Seasonal Drama, in Six Scenes

The summer crowds are home, but to my mind fall is the best time for a getaway, when the heat and humidity are gone, highways and airports are emptier and the youngsters are back in school. Best of all, many prices have dropped post-Labor Day.

Here are a half-dozen U.S. destinations that are scenic, relatively quiet (compared with summer’s hubbub) and readily accessible, offering plenty of interesting sightseeing, a variety of outdoor activities--especially great hiking--and a relaxed, off-season pace.

And all for a moderate price. They are:

* Northern California’s Point Reyes National Seashore, where I have returned twice in recent months. The parkland is a wild but inviting seascape of rocky cliffs, long golden beaches and groves of aromatic eucalyptus.

* Two very popular tourist sites--the ski resort of Aspen, Colo., and Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park--that are beautiful any season of the year but more so in the fall.

* Three scenic fall drives--each an offbeat, circle route--that will take you into the piney woods of southwestern Georgia, where Franklin D. Roosevelt once sought relaxation; to the mountainous far western corner of North Carolina, dubbed “The Land in the Sky”; and to the rolling green hills of central Kentucky, famed for its deep caves and fine bourbon.

These trips are all do-it-yourself vacations, the kind where you plot your own itinerary, pursue activities that interest you and stay in lodgings that match your style and budget. Where possible, I regularly chose bed-and-breakfast inns. Give yourself two or three days, at least, to properly enjoy these destinations.

Coastal Bliss

The water all along the Northern California coast is unpleasantly cold, and the surf can be rough and the rip tides treacherous. So Point Reyes National Seashore is a parkland not for swimming but for viewing--either by car or afoot. Either way, the scenery is gorgeous.

A sprawling semi-wilderness just north of San Francisco, the seashore encompasses forests of wind-sculpted pines and soaring eucalyptus, lofty precipices, hidden valleys of ferns and huckleberries, rolling grasslands, high ridges and miles of empty, wave-pounded beaches. It also has made its mark in seafaring history.

A 20-mile drive from the park entrance at Olema leads to Point Reyes Lighthouse, located at the tip of the park as it pushes farthest into the Pacific. On the right is 10-mile-long Point Reyes Beach, where the waves roll against the shore in almost military precision. To the left is calmer Drakes Bay, named for Sir Francis Drake, the English adventurer who sailed into the bay aboard the Golden Hind in the summer of 1579. The lighthouse, clinging to a high, rocky cliff, occupies one of the windiest and foggiest places on the West Coast.

Just a bit inland though, the fall weather can be absolutely perfect--mild, sunny and dry. On each of the last two visits, we’ve taken advantage of a beautiful day to hike Bear Valley Trail, a mostly easy, nine-mile (round-trip) path that leads from the visitor’s center through woods and meadows to an arched rock beside the sea. For a while the trail follows the murmuring path of Bear Valley Creek through a tunnel of pines and then at the crest of a modest ridge it suddenly emerges into Divide Meadow, a lovely clearing that slopes gently into the distance. It’s an ideal place to spread a picnic beneath a shade tree and idle the afternoon away.

Lodging is mostly in small inns near the park, and good restaurants featuring locally farmed oysters are close by in Olema, Inverness and Point Reyes Station.

We stayed three nights at Dancing Coyote Beach ([415] 669-7200; weekends are booked well in advance), a cluster of four tiny B&B; cottages overlooking Tomales Bay just outside tiny Inverness. A romantic cottage for two begins at $95 a night. Or consult West Marin Network, ([415] 663-9543), a lodging service. For Point Reyes National Seashore information, call the visitor’s center at (415) 663-1092, or visit the park’s World Wide Web site, https://www.nps.gov/pore.

Aspen Glow

For several years, my wife, Sandy, and I made annual skiing trips to the former mining town of Aspen. Then then we discovered that Aspen in the off season could be just as much fun--and not nearly so frosty or expensive. Most of the classy lodgings, restaurants and shops that cater to skiers remain open.

Take a drive up the winding road to Ashcroft, a ghost town with one of the loveliest views in the Rocky Mountains, or go for a soak in the giant outdoor hot springs pool in Glenwood Springs. The Maroon Bells, a pair of 14,000-foot-high peaks, are the scenic backdrop to moderate or strenuous day hikes in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area. (Check on the weather; snow is possible after Labor Day.) Mountain biking, lake and stream fishing, horseback riding and golfing are all popular fall pursuits.

Aspen’s fall lodging rates are 10% to 30% lower than summer rates, which already are cheaper than the rates the glitterati pay in winter. In fall, a room for two in a nice mid-range lodge, including breakfast, is about $70 a night, according to Nancy Brisbane of the Aspen Chamber Resort Assn. At that price, expect such amenities as an outdoor heated pool and hot tub. For information, contact the association at (970) 925-1940, or visit its site on the World Wide Web at https://www.aspen.com.

Canyon Country

Some visitors show up at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, take a quick look and then climb back in their car or their tour bus satisfied that they have seen the canyon.

But after visiting again and again, I still enjoy the experience of seeing the canyon differently every time. Its rich colors change with each passing cloud.

Over the years, I’ve bounced through the canyon on a weeklong white-water rafting trip down the Colorado River. Twice I’ve ridden trusty mules into its depths, spending one night at Phantom Ranch at the very bottom of the canyon. I’ve hiked gentle trails along both the South and North rims, and I’ve trekked the rigorous Bright Angel Trail, which zigzags quickly down the canyon’s steep wall. The climb back up again goes much more slowly.

The park is notorious for its summer crowds and traffic jams, but the throngs really do thin out in other seasons and reservations in the park’s numerous rim-side lodgings are easier to get. To avoid the masses, I enjoy hiking at least a portion of the eight-mile-long West Rim Trail. Easy to reach from most South Rim lodgings, it clings to the edge of the canyon, offering a different view with every step.

The Grand Canyon is a 225-mile drive north from Phoenix. A room for two in Bright Angel Lodge, one of the park’s most historic lodges, begins at $53 a night. For reservations, call Amfac Parks and Resorts ([303] 297-2757), or visit the Grand Canyon’s site on the World Wide Web at https://www.nps.gov/grca.

American Beauty

Like a quirky old museum, the Kentucky heartland is filled with a rare mix of Americana, the odd treasures and trinkets of a nation’s past. Take a meandering drive south out of Louisville, as I did a few years back, and you are apt to be both amazed and amused at what you find. Indeed, I was--as I explored Mammoth Cave National Park, followed the footsteps of young Abraham Lincoln at his birth site at Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville and watched bourbon being made at Maker’s Mark, a small “gourmet” distillery tucked away in a pleasant, whiskey-scented valley outside Loretto.

One day, almost by chance, I came upon the ghost of an abandoned coal-mining town called Blue Heron, all but hidden deep in the rocky gorge of the Big South Fork River. Now part of a national parkland, the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, the old community tells a haunting story of a harsh life only partially redeemed by the splendor of the surrounding countryside.

Not far away is Cumberland Falls, reputed to