall how great that would also look to.

9:28

North Cascades has a ton of scenic beauty anyways.

There’s glaciers, cascading waterfalls, the turquoise lakes, beautiful, beautiful mountain scenery.

So if you love the mountains in the fall time with crisp weather, this is a perfect place to visit.

And the golden larches in the area turn like reddish orange, and so does the Maple, so it really stands out against the bright blue skies.

9:50

And some of the hikes with the best fall foliage will be the Cascade Pass.

It’s a 6.5 mile round trip.

You take an unpaved Rd. to a trailhead.

There’s stories about this unpaved Rd.

That Brittany Vade and me drive on one time to get here, but this would probably be one of the best fall foliage trails to hike as well as the Maple Pass Trail 7.4 miles round trip.

10:13

So before we continue on to #4, let’s take a quick detour to talk about one of our favorite travel products, Liquid IV.

Liquid IV keeps us hydrated while flying, traveling and viewing false colors.

It’s full of electrolytes and hydrates you two times faster than water alone.

We use them when flying, feeling jet lagged after a long hike or night out in a new city.

10:33

They are super easy to carry and keep stocked in whatever you’re carrying your suitcase, carry on day pack or purse.

Liquid IV comes in a ton of flavors.

They also have sugar free and regular, so tons of different options.

Also little added benefits that they’ve started adding in like immune support, Vitamin C booster.

10:52

So you can go to liquid-iv.com, use our promo code TRAVEL SQUAD PODCAST, and get 20% off all of your Liquid IV orders #4 Shenandoah National Park.

So this is an area located in Virginia.

Of course, we’ve talked about this one a ton.

11:08

We have a whole episode on it going back to episode 94.

The northeast part of the country is known for its leaf peeping in the fall, and this area does not disappoint.

Yeah, the season starts in early October, stretches throughout the month, and it’s a longer leaf peeping season than other parts of the country.

11:29

So technically you can see it from like mid-september through mid November in some areas.

But definitely recommend Shenandoah National Park.

It’s not far from our nation’s capital.

Yeah, it’s only 75 miles away from Washington, DC And what I really love about the East Coast places, and I mentioned this before, in the West Coast, we really have a lot of pine trees in our forest.

11:54

And of course we have trees that actually have leaves that change the colors.

But really on the East Coast is when you start getting to the mountains that don’t go very high.

There are more rolling hills and the majority of the trees are trees with leaves that will change colors and drop.

12:10

And Shenandoah is the perfect place to see that.

Shenandoah has a drive called the Skyline Drive.

It’s 105 miles and it has 75 overlooks.

Has really good views of Shenandoah Valley, and this is a great place to get some of that leaf peeping in. #5 on the list is going to be a hometown favorite of ours.

12:32

Lake Tahoe, California, and Lake Tahoe straddles the border between California and Nevada in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and is the largest Alpine lake in the contiguous 48 states of North America.

Falls a really good time to visit Tahoe because there’s two major seasons for tourism here.

12:51

Summer where you have lake activities and 4th of July is really huge.

Here you have winter with the skiing, snowboarding, that type of activity.

New Year’s Eve is also a really huge in Tahoe, so fall is that shoulder season where there’s a little bit less crowds.

13:07

There’s still going to be a lot of people, but then you have those turning leaf colors and the cooler, crisp air, but not too cold.

The mountainous roads aren’t too treacherous to drive up.

It’s a good one.

You’re.

Not going to get stuck in snow.

Exactly.

Yes.

And that does happen in the winter, so fall’s a good.

13:24

Time.

I’ve been trapped in Tahoe because of snow many times in my life.

I can’t tell you how many times, but a lot.

So fall is perfect for that.

Do not get snowed in unless you want to be snowed in.

Yeah, one of my favorite parts of Lake Tahoe is Emerald Bay State Park.

It’s Lake Tahoe’s crown jewel.

13:40

Has so much scenery, turquoise and blue waters with the mountain backdrop.

Very beautiful inspiration point as well.

You get gorgeous lake views, you’re at 600 feet above the lake and you get views of the island and all of the trees beneath it.

13:56

So highly recommend visiting Emerald Bay State Park.

Sand Harbor State Beach on the Nevada side is also a very famous spot to go to in Lake Tahoe.

It’s known for its crystal clear waters and really large boulders that are in and the lake that you can just see because the water is so clear.

14:14

But no matter what season you’re visiting Tahoe, the water is cold, so even in summer the water’s freezing and difficult to get in. #6 Asheville, NC You all have been to Asheville.

I haven’t been quite yet.

So what can we expect when visiting in fall?

14:30

So Asheville is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and so that scenic Dr. alone with fall foliage is spectacular.

It’s in the Blue Ridge Mountains, almost kind of a continuation of Shenandoah, wouldn’t you say?

And then that little Ridge area.

14:47

So a lot of the vibes that you’re going to get in Shenandoah, you’re going to get in Asheville.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is a very scenic drive.

