Recently in Fall Foliage Category

The National Park Foundation released today the 2009 list of the most photogenic parks for fall foliage. The announcement is made in partnership with Olympus, the proud sponsor of the Share the Experience photo contest, which is seeking this year's best photo of the 391 national parks. The grand prize winning photo will be featured on next year's Federal Recreation Lands Pass and will receive an Olympus E-3 Digital Camera.

The 2009 list of the most photogenic parks for fall foliage with expected time frames for peak colors:

• Acadia National Park, ME
  • Peak colors are expected now through October 15(th).
• Cuyahoga Valley National Park, OH
  • Peak colors expected the third and fourth weeks of October.
• Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, PA
  • Peak colors are expected the weekend of October 17(th).
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC/TN
  • Peak colors are expected during the last two weeks of October.
• Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, IN
  • Peak colors are expected this weekend and for the next ten days.
• Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, MN
  • Leaves are already turning; the peak is expected in the next ten days.
• Mount Rainier National Park, WA
  • Peak colors are expected this weekend and for the next ten days.
• New River Gorge National River, WV
  • Peak colors are expected during the third week of October, starting around the weekend of the 17(th).
• Saratoga National Historic Park, NY
  • Peak colors are expected this weekend and for the next ten days.
• Valley Forge National Historical Park, PA
  • Peak colors are expected during the last two weeks of October.
    

To help amateur photographers make the most of the opportunities, Olympus offered the following tips to park-goers:

• Sun hiding behind the clouds? Don't be disappointed. Colors can often appear more vibrant in an overcast day. This type of even lighting is also great for displaying details in the shadows.
  

• Consider different perspectives for each photo. Look up toward the sky and down toward your feet. You'll be amazed by the number of interesting subjects available beyond eyelevel.
  

• Look for the small details. The landscape vistas will be beautiful with fall colors but close-up photos of small objects such as a single leaf or cluster of fall berries can also make for a striking photo.
  

• Think about backlighting your subjects on a sunny day. Backlighting is when you intentionally place the main light source behind your subject. Pictures of colorful leaves can be very striking when photographed this way. Also, don't let the sun shine directly into your lens.
  

• Bring a lens cleaning cloth. When capturing images outside, dust and moisture in the air can build up on the lens' glass surface. You'll want to keep it clean so that the light can pass through evenly.
  

Amateur photographers are invited to submit up to three photos to the Share the Experience contest through December 31, 2009. In addition, at the end of the submission period the public will be invited to vote for their favorite photo. Enter by visiting www.sharetheexperience.org or pick up a brochure and entry form while visiting a Federal Recreation Land this year. Great prizes include: Olympus digital cameras, trips to a federal recreation area, Federal Recreation Lands Passes and more!

Share the Experience is the official photo contest of America's national parks and federal recreation lands. Sponsored by Olympus and the National Park Foundation in partnership with the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service, the Share the Experience Photo Contest showcases the more than 500 million acres of Federal Lands and draws entries from all across the United States.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION

The National Park Foundation is an independent charitable organization chartered by Congress in 1967 to strengthen the connection between the American people and their 391 national parks. As the official national non-profit partner of America's National Parks, the Foundation raises private funds, makes strategic grants, creates innovative partnerships and increases public awareness about the need and opportunity for park philanthropy. In its 2008 fiscal year, the National Park Foundation distributed grants and program support of $27.3M.

SOURCE National Park Foundation

Fall is officially here and hotels.com is celebrating the season of foliage, fairs and football with the largest Fall Sale in the company's history. Nearly 2,000 properties are on sale in more than 100 destinations, helping travelers take advantage of one of the most affordable travel times of the year.

"Fall is one of the best times to travel since it lands between two heavy tourism seasons - summer and the holidays. Travelers can find some of the year's deepest hotel discounts with rates often much lower than other months," said Carl Sparks, general manager of hotels.com. "Plus with great weather, beautiful fall scenery, and an abundance of sporting events, fairs and festivals there's plenty to see and do in almost every destination."

This year's Fall Sale features up to 50 percent off select hotels in Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas and Miami, as well as free nights at participating hotels in New York, Dallas and Orlando. In addition to great rates, guests may also receive added perks including resort credits, food and beverage gift certificates, and more.

Guests have five weeks to cash in on the Fall Sale and must book by October 12, 2009 for stays through October 19, 2009. For full promotion details and deals, please visit www.hotels.com/fallsale or see below for a sample of sale properties in favorite fall destinations:

Fall Foliage and Fairs

Autumn leaf aficionados can enjoy the vivid reds, oranges and yellows for less with Fall Sale hotels located from the foothills of New England to the forests of Washington state. And when travelers get their fill of foliage they can kick back at local festivals, from the ubiquitous Oktoberfest to more unusual events like the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Boston: The Westin Boston Waterfront

    4 star, 4.3 hotels.com guest rating, 88 percent recommended
    Save up to 30 percent
    Sale rates from $132

Denver: Hotel Monaco Denver - A Kimpton Hotel

    4 star, 4.5 hotels.com guest rating, 94 percent recommended
    Save 20 percent
    Sale rates from $135

Seattle: Fairmont Olympic Hotel

    5 star, 4.7 hotels.com guest rating, 94 percent recommended
    Save 40 percent
    Sale rates from $179

Santa Fe: Villas de Santa Fe

    2.5 star, 4.5 hotels.com guest rating, 95 percent recommended
    Save up to 50 percent
    Sale rates from $100

Football Destinations and City Escapes

Diehard football fans won't have to miss a snap of action this season with Fall Sale hotels in college towns and pro football cities alike. And luckily for less fanatic sports fans, many top football destinations also double as some of the best big city getaways.

