Leaf-Peepers are Falling for These Top 10 Places to See Foliage in Connecticut

Connecticut is a year-round tourist destination. Summertime spoils visitors with incredible weather and miles of pristine beaches. But the state really shines in the fall, when leaf-peepers flock to its wooded areas to have their breath taken away by impossibly brilliant colors.

Here are the top 10 places to see the most astonishing foliage in Connecticut:

1. Talcott Mountain State Park: A 1.25 mile trail up a mountain takes visitors to the 165-foot Heublein Tower to enjoy panoramic views of the entire Farmington River Valley. 
2. Mohawk State Forest: Cunningham Tower features scenic vistas of the Taconic, Catskill and Berkshire ranges. The Mohawk and Mattatuck hiking trails offer plenty of animal sightings in this wildlife sanctuary. 
3. Topsmead State Forest: Near historic Litchfield, Topsmead in Western CT is the former summer estate of Edith Morton Chase. 
4. Peoples State Forest: The Jessie Gerard Trail offers two paths to some of the best foliage views in Connecticut at Chaugnam Lookout, one through a lighthouse site and another up 299 steps.  
5. Haystack Mountain State Park: A 1,716-foot-high mountain topped with an observation tower that offers 360-degree views of the foliage in the Berkshires and the Green Mountains. 
6. Mount Tom State Park: Perfect for summer fun, this park transforms into a memorable one-mile fall trail hike to a stone tower 1, 325 feet above sea level to take in some memorable views.
7. Kent Falls State Park: 250 feet of rushing water, blazing autumn colors, and Bull's Bridge, an historic covered bridge. 
8. Devil's Hopyard State Park: Water and foliage combine in a perfect autumn dance, with brilliant colors, cascading waterfalls, and perfectly cylindrical pothole stone formations said to have been made by the Devil's hooves. 
9. Pachaug State Forest: Connecticut's largest state forest features two main areas, the Champman Area with the Mount Misery overlook and the Green Falls Area. 
10. Goodwin Conservation Center: View autumn colors beautifully reflected in the placid waters of Pine Acres Pond from a wildlife-watching platform, or walk through the canopy along a section of the Air Line Trail.

After taking in the stunning fall foliage in Connecticut, enjoy the scenic pleasures of its many quaint small towns, and maybe even partake in some harvest wine tastings on the Connecticut Wine Trail.

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