Autumn Leaf Watch, Weekly Report

Peak autumn colour abounds across Nova Scotia. Even in areas where leaves are starting to drop, leaf watchers are reporting scintillating colour, particularly where bright autumn leaves contrast against green conifers. And to make this fall even more interesting, there are reports of trees yet to turn cheek-to-cheek with trees past their prime.

Region 1 Evangeline Trail

• Site 5, Digby: You'll be surrounded by autumn colour at the Pines Resort where 80 per cent of the hardwoods are in autumn glory. Sugar maples are blazing with reds and oranges while the birch is glowing yellow. Walk the trails now strewn with multicoloured leaves.

• Site 7, Bridgetown: Bridgetown pulses with peak autumn colour. Stop at the look-off just below Valleyview Provincial Park where the yellow tones of the valley floor vibrate against the blue of the Annapolis River. In the distance, South Mountain shimmers in a haze of orange.

• Site 8, Aylesford: Take Hwy 221 to experience glorious autumn colour on North Mountain. The leaf watcher in Aylesford urges you to get out and see these leaves!

• Site 9, White Rock Ravine: The maples, now at their peak, are an astounding mix of yellow, orange and red along White Rock Ravine. They are striking against the dark green of hemlock, spruce and balsam.

• Site 11, the Look-off: The incredible panorama from the Look-off north of Canning will reward you with the impact of peak colour. Vivid yellows predominate in the valley below, while the nearby maples are a shocking array of orange and red. With luck, you'll see bald eagles soaring over the valley.

Orchard rides, luncheon barbeque, children's costume parade, pumpkin painting contest ... lots of fun for the entire family at Wolfville's Second Annual Apple Harvest from Thursday, Oct. 21, to Sunday, Oct. 24. How about them apples!

REGION 2: Glooscap and Sunrise Trail

Autumn blazes along the Glooscap and Sunrise Trail with most sites reporting glorious peak colour. Although Wentworth has experienced some leaf loss, a dazzling display remains. Now is the time to enjoy the best that a Nova Scotia fall has to offer.

• Near Site 13, Courthouse Hill, Gore: You'll find peak colour at Courthouse Hill, rich purple-red blueberry fields, startling yellow and orange maples, intense yellow aspens. It's almost sensory overload in this five-county view.

• Site 16, Shubenacadie: Drive through the quiet rural landscape of Shubenacadie where the rolling hills are now a canvas of peak autumn colour. You'll find the patchwork green and brown fields fringed with hardwoods alight with red, orange and yellow.

• Near Site 16, Gosse Bridge: At South Maitland, head west to Gosse Bridge where you'll be rewarded by a panoramic view of the tidal Shubenacadie River. It's an area of startling opposites: peak hardwood colour crowning the riverbanks contrasts with the deep earthen-red sandstone cliffs and mud flats and the yellow marsh grasses with the twisting red ochre of the river.

• Site 19, Kirkhill: At Kirkhill, autumn has brushed multiple shades of red, orange and yellow into this remarkable vista of Parrsboro and the Bay of Fundy. Just past Kirkhill take the Fox Point coastal hike to scenic look-offs, an interpretive site and easy access to the beach.

• Site 22, Fenwick: The heart of blueberry country pulses with the deep reds of blueberry fields in peak colour. This low textured carpet leads the eye to an explosion of hardwood colour that riots along Fenwick Ridge.

• Site 27, Greenhill: Stop at the look-off in the Greenhill Provincial Picnic Park for stunning views of the Cobequid Hills ablaze with red and orange. Half the aspen brandish bright yellow leaves while the remainder holds a promise of colour yet to come.

• Site 28, Marshy Hope: The steep hardwood slopes that rise above Hwy 104 at Marshy Hope have transformed from yellow to fiery orange. The aspen by the roadside are a brilliant yellow. Thanks to cool nights and brilliant sunshine, this stunning site is in full colour.

REGION 3: Cape Breton Island

Autumn is at its peak in Cape Breton Island. The mountains are awash in reds, oranges and yellows though leaf drop has already started at the higher altitudes. Take to the trails while the colour is still at its best.

• Site 34, French Mountain: A profusion of reds and oranges drench the bog at French Mountain, now in peak colour. Splashes of yellow in the striped maple, birch and beech, and rich purple hues in the ash and oak contribute to this colour-saturated scene.

• Site 35, Pleasant Bay: There is a crescendo of colour on the steep wooded hills of Pleasant Bay. To immerse yourself in the reds and oranges of this peak colour, take the Cabot Trail up North Mountain to the easy one-kilometre Lone Shieling Trail which winds through a magnificent virgin forest of 300-year-old sugar maples.

• Site 37, Cape Smokey: Thanks to its many red maples, Cape Smokey is aflame with scarlet, burgundy, crimson and maroon sugar maples. Mountain-ash and pin-cherry contribute to this intensely red mountainside.

