20 Stunning Fall Foliage Hiking Photos to Brighten up Your Day

It’s officially fall! That means pies and pumpkin patches and, of course, the beautiful changing colors of the trees. Fall foliage makes for some incredible landscapes. Here are 20 gorgeous fall foliage hiking photos to get you pumped for leaf-peeping season.

Five Reasons To Love Fall HikingT-minus 217 days It hit me today that this time next year I will be on my final leg of my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. A scary thought considering this is how Katadhin looked this afternoon: Regardless, this realization…Read More

Family hike. Blackstack, TN on the AT.

—Sarah J Decker

Shortly after sunrise at Max Patch in Western North Carolina.

—Jeff Clark

Prime leaf peeping for final peak bagging on the Presidential Traverse! On the stretch between Mt. Jackson and Mt. Washington.

—Lauren Planas

This picture was taken this year near Vail, CO.

—Adam Johanknecht

Taken at Golden Gate Canyon State Park on the outskirts of Golden, CO on 9/28/2020. Highs were in the low 50s, which in Colorado, on a bluebird day, is the ideal hiking temperature.

—Zach Davis

Following an old fence line in the Cochetopa Foothills of Colorado, near the Colorado Trail. It was a beautiful day!

—Ashley UpChurch

Mt Washington via Tuckerman ravine trail on 9/25/20.

—Thomas Kandul

Leaves making their way down the Saco River in Glen, NH.

—David Fudge

Lake Blanche Trail up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Utah holds beauty in all its seasons.

—Erik Barrus

Peak fall colors in GSMNP near the Russell Field Shelter. The sweet spot in elevation where trees were all green 1000 feet below and leafless 100 feet above.

—Laurel Seus

My best friend close to home. The trails around Eklutna Lake have always been special to us, this year more than ever for their accessibility to Anchorage, and a variety of options!

—Andy DeVore

Just before Shooting Star shelter going NOBO on the Vermont Long Trail, late September 2020.

—Julia Gladstein

The changing colors atop Eagle Mountain in northern Minnesota, during the Range of Motion Project Midwest Elite Team climb. @ROMPglobal is a non-profit dedicated to providing prosthetic care to amputees in need, and celebrates mobility for all.

—Jennifer Taylor

This photo was taken at Mountain View Pond in the 100 Mile Wilderness in Maine. I woke up early hoping to see a moose near the lake but instead got calm waters and a gorgeous reflection.

—Kayla Bold

The Leaf Peeper’s Guide to Fall Foliage Hikes in the Appalachian MountainsI t's almost October, and there's finally a hint of crisp fall weather in the air. Decorative gourds will soon appear on suburban lawns up and down the east coast. However, the real hallmark of autumn—the fall foliage—won't emerge all…Read More

This was taken night 2 of a whitewater float trip down the New River in West Virginia. We had a beautiful view of the fall foliage from our beach camp while making dinner and sharing stories around the campfire.

—Savannah Everett

Outside of Parc des Montagnes Noire in Ripon, Quebec. Sept 26, 2020.

—Jonathan McElhinney

View while hiking Vermont’s Long Trail.

—Michael Rosenberg

Weak in the knees for Lost Creek Wilderness foliage!

—Liv Kroll

—Laurel Seus

Female black bear encompassed in fall colors.

—Kate Payette

Featured image via.