Published: November 03, 2009 02:46 pm      

Most area trees at or near peak for color

Here is the weekly leaf report, as listed on tourseky.com. You can visit the Web site for weekly updates.

• Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in Corbin is at peak color. The hickories are a deep golden color. Dogwoods, maples and sweetgums are a brilliant red. Great color can be seen throughout the region this weekend.

• Lake Cumberland State Resort Park in Jamestown is at peak color. There are vibrant yellows in the walnuts, tulip trees, beech, paw paw and maple; reds in the maples, oak, sassafras, sumac, dogwood, persimmon and blackgum; and some burgundy in the sweetgums.

• Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park in Burkesville is still at approximately 45 percent color change. The leaves are slowly changing color.

Dogwoods and sumac are a deep burgundy, sweetgums are bright red, hues of yellow stand out in the sassafras and poplar and orange pops out on the maples.

Fall wildflowers and wildlife are abundant and are preparing for winter. The peak color change is expected this weekend. Colors should remain vibrant until the week of Nov. 13 through 15, when Beginners Caving Weekend is scheduled.

• Buckley Wildlife Sanctuary and Audubon Center near Frankfort has spectacular color in the sugar and red maples along with many oaks. They are near peak color.

• In Mammoth Cave National Park in south central Kentucky, sassafras, maples, hickories and dogwoods have already turned and are bright spots amongst the green of the oaks, ashes, cedars and pines.

The less-traveled roads in the park — Green River Ferry Road, Flint Ridge Road, Houchin Ferry Road and Park Ridge Road — wind through the forest and take a bit more time to travel.

• The woods at Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park in Dawson Springs have between 50 percent and 60 percent leaf change. The most notable red/purple color is being shown off by flowering dogwood, blackgum, sourwood, sassafras, poison ivy, sumac and devil’s walking stick. Some yellow/orange is showing in maples, sycamores and hickories. Many of the maples are now at peak giving the forest a beautiful golden/orange glow. Peak leaf color is expected during the end of October, with some color hanging on until early November.

• The fall foliage at Land Between The Lakes is reaching its peak color this weekend. Many of the trees are completely changed. The dogwoods and sumacs are solid red, the hickories are solid gold and the sassafras are completely orange-red. The maples are about 50 percent orange-yellow and the sycamores, paw-paws, and others are mostly yellow. The oaks have just begun to turn.

• A good driving route is the loop made by Mulberry Flats, Bugg Springs, and Silver Trail Roads, which are near the Woodlands Nature Station. These roads show off a diversity of trees, with a good number of colorful sassafras, dogwood, and hickories.

• Lake Barkley State Resort Park in western Kentucky has seen an abundance of fall color. Many of the trees are heading to full peak color change. About 50 percent of the oaks are still clinging to summer colors. The red, yellow and orange leaves at Boots Randolph Golf Course are an added pleasure for the golfers. The change in the weather over the next few days might make the forest peak next week.

• Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont is ablaze with color. The trees in the gardens and forest are displaying the full spectrum of autumn colors, including chartreuse, yellow, orange, bronze, red and purple. One of the best and most colorful trees in the fall is the black gum. Leaf color ranges from orange to a rich scarlet. Next in line are the amber, pumpkin and red colored leaves of the maple trees; burgundy flowering dogwood trees; yellow leaved sweet gum, tulip poplar and elm trees and rust colored bald cypress.

• As autumn is settling into the forests of John James Audubon State Park in Henderson, the first week of color is proving to be glorious.

Dogwood and sassafras trees are regal in red, and the Kentucky coffee trees, sycamores and tulip poplars have changed their colors to golden yellow. But the sweet gum and the sugar maple leaves are glowing the brightest in their many shades of red, orange and yellow. The next few weeks in Audubon Woods is magnificent.