“We are on a downward slide. With the frost and windy afternoons we’ve had over the past week, fall color is spotty, but you can still find good color if you explore a bit,” said Casey Munchel, fall color specialist for the ODNR Division of Forestry.

Fall festivals are wrapping up this weekend as well, so fall color enthusiasts are encouraged to take advantage of these events and get out and hike while the weather is still enjoyable. Hikers will need to go deeper into the woods to see peak fall color as the trees along the edges are fading.

This weekend’s seasonal events include:

• Lake Hope State Park in Vinton County will be hosting R.O.A.R. Day this Saturday, October 25. This is a great opportunity to get out and enjoy fall color before it fades. “Rural Ohio Appalachia Revisited” begins at 9 a.m. and continues to 5 p.m. and is located at the shelterhouse, nature center and Hope School. There will be crafts, music and food.

• Warm up by a campfire at the Venison Chili Cook-Off hosted by Findley State Park in Lorain County. Bring your favorite chili recipe and make your own unique creation over the campfire or camp stove with venison provided by the park. Pre-registration is required.

• Beaver Creek State Park in Columbiana County is having their Horseman’s Association Campout.
  

Halloween Campouts will be held at Dillon State Park in Muskingum County, Mohican State Park in Ashland County, Deer Creek State Park in Pickaway County and Sycamore State Park in Montgomery County.

Plan a weekend getaway to southwest Ohio to see the spectacular peak fall color there. Caesar Creek State Park offers camping, along with fully equipped Cedar Cabins and rustic camper cabins for overnight stays. The Park has miles of hiking, horseman and mountain bike trails great for fall color viewing. The largest attraction at Caesar Creek is the 2,830-acre lake with unlimited horsepower designation for boaters. History buffs should visit the pioneer village featuring 15 buildings depicting life in the early 1800s. For a unique experience, visit the nearby U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Visitor Center and ask for permission to go fossil hunting at the Emergency Spillway.

Adjacent to the state park is Caesar Creek Gorge State Nature Preserve. Its main feature is a limestone gorge with Ordovician fossils that were exposed from glacial meltwater cutting through the bedrock. Caesar’s Trace trail system winds through the preserve offering visitors the chance to get up close to the diverse populations of plants and animals as well as see fall color of the various tree species located on the heavily wooded hillsides.

To see a multitude of bird species, visit Spring Valley Wildlife Area, known as one of the best bird watching areas in southwest Ohio. Over 230 species have been identified here and can be seen from the boardwalk trail and wildlife observation tower over the marsh. Deer hunters can take advantage of early muzzleloader season while here until October 25. Then, youth can hunt for rabbit, pheasant and other legal game October 25 and 26, which are also good species to find here.

Also in the area is Beaver Creek Wildlife Area, a Watchable Wildlife Area in the National Watchable Wildlife Program. Only whitetail deer, waterfowl, and furbearers may be hunted on Beaver Creek Wildlife Area. Red fox, muskrat, mink, raccoon, opossum, common yellowthroat, willow flycatcher, yellow warbler, and red-winged blackbird can all be seen here as well as several endangered, threatened and special interest animal and plant species. Unusual wildflowers can be observed from the handicap accessible boardwalk and the observation tower.

Another state nature preserve that has excellent fall color viewing is Hueston Woods State Nature Preserve. This is an old-growth woods that is a small remnant of the beech-maple forest that once stretched in a broad band from southwest Ohio to its northwest corner. It consists mostly of beech trees, sugar maples and white ashes, which are currently showing dark reds and purples.  

A unique state park in southwest Ohio offering many different ways to view fall color is the Little Miami State Park. The Park introduces a new concept to the state park system--a trail corridor. This multi-purpose trail allows visitors to bike, hike, cross-country ski, rollerblade, backpack, or horseback ride. The trail runs alongside the Little Miami State and National Scenic River through rolling farm country, towering cliffs, steep gorges and forests along the way. The corridor also provides access to canoeing down the Little Miami River.

The Little Miami State and National Scenic River, Ohio’s first designated State Scenic River, provides excellent scenery and opportunities to see several species of wildlife. There are more than 87 species of fish, 36 species of mussels and numerous species of birds. Public access to the river is available at several locations to paddle down the 100-mile stretch, including Clifton Gorge State Nature Preserve.

Cowan Lake State Park, just southeast of Caesar Creek, offers two-bedroom vacation cottages. It lies near the Cincinnati Arch, an uplifting of bedrock that occurred during the Appalachian Mountains' building process. The limestone near the park is some of the most famous fossil hunting fields in the world. Around the lake is a beech-maple forest perfect for fall color viewing. Visitors can sail on the lake and fish for muskie, crappie, largemouth bass, catfish and bluegill. Hunting is permitted in designated areas of the park as well. White-tailed deer, raccoons and woodchucks can all be spotted in the park. Herons, bluebirds, catbirds and house wrens can also be seen there.

Not far from Cowan Lake State Park is Indian Creek Wildlife Area. It lies in Ohio’s best quail range with bobwhite quail being abundant as well as deer, cottontail rabbit, and gray and fox squirrels. Fall migration is a great time to observe and hunt woodcock. Raccoon and deer hunting are also good here.

Southeast of Indian Creek Wildlife Area is Shawnee State Forest, also called “The Little Smokies of Ohio” and is a working forest. It has developed into the largest of the 20 state forests with over 60,000 acres of trees making it a great location to hike or horseback ride to see the changing leaves.

To help Ohioans and out-of-state visitors make the most of this popular outdoor season, weekly updates are available from the best Fall Color viewing locations across the state by calling 1-800-BUCKEYE.