If you’ve never witnessed it before, nothing can prepare you for brilliant fall foliage at its peak. Mountainsides look like delicate tapestries of yellow, red and green. No wonder auto road trips are so popular.

This fall, why not jump into your car with some best friends, or your family, and treat yourselves to the wonders of nature. You’re sure to discover unexpected treasures at every turn and more than a lifetime of memories. Although New England is the traditional mecca for color watchers, it’s clear that the region has no monopoly on the changing of the seasons. Here are just a few of America’s other fall playgrounds that annually are awash in color and sensory overload as the air turns crisp and the aroma of hot cider fills the air.

• North Georgia Mountains

  Leaf change brings thousands of people into the north Georgia mountains every year. The optimum time to see the fall color is normally during the last full week in October. If you are going into the higher elevations, subtract a week. Closer to Atlanta? Try the first week in November.

• Lake Vermilion, Minnesota

  In the 1940s the National Geographic Society declared Lake Vermilion one of the top ten most scenic lakes in the United States, and it still is today. Located in Minnesota’s famed Arrowhead Region, Lake Vermilion stretches 37 miles across northeastern Minnesota, and encompasses over 40,000 acres. It is also the home to one of nature’s most dramatic displays of fall color providing endless miles of road and a slow enough pace of life to enjoy every leaf.

• Tumwater Canyon, Washington

  A fall drive through the wild forests of the central Cascades practically guarantees great color. The red maples and yellow larches of the Tumwater Canyon are especially lovely in late September. Follow U.S. 2 from Skykomish to Wenatchee.

• McKenzie Highway, Oregon

  Look for maple, cottonwood and alder, as well as the bright orange vine maple all along the serpentine McKenzie River from Eugene to the Cascade Mountains. Follow the two-lane McKenzie Highway through pastoral farming landscapes to the foothills of the Cascades where the firs, hemlock and cedar loom large. Colors are best in late September and early October.

• Guanella Pass, Colorado

  Take Guanella Pass Scenic and Historic Byway, a rambling route out of Georgetown, to see strands of golden aspen punctuated by dark green pines. After you top the 11,699-foot-high Guanella Pass, keep on going until you reach the town of Grant. Look for U.S. 285 and take it to the top of Kenosha Pass for great views and more pockets of bright yellow aspen. The best time to visit is mid-September.

• Highway 12, Utah

  This scenic route winds through Bryce Canyon National Park, the Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument and thousands of acres of Dixie National Forest. Although the highway passes through dense mixed-conifer forests, the fall foliage consists mainly of brilliant scarlet and russet scrub oak. Beginning in mid-October, orange-tinted cliffs and spectacular spires, as well as curiously sculpted sandstone formations, add to the drama.

• Battle Highway, Wyoming

  Between Baggs and Encampment on Highway 70, look for stately aspen more than 50 feet tall. Their colors will vary from yellow to deep gold to red/orange and are especially impressive when reflected in Battle Lake. At dusk and dawn try to capture the glittering leaves reflected in soft light. Look for the aspens to turn in late September.

• Idaho/Montana Border

  Take the back roads from Palisades Reservoir to the Montana border west of Yellowstone to see every color from pale yellow to fiery red. Make time for a stop at Upper Mesa Falls. Mid-September is best time for the most intense colors.

• Anywhere in Wisconsin

  When it comes to fall color, Wisconsin offers some of the best in the country as the state’s millions of acres of woodlands erupt in brilliant hues. Color seekers can drive picturesque roads during an odyssey that lasts six to eight weeks, with peak "colorama" traveling from the north beginning in mid-September and moving to the south in late October and into early November.

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