• Site 38, Kelly's Mountain: Colour peaked on Kelly's Mountain last week and despite recent rain most leaves are hanging on. From St. Anns Look-off on Highway 105, enjoy the spectacular view of St. Anns Bay flanked by hillsides aglow in yellow and golden orange.

• Site 41, East Bay: The north side of East Bay is now at peak colour with a blend of yellow, orange and rust that cloaks the hillsides. Travel a little further south for a lovely view of islands robed in gentle autumn tones.

• Site 42, Irish Cove: Stop at Irish Cove Scenic Look-off where you'll be rewarded with a breathtaking vista of the Bras d'Or Lake. Although the rolling hills of the far shore are in the distance, they lend their warm autumn tones to the scene.

• Site 44, West Bay: The rolling hills surrounding West Bay near Dundee are brightly showered with red, yellow and orange. Now at peak colour, this hardwood foliage is radiant amid the green conifers.

REGION 4: Marine Drive and Halifax-Dartmouth

All leaf watchers along Marine Drive are reporting peak colour. In some areas, the colours in the hardwoods are intense and exciting. In others, the tones are more muted than previous years but still provide a lovely melange of red, orange and yellow.

• Site 47, Boylston Provincial Park: The hardwood hills of Boylston Provincial Park are at peak colour in a beautiful blend of red, orange and yellow. The aspen, the last tree to turn in this area, has now gone yellow adding further brilliance to the potpourri of colour.

• Site 48, Lundy: Purples and reds spill across the Lundy Barrens now that the wild raisin and blueberry have reached peak colour. They are made more beautiful by contrasting with the grey granite boulders, pale lichen, lush mosses and green conifers.

• Site 52, Sheet Harbour: Radiant orange floods through the trees along the West River in Sheet Harbour. Savour the peak colour as you stroll along the short trail from McPhee House Museum to the brand new bridge which stretches 37 metres across the river, right at the base of a gorgeous waterfall.

• Site 54, Clam Harbour: It's a painter's pallet at Clam Harbour: simmering golds and oranges in the marsh and beach grasses; dashing reds in the maples, sumac and mountain-ash; tingling yellows in the birch and aspen; burning reds in the blueberry and crowberry on the dunes; and glowing sienna in the bracken. There are peak colours for every mood.

• Site 58, Laurie Park: Treat yourself to a colour sensation as the yellow in the birch, aspen, ash and striped maple is luminous against the stunning reds and oranges of the maples at Laurie Park. Beneath this brilliant canopy lies of carpet of rich burgundy shrubbery. It's an all-embracing experience of peak colour.

Pull on your waterproof boots. You'll be headed into the soggy places where cranberries thrive when you go to the hike at Clam Harbour Provincial Park on Saturday, Oct. 23, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. If you are leaving from Halifax and want to car pool, meet at 9 a.m. at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History parking lot. The rain date is Oct. 24.

Hikers are reporting spectacular colour along the Musquodoboit Rails-to-Trails. Bike it or hike it, now is the time to do it. The trail starts at the Musquodoboit Railway Museum.

REGION 5: Lighthouse Route

Many sites along the Lighthouse Route are in brilliant peak colour. Although leaves are starting to fall, the bright reds, oranges and yellows against the deep green of the conifers keep the colour vital at most of the sites.

• Site 62, New Ross: Golds and yellows dominate in the hardwood hills around New Ross Farm now that 80 per cent of leaves have turned. Splashes of bright red and orange still abound in the maples, often on the same tree. Although ash and elm have started to shed, there are still many burgundy and yellow leaves adorning the farm trees.

• Site 66, Falkland Ridge: A tableau of yellow and red spreads across the hardwood hills at Falkland Ridge. Although some leaves have been lost to wind and rain, the area is still at peak colour, dramatic in its contrast with the vibrant green of the conifers.

• Site 68, Kejimkujik National Park: Peak colour spills across Kejimkujik National Park with coppery-orange in the beech, yellow in the aspen and red in the maple. As you stroll along the trails beside the lake or the Mersey River, bask in the tints highlighted by the sunshine and listen to the crunch of the leaves underfoot.

• Site 69, Milton: A rich tapestry of colour can still be enjoyed at Milton even as it passes its peak. Dramatic reds, oranges and yellows in the maples, birch and ash glow along the river's edge, bright against the pine and spruce.

• Site 70, Port Joli: Pockets of autumn gleam among the dark green spruce along the shores of Port Joli harbour. Less vivid than other years, these colours still cast lovely reflections in the coastal waters.

• Site 74, Wedgeport Nature Trail: There is beauty galore in the peak colour along the Wedgeport Nature Trail. The soft tones of earlier weeks have been replaced by brilliant reds and oranges, and bright lemon yellows. These colours spring to life against the deep green conifers.

Autumn Leaf Watch highlights are on the web at http://explore.gov.ns.ca/leaf and on the North American toll-free Leaf Line at 1-877-353-5323 (LEAF).

For additional information, call Autumn Leaf Watch at 902-424- 3727.