Once October rolls around, we are pretty much guaranteed that fall is in full swing. Whether it’s learning how to perfect your pumpkin soup recipe, or visiting a fall harvest festival, fall is bursting with fun activities. It’s time to relish the cooler evenings and embrace all that the season has to offer—like watching high school football games on crisp nights while wrapping your mitts around a hot chocolate, picking out your own pumpkins at the local pumpkin patch, and taking scenic drives to check out the fall foliage.

While autumn hits the entire nation, many places around the country get more razzle dazzle than others. Leaf-peeping is a popular pastime in states like Vermont, Colorado and North Carolina, which are all known for their brilliant displays of color. For those looking for the Top 10 scenic fall foliage drives in the country, USA Today has an article featuring just that. I’ve also gathered some helpful leaf-peeping links for different regions of the country.

New England
The first image that comes to many people’s minds when thinking of autumn is a quintessential New England town clad in gorgeous fall colors. One helpful article, titled "Top 10 New England Leaf-peeping Locales", features exactly what it states: ten awesome driving routes through postcard-perfect New England towns.

The comprehensive website YankeeFoliage.com features pretty much everything you need to know about fall foliage in the northeast, including scenic drives, kid’s activities and a foliage forecaster. It even highlights fairs and festivals. About.com also has a great webpage with links to many of the popular fall driving tours in New England. Tweeters can get fresh peak foliage information on Twitter at Foliage Central.

Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are part of the Appalachian mountain range, and extend from southern Georgia up into Pennsylvania. Two national parks are located within the Blue Ridge Mountain region: the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Shenandoah National Park. A road trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway, which winds through North Carolina and Virginia, is a spectacular way to view the autumn foliage. The Travel Channel features a nice article on what to see and do when you’re leaf-peeping on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Explore Asheville website has plenty of information regarding fall foliage in the mountains of North Carolina. And visitors to Virginia might want to check out the Virginia.org website which is chock-full of good information on fall foliage in Virginia.

Pacific Northwest
With all the trees that blanket the Pacific Northwest, it’s no surprise that the region also has a magnificent display of fall foliage. Via magazine has a great article titled "Legends of the Fall" that highlights many picturesque drives in the Pacific Northwest. The Oregon Fall Foliage blog features up to date information on color changes around the state. Those on Twitter will want to follow Oregon Fall Foliage to get up-to-date information about peak foliage.

California
The state that can claim just about every geographical climate around also has bragging rights for some of the best fall foliage drives. The Beach California website has a great article that highlights many of the scenic drives around the state. Chiff.com also has a page that features many great links.

Colorado
Ever seen a mountainside covered in a golden grove of aspen trees? It’s a sight to behold and one of nature’s gifts that needs to be seen to be truly appreciated. Colorado.com has some great information, broken down into separate regions, about what’s happening with the foliage across the entire state. The MyColorado.org website also has some pretty up-to-date details on fall foliage drives in Colorado.