It’s 469 miles.

I wouldn’t expect you to do the entire 469, ’cause that will take you to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

15:02

Also.

You could if you wanted to.

But what I really like about Asheville, minus the scenic beauty, is Asheville was a really great town.

So go for the scenic beauty, enjoy the vibes of the town.

You’re going to love it in Asheville.

And Asheville, the town is great.

15:18

So there’s a lot of food options, restaurants, but they also have a lot of outdoor activities, great hiking in the area.

You could go to Mount Mitchell.

It’s located in Mount Mitchell State Park.

It’s about an hour from Asheville’s downtown.

It’s on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but it is the tallest Mountain West of the Mississippi, tallest peak in the Appalachian Mountains, and the elevation at the summit is about 6684 feet.

15:46

But they have an observation deck up there, and it only takes you about like half a mile to hike up to.

The observation deck from the parking lot up gives you 360° views and it’s really gorgeous.

Another notable hike is going to be Mount Pisgah.

16:02

This is 40 miles from downtown Asheville, also on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

This is probably Asheville’s most iconic landmark.

You could see from many places throughout the Asheville area and has an observation deck, so views galore of that fall Colorfully it changed from a top.

16:19

Kim, I do think that if you were going to visit Asheville, fall is the perfect time to go here.

OK ’cause it is on my list, so I’ll make sure to do it in fall. #7 on our list is going to be Rocky Mountain National Park located in Colorado.

We have a full episode on this Episode 15, but what makes Rocky Mountain National Park so special in the fall, ladies?

16:40

So Rocky Mountain National Park is just a beautiful National Park to visit, has a lot of outdoor experiences.

There’s an easy nature hikes, clear crystal mountains, lots of different lakes.

And fall is a great time to visit because it’s super hot in the summer, very crowded in the summer and in the fall.

16:58

Starting from late September to early October, you can see the fall color change.

The Trail Ridge Rd.

Is one of the most scenic leaf peeping drives around this part of the park.

It’s about 48 miles.

It’s this huge stretch of the US Hwy. 34 from Estes Park to Grand Lake.

17:16

Really, really pretty views and if you’re not into hiking the huge ascending mountains, it’s a great way to get fall colors and without having to do much work.

We like that.

We did do a hike while we were in Rocky Mountain National Park.

It was called the Deer Mountain Trail.

It was actually recommended to us by a National Park Ranger.

17:32

You go up to 10,000 feet plus and you’re going to be in this forest.

You can smell the Ponderosa pine, there’s switchbacks and you’re going to have views of Long Peak, Moraine Park, Upper Beavers Meadow and Estes Park at the summit. #8 Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains.

17:52

I love this destination and I’ve been thinking about going back because I had such a good time when I went in the fall.

Oh my God, the colors are so gorgeous.

You all have been, but you haven’t been in fall.

And Oh my God, it’s just like another world.

18:07

I look back at the photos that you had posted and that I’ve seen and the fall colors were absolutely amazing there.

On top of that, just the vibes of the city of Gatlinburg.

When you’re outside of the Great Smoky Mountains, you can take little chairlift, ski lift style things to the top of summits.

18:23

They have fire pits up there that would be perfect to do in the fall time with that cool crisp air.

But Great Smoky Mountains all around.

When we went, I loved it.

We went in May.

So like you said, not during that fall color time, but so many great things to do out in Great Smoky Mountains.

18:42

One of them is going to be Klingman’s Dome.

It’s a one mile round trip hike takes you to an observation tower.

The highest peak in the park at 6643 feet offers 360° panoramic scenic views of the mountains.

18:57

So come here and fall and see all that color change from the top.

No place higher in the mountain range than right here.

I would honestly say to spend more than one day here, if you, I can spend spend a few days here.

I wish I would have spent longer when I was here.

Because yes, you have the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

19:14

There’s a ton of really great hikes in there.

One of those, the Alum Cave Bluffs, that’s a really good one.

But like you said, there’s the chairlift, right?

It can take you up to Sky Park, where there’s fire pits, there’s a bridge to walk on, and just sitting and looking out at the scenery where all you can see is rolling hills of fall colors and the teeny town of Gatlinburg carved out in the middle of it.

19:38

You’ll just want to stay a while.

We also both stayed in the same hotel there, the Crossroads, where it has a Jacuzzi hot tub in the living room of your spot with a fireplace next to it.

You’re going to want to spend some time there.

We stayed there off of your recommendation.

Absolutely loved it.

19:54

Who doesn’t love a hot tub in the living?

Room with a fireplace with a fireplace that’s fall vibes right there.

Yeah, and when we went, I know, Kim, you had told us all about your room.

Our room was two stories.

So like, the bed was upstairs.

I don’t think your room was 2.

Stories.

No, it wasn’t.

It wasn’t.

20:09

They have different styles of rooms, different sizes.

But it’s cool that there are bedrooms and then a living room with a hot tub in it.

