Fall colors about to explode in Midwest
Last hurrah of leaves provides a spectacular outdoor show
September arrives like a vice squad busting a party, telling us the gig is up — get back to work and school.
The pools, beaches and ball fields close down and we swap our shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops with grown-up clothing designed to conceal our bodies and end our fun.
(Photo courtesy of Porter County CVB)
INDIANA: For information on the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, go to nps.gov/INDU/index.htm.
In Chesterton, two good lodging options include the Gray Goose Inn and Indian Oak Resort.
Upcoming events include the Popcorn Festival in Valparaiso on Sept. 12 and the Wizard of Oz Festival in Chesterton, Sept. 18-20.
MICHIGAN: Harbor Country has lots of accommodations, such as the Lakeside Inn in Lakeside and Gordon Beach Inn in Union Pier.
Go to michigan.org for fall driving tours and a statewide map of autumn colors.
ILLINOIS: Starved Rock State Park in Utica has a campground that accepts reservations from May through October (dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/parks). Rooms fill up fast in the fall at Starved Rock Lodge and Conference Center. Kids will enjoy the water park at Grizzly Jack’s Grand Bear Resort in Utica.
The 23rd annual Scarecrow Festival takes place in downtown Ottawa Sept. 26.
WISCONSIN: Campgrounds are available at both Devil’s Lake and Mirror Lake state parks (wiparks.net). Other options: Devil’s Head Resort in Merrimac and the Gollmar Guest House in Baraboo.
In Baraboo, the International Crane Foundation features every species of crane, including the whooping crane (savingcranes.org). While you’re there, see a show at the majestic Al Ringling Theatre in Baraboo (alringling.com).
Take a tour at Little Norway, on the National Register of Historic Places, in Blue Mounds (littlenorway.com).
Go to travelwisconsin.com for 11 classic fall drives.
We follow obediently, because we know it isn’t nice to mess with Ma Nature.
But there’s one consolation to this annual ritual marking the end of photosynthesis in 2009. The old girl puts on one last spectacular show, a display of natural fireworks bursting with sienna, umbria and other colors that sound more like Italian city states than dying leaves.
This resplendent touring act starts in the northern Midwest in September and moves south through October like a cross between a minstrel show and a tent revival boasting colors so brilliant, viewers almost need sunglasses. Kodachrome was created for this. When temperatures fall, trees shut down their systems, the chlorophyll in the leaves goes MIA and the trapped glucose remaining in the leaves transforms into palettes of autumn colors.
The best part is the show is free, and you catch it close to Chicago.
Finding fall colors doesn’t require a GPS. Follow the trees. Wherever they gather in any numbers — think forests — the colors follow.
INDIANADriving about an hour east from the Chicago Skyway onto the Indiana Toll Road, color chasers find the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and Indiana Dunes State Park. Both parks are honeycombed with miles of bike and hiking trails and feature eco-systems made up of bogs, prairies, beaches, woodlands and sand dunes.
The 15,000-acre park stretches for 25 miles between Gary and Michigan City, Ind. By mid-September, the dunes’ crowds have thinned and deer can be spotted roaming the park’s roads and paths.
Color seekers can camp, stay in charming bed and breakfast inns or drop into several of Chesterton’s hotels. On Saturdays through October there’s the European Market, an outdoor farmers market featuring locally grown fruits and vegetables, as well as exquisite baked goods from French nuns, jewelers, craftsmen and an eclectic assortment of vendors.
The Bailly Homestead, named after pioneer Joseph Bailly who first settled here, and the Chellberg Farm, offer glimpses into what life was like around the dunes nearly 200 years ago. And birders will be astonished by the many migrating species, including nesting pairs of Great Blue Heron, some of which can be viewed in the hardwood forests along the Little Calumet River at the Heron Rookery.
Fine Italian cuisine can be found in Chesterton at Lucrezia’s and exquisite Indian cooking at the Taj Indian Bistro. In nearby Valparaiso diners can dig into tapas or paella at one of Indiana’s only Spanish eateries, Restaurante Don Quijote.
MICHIGAN
From Northwest Indiana cross the state line into Michigan’s Harbor Country, which offers a different view of Lake Michigan from its eastern shore. The topography doesn’t change much, but Michigan’s shoreline is absent the industrial facilities dotting Indiana’s southern Lake Michigan coast. It’s a more relaxed area where farmers and artists mingle.
Dazzling colors can be found at the Warren Dunes State Park, which also features tall, majestic dunes providing both great lake views and tough aerobic workouts.
