Leaf-peep locally, or take fall excursion and ‘Explore the Door’

        Fall is a wonderful time to travel.
        If you’re planning a trip, remember that fall comes in many colors and at different times. The yellows of birch and cottonwood show off before the reds of maples and the golds and scarlets of our oaks. Generally speaking, the forests to our north turn before those here in Northwest Ohio, and well before those to our south.
        Higher elevations typically turn before valleys and plains. Forests that crowd large bodies of water can turn a bit later than those inland.
        Even here at home, it’s easy to miss the early colors that also happen to be among the best and most vibrant. In Northwest Ohio early October comes with sumac, Virginia creeper, poison ivy – yes, it’s vibrant – and sassafras strutting their best stuff.
        They also all tend to be edge species that put the best color forward.
        Each year is a little different and it remains to be seen how much the color is affected by the extended drought we experienced. The impact may be surprising. The colors that followed the drought of 1988 were very good, ending with an incredible show of deep scarlets by some of the oak trees.
        Those looking to enjoy a trip north might include a stop at Wisconsin’s Door County, a very special place known for its fall color, extraordinary natural scenery, and wonderful Scandinavian flavor.
        The Door is a peninsula bounded on three sides by water – Green Bay on the west, Lake Michigan on the east, and topped on the north by a dangerous ship’s passage known as Death’s Door. The lake bottom there is littered with a still-uncounted number of shipwrecks, and it’s the watery grave for many frontier French fur traders and Native Americans. The west shore is a series of heights, dramatic headlands overlooking deep waters and protecting one harbor and harbor town after another – Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Sister Bay, Ephraim, Ellison, and Gill’s Rock, to name some. It is the exposed ragged edge of the Niagara Escarpment, which falls off steeply into deep clear waters.
        The land, bristling with a mixed forest dominated by sugar maples and cedars, tilts downward to the eastern shore in a series of ridges and troughs to a shoreline of gentler character. Bays are typically shallow, a gentle transition to the deep waters of Lake Michigan. Towns, like those on the west shore, are full of character and, refreshingly, full of home-grown accommodations and dining opportunities.
        The eastern shore may not be as showy topographically as the west, but it’s very special in its own right. A legion of natural areas and parks has been set aside up and down the Door coast, protecting special habitats that are a treasure trove to nature enthusiasts. Standing out among these protected areas is the 1,600-acre Ridges Sanctuary State Natural Area on the outskirts of Bailey’s Harbor. The species there are incredibly diverse. The stars of the show are a host of rare orchids and other wildflowers.
        The faces of the people of Door County are often Scandinavian – especially Swedish, with a healthy mix of Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Finn – spiced with German, Flemish and others. Washington Island, located a short ferry ride across Death’s Door, is home to one of the largest Icelandic settlements outside of Iceland.
        For a great taste of the season spice up your visit with “The Trolley of the Doomed” offered by Door County Trolley Tours. When you’re done, return to relax at the superb accommodations at Bailey Harbor Schoolhouse Inn.                Heritage and showmanship are hallmarks of the must-do Scandinavian fish “boil overs” at Pelletier’s Restaurant in Fish Creek. Stop in and enjoy local hospitality at Ditto Wilson’s Ice Cream Parlor, the Fireside Restaurant and Rowley’s Bay Resort.
        In Door County, the people are as special as the place.
        For more information, visit Door County Visitor’s Bureau at DoorCounty.com. Be sure to ask where to find the tortured turns of the “Windy (think winding) Road.”
 
 
The winding road across the northern tip of Door County is one big reason that area is frequently named one of the best fall color drives in the nation. The “Windy Road,” as it’s commonly called, was designed to make people slow down and enjoy the scenery. It works. Drivers frequently have to slow down even more for photographers. (Photo by Art Weber)