Absolutely.

So I once met a photographer, he was a landscape photographer.

I met him on another trip that I went on with another friend and he said that going to the Smokies in fall, he uses that as his gold standard and he compares everywhere else he goes to the fall to Gatlinburg, Great Smoky Mountains.

20:33

He sat in the bar high.

I wonder where else he’s gone and thought to himself this isn’t as good as the Smokies, so we’re going to have to get out there and fall.

Kim, you’ve been you squaddies need to go to.

In this same region, #9 Cherry Log, Georgia.

So we’ve been talking about those Blue Ridge Mountains from Shenandoah down into Asheville.

20:51

Cherry Log kind of keeps up with this same area.

And hey, it’s a fall staple for a reason.

It is very beautiful in this area for the leaf peeping.

This is one of those more southern regions where it starts to peak maybe end of October into November.

21:07

So you want to do the North, hit those earlier in the season, get another fall trip in later in the season?

And you know, I talked earlier about being in a log cabin.

This is a great place for a log cabin stay.

We loved our stay when we stayed here.

Stayed a place that offers like a fire pit and a hot tub to be surrounded by the fall foliage.

21:26

We also went to an orchard, which is a great fall destination to go apple picking and try like apple cider doughnuts and apple fritters.

This region really plays up the fall experiences.

Not just the leaf peeping, but the apple picking, the orchard experiences, the pumpkin patches.

21:45

There’s a lot of them out here.

And if you’re near cherry log, you can hike to Georgia’s tallest waterfall.

It’s not that far away, very beautiful and scenic as well.

You ladies really sold me on the apple orchard there.

Nothing says fall quite like that.

22:01

It reminds me of Apple Hill close to home, close to Lake Tahoe.

When we talked about Lake Tahoe, we probably should have mentioned that too because Apple Hill isn’t too far away.

They have those type of vibes and I’m really sold on that aspect.

Warm yourself up with that hot apple cider.

More than the hot apple cider is the hot fried hand apple pies.

22:19

Those were delicious.

You can get regular apple.

You can get apple mixed with other fruits like BlackBerry, blueberry, cherry, Peach.

Get them all you won’t regret.

I know, I wish I got more.

I think we got three each and we both wanted more.

They were so delicious.

22:35

So #10 on our list is Acadia National Park.

This has been my favorite place to visit in fall thus far.

Acadia National Park is located in Maine, so that very top northeastern part of the United States.

So the fall season will peak early out there because it is the most north.

22:54

What I really loved about Acadia, minus the peeping of the color change, was the quaint town of Bar Harbor that just sits outside of the National Park, really enhances those vibes and experience that you’re going to get out there.

Yeah, Acadia National Park is so amazing to visit in fall.

23:10

There is a loop Rd. that you can drive and there’s lots of different stop offs.

You can see amazing fall colors.

We pretty much stopped at every viewpoint and I was so impressed every time we stopped.

We also did a hike called the Beehive Trail, but we do went the back way.

23:26

It gives you panoramic views and so you get not only the fall foliage but you’re also getting views of Atlantic in the same hike and it just gives just such beautiful perspective.

Another notable thing to do in Acadia National Park is do Cadillac Mountain at sunrise.

23:44

You do need reservations for this, but you get to see the sunrise over the clouds in the Atlantic Ocean.

When that sun finally comes up, you see those magical Dawn Hughes shining beautifully on that fall color change.

That was an experience I wouldn’t forget.

24:00

I think in a previous episode, Kim, you said how many sunrises have you been to where He said it’s the best one.

This is probably one of the best ones.

I’m just going to come out and say it right here.

This was great.

So if I were to go back to Acadia National Park by Jordan’s Pond, they actually have a little restaurant that sells popovers and I want to go and experience that like.

24:19

Didn’t you say it was closed?

It wasn’t closed, but we at the time that we went, but I think you needed reservations because it’s hard to get in super popular.

But on the portion of being closed in fall, go early fall because a lot of things in Bar Harbor do close early for a later fall and winter season and they start to close things down in like mid-october.

24:43

While we were there, we were at a pizza spot and and we overheard the owner talking to another business owner saying like, oh, we just did our last tour today for the season and we went mid-october.

All right.

Squatty.

So we’re hoping that this episode is inspiring you to take a fall getaway.

24:59

We’re right at the beginning of Fall Falls, just about to start, so this is the perfect time to book something.

Any one of these destinations is going to be amazing.

So thank you so much for tuning into our episode this week.

Make sure to keep the adventures going with us on all the socials at Travel Squad podcast.

25:16

Hey, if you take one of these trips, tag us in and let us know how it goes.

You found the information this episode to be useful.

Or if you thought we were just plain funny, please be sure to share with a friend that would enjoy it too.

And as always, please subscribe, rate and review our podcast and TuneIn every travel Tuesday for new episodes.

25:34

Stay tuned for next week’s episode.

We have some more amazing adventures and tips in store for you.