Another place to witness autumn splendor is Chikaming Township Park, a small but lovely site with trails winding through meadows, wetlands and woods. Travelers can journey by foot, bike or cross-country skis, if the snow falls that early. Nearby Stevensville is home to 1,000-acre Grand Mere State Park, with more dunes, horse trails and camper cabins.
In addition to its long stretches of majestic beaches, Harbor Country boasts bountiful wineries and orchards, world-class bakeries and fine restaurants, including the exotic fare of one of the country’s few Kurdish restaurants, Cafe Gulistan.
Sleepy towns like Union Pier, Three Oaks and Stevensville offer surprisingly sophisticated dining and charming, historic places to stay at off-season rates, such as the Lakeside Inn or the Gordon Beach Inn. Timothy’s Restaurant in Union Pier routinely draws crowds from Detroit to Chicago. On your way out, stop into Stevensville for dinner at Tosi’s and baked goods from Bit of Swiss, whose owner, Tim Foley, was awarded the gold medal in the the World Championship of Baking in Paris in 2005.
October highlights Southwest Michigan’s many wineries at the New Buffalo Harvest & Wine Fest Oct. 10 in New Buffalo, featuring music, wine tastings and hayrides. Colors of a different sort can be viewed along the beaches as the sun sets over the lake.
ILLINOIS
Back in the Land of Lincoln, local travelers can immerse themselves in the fall colors along the dramatic bluffs at Starved Rock State Park in Utica. The overlooks along the Illinois River offer great vistas and memorable photo ops. The park allows camping, horseback riding and fishing. Many choose to hike trails overlooking wind-sculpted canyons and stark rock formations.
The park and surrounding area are rich in history. It’s easy to imagine the astonishment of Native Americans and early French explorers in first discovering this unique site. French explorer Pere Marquette paddled through the area in the 1670s, when it was occupied by Illiniwek Indians. A French fort was built atop Starved Rock. The park’s name comes from a historic incident when a group of Illiniwek warriors was stranded atop a butte in the 1760s, surrounded by war parties of rival Pottawatomie, who waited them out until they starved.
In addition to great hiking and nature watching, the area around Starved Rock offers the annual Vintage Illinois Wine Festival Sept. 19-20 at nearby Matthiessen State Park, another fine place to experience fall foliage. The festival includes wines from 21 state vintners, trolley rides and live music.
WISCONSIN
Heading northwest of Chicago along the Wisconsin River, the fall colors assume a different character. The river winds south and then west where it drains into the Mississippi. Wisconsin Highway 60 follows the river over hills and bluffs like a shadow, connecting small towns, verdant pastures and deep woods. The fall colors, like the colder weather, begin north in mid to late September and should arrive along the Lower Wisconsin River in mid to late October.
While watching the colorama unfold, stop into the International Crane Foundation near Baraboo. It’s the only place where each of the 15 crane bird species can be seen. Guided tours are available on weekends only in September and October.
Baraboo also is home to the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus and boasts a circus museum. Nearby Devil’s Lake State Park is a splendid place to view fall colors from trails that top the high bluffs overlooking this dramatic lake.
A trip near the Wisconsin Dells should include a visit to Ishnala, a classic Wisconsin supper club on the shores of Mirror Lake. Less expensive is the Blue Spoon Cafe in Prairie du Sac overlooking the Wisconsin River. Blue Spoon is a European-style eatery serving a host of imaginative salads, sandwiches, flatbread pizzas and home-baked treats.
Just outside of Prairie du Sac is one of Wisconsin’s oldest wineries, Wollersheim, which offers tours of its award-winning wines.
While fromage heads no longer can tour the production site of the famous Carr Valley Cheese factory, they can indulge their appetites for more than 60 cheeses handcrafted by Sid Cook, the fourth generation in a family of artisan cheesemakers. Carr Valley Cheese products can be found at several retail outlets, including one in Sauk City.
Small-town America is alive and well along the Lower Wisconsin River Scenic Byway (Wisconsin 60), which begins in Lodi and snakes up to Prairie du Chien. Postcard-pretty Lodi looks like an extra from “Public Enemies” and has an 80-year-old bakery, a famous sausage maker and the nine-mile Ice Age Trail, a beautiful place to go leaf peeping. Lodi’s Brew-B-Que will be held Oct. 3.
Speaking of beer, the Swiss-settled town of New Glarus offers tours of its New Glarus Brewery and will host an Oktoberfest on Sept. 25-27. America’s “Little Switzerland” has plenty of antique shops and Swiss restaurants.
Don’t miss the oddly appealing Little Norway in the town of Blue Mounds. This Scandinavian village transported to Wisconsin celebrates everything Norwegian. Eating lutefisk is not required.
Mark Taylor is an Indiana-based free-lance writer.