When Americans go in search of fall colors, they pile into cars and head for the hills, lured by the dazzling red, yellow and orange of sumac, oak, birch, sycamore, maple and, in the West, aspen.
But in the most popular leaf-peeping spots, particularly New England, they often encounter snarled traffic and sold-out lodgings. There is an alternative to this lemming-like highway madness, however: Take the train.
Amtrak offers truly car-less fall foliage viewing, while many of the short-haul tourist railroads around the country showcase the fiery colors as well, though you'll need an automobile to get to the trains.
Below, a sampling of the best routes:
Amtrak trains
* The Adirondack: "The most interesting, picturesque and scenic one-day trip in America" is how the Delaware & Hudson Railroad touted its New York City to Montreal route in a 1950s brochure. Today, Amtrak sends its Adirondack over this line, and D&H's hyperbolic claim holds up pretty well--especially in early to mid-October, when the foliage along the Hudson River and Lake Champlain is generally at its peak. (Throughout the Northeast, October is the prime month for color, with peak brilliance moving south as the month progresses.) Just over a year ago, Amtrak refurbished some of its veteran "Heritage Fleet" coaches for this run; with their big windows, these spruced-up cars are a boon.
* The Vermonter: The St. Albans, Vt., to Washington, D.C., Vermonter is another good bet, but travel southbound since the northbound run encounters the best scenery after dark. Like most day trains in the East, the Vermonter uses the ubiquitous Amfleet coaches with regrettably slim windows--hardly the ideal frame for nature's colorful portraits. With this caveat in mind, however, consider any of Amtrak's Northeast Direct trains on the New Haven-Boston route or, even better, the Empire Service trains up the Hudson from New York City to Albany. Some of these trains continue west from Albany to Buffalo (and in one case, the Maple Leaf, to Toronto), running along the Mohawk River.
* East Coast overnighters: A number of Eastern overnight trains provide excellent leaf-peeping, and their sleeping cars eliminate the need to worry about finding scarce fall lodging. One fine choice is the Chicago-New York Lake Shore Limited (eastbound only; westbound the good scenery is after dark), which covers the Mohawk and Hudson routes. (The Boston section of this train is good as well, adding the Berkshire Mountains into the mix.) Another is the Capitol Limited from Chicago to Washington, which crosses the Allegheny Mountains, then follows the Potomac River.