Austin: Radisson Hotel Austin - Town Lake

    3.5 star, 4.0 hotels.com guest rating, 81 percent recommended
    Save 40 percent
    Sale rates from $131

Miami: Pelican Hotel

    3.5 star, 4.6 hotels.com guest rating, 100 percent recommended
    Fourth night free
    Sale rates from $120

San Francisco: Hotel Adagio, a Joie de Vivre Boutique Hotel

    3.5 star, 4.4 hotels.com guest rating, 90 percent recommended
    Save up to 30 percent
    Sale rates from $123

New York: On the Ave Hotel

    3.5 star, 4.4 hotels.com guest rating, 92 percent recommended
    Save 20 percent
    Sale rates from $219

A minimum night stay may be required for some Fall Sale rates. More information on the sale is available at www.hotels.com/fallsale.

Source; hotels.com

Longtime natives of the Asheville area in the Blue Ridge Mountains, known for its extended fall foliage season, will tell you that the best color displays come later -- toward the end of October. Celebrating the 75th anniversaries of Smoky Mountains National Park in 2009 and Blue Ridge Parkway in 2010, mountain families like Steve Woody's were moved from their homesteads in the 1930s for the creation of the park and are proud of the natural legacy they have left to us all.

Mountain Heritage Remembered

"If you talk to families from the area, there's a peace about the creation of Smoky Mountains National Park," says Woody, whose family was moved from their land in Cataloochee in Western North Carolina. "There was great sacrifice. They had to move from their forbearers' homesteads and livelihoods. But, today they wonder, had the Park not come, what would have happened to the land? You just have to look at other places to get an idea. Now, it is a pristine and wooded place that everyone can enjoy."

PBS Presents "America's Best Idea"

Stories like those of the Woody family are the kind that famed filmmaker Ken Burns had in mind when he began his latest documentary The National Parks: America's Best Idea, a six-part series coming to PBS this fall, beginning September 27. The documentary, regional anniversary celebrations and predictions of a healthy leaf season round-out an opportune time to appreciate and experience our natural history in full autumn glory.

Fall Color Predictions

"Every year is a good year for autumn color, depending on where you are in Western North Carolina. We finally had a normal rainfall year. As of September 1, the Asheville airport reports only one inch above 'normal' precipitation. With good growth on the trees, we have all the foliage we need for great fall color. As long as autumn develops normally with cool nights and dry days -- and October is typically one of our driest months -- it should be a colorful season." -- Biltmore Director of Horticulture, Parker Andes

"Drought-stressed trees show more color and turn, more or less, simultaneously. So, our wetter year could make the colors appear more gradually. We don't know what the weather will bring, but fronts that give us cold nights and bright sunny days will start the process in a couple weeks at high elevations, which will be vibrant very soon, and continue down to the low elevations. The later color from oaks and hickories will be nice at the end of October and early November." -- University of North Carolina Asheville Associate Professor of Biology, David Clarke

"Compared to when I was growing up, I think it tends to stay warmer and we see the color later in the season. This was a more typical summer, like the kind I remember as a kid... cooler and wetter." --Steve Woody, Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Gateway City Getaway

Located just outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park and along the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Asheville area is steeped in natural history and full of fall adventures. Extreme elevation variations and hundreds of deciduous tree species (the largest number in North America) combine to give Western North Carolina one of most extended and colorful leaf seasons in the country.

Online Resources

• Weekly Fall Color Reports: Visit FallintheMountains.com (http://www.FallintheMountains.com) for expert fall color reports for Western North Carolina, budget travel info, scenic drives, events, value packages and insider tips
• Twitter: Area insiders "tweet" color updates and up-to-the-minute travel deals @FallColorHunter (http://www.twitter.com/FallColorHunter) and @AshevilleDeals (http://www.twitter.com/AshevilleDeals)
• GreatSmokies75th.org (http://greatsmokies75th.org/welcome-to-the-great-smokies-75th/)
• BlueRidgeParkway75.org (http://www.blueridgeparkway75.org/)
  

Fall Value Packages

• Fall is for Waterfalls Package (http://www.exploreasheville.com/deals/seasonal-packages/fall-is-for-waterfalls/index.aspx)
• Extreme Fall Color Whitewater Package (http://www.exploreasheville.com/deals/the-great-outdoors-packages/french-broad-river-12-day-rafting-package/index.aspx)
• Wheee! Fall Canopy Tours Zip Line Package (http://www.exploreasheville.com/deals/the-great-outdoors-packages/canopy-tours-package/index.aspx)

SOURCE Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau