Michigan
Michigan has 19 million acres of forest, and every fall, it greets visitors with reds, purples, oranges and yellows “all mixed into each other, so you get these stands of really vibrant colors,” said Michelle Grinnell, director of media, public and industry relations for Pure Michigan.
M-22 is a state highway that runs along the Lake Michigan coast from Manistee up around Lake Leelanau and back down to Traverse City. Along the route, groups will find many scenic stops on the water. Leland is called Fishtown by locals for its picturesque fishing docks and shanties, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is beautiful, Grinnell said. Just off M-22, Black Star Farms is a winery with an inn and a restaurant where groups can get a taste of Michigan, whether a wine flight or a sampling of the brandies made from local cherries, apricots, pears, plums, raspberries and grapes.
Although short, the M-119 “Tunnel of Trees” highway is magical. Petoskey is the home base for the 30-mile drive north to Cross Village, and as the name implies, “you’re driving through this little road with a tunnel of trees,” she said. The state is also packed with you-pick apple orchards and markets, including some off M-119 where groups can pick apples, sip cider and eat apple doughnuts.
Wisconsin
The same countryside that churns out Wisconsin’s famous cheese also dishes up impressive fall vistas. Any of Wisconsin’s state parks are a good bet for groups because they offer both plentiful parking and impressive scenery, but Devil’s Lake State Park in Baraboo is one of the most popular, said Kristina LeVan, public relations coordinator for the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. There, groups can enjoy “incredible views from atop the quartzite bluffs,” she said. Groups can take hikes through the area or rent canoes and kayaks.
The Wisconsin Lake Superior Scenic Byway follows Lake Superior’s southern shoreline along the Bayfield Peninsula, and the route gives people plenty of reasons to stop. The new Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center in Ashland features a five-story observation tower, a wildlife-viewing platform, a 100-seat theater and exhibits about the lake’s history and heritage. From the scenic town of Bayfield, groups can take a ferry to Madeline Island or book a sightseeing tour with Apostle Island Cruises through mid-October.
Along Wisconsin’s stretch of the Great River Road, visitors will find 33 towns and plenty of pull-offs, such as Perrot State Park and Elmaro Vineyard, both in Trempealeau.
Chicago’s elite escaped the hot city summers by retreating to Wisconsin’s Lake Geneva region, where their historic mansions still line the shoreline. Lake Geneva Cruise Line’s scenic tours highlight the mansions and the surrounding fall foliage while serving brunch, lunch or dinner onboard. Onshore, groups can fly through fall foliage on a zip-line tour with Lake Geneva Canopy Tours.
Illinois
The Mississippi River runs the length of Illinois, forming its western borders with Iowa and Missouri, and along that stretch is where visitors will find much of the state’s dramatic fall colors and river views.
In the far northwest corner of the state, visitors can stand atop Chestnut Mountain Resort in Galena and see fall colors in three different states: Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. The resort offers several adventurous ways to take in the fall foliage, such as zooming down the mountainside on the Alpine Slide or flying through trees on the Soaring Eagle zip line. The resort’s Mississippi River Cruise is a 1.5-hour tour that ferries passengers on a scenic voyage down the river.
In the Quad Cities, people can view fall colors aboard the Celebration Belle riverboat, which docks in Moline. In the quaint river town of Grafton, the Grafton Winery and Brewhaus and Tara Point Inn and Cottages sit on bluffs overlooking the meeting of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.
Cairo, Illinois, sits at the southernmost tip of the state where Illinois meets Kentucky and Missouri. There, Fort Defiance Park is surrounded on three sides by the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and offers visitors the chance to take in views from the old observation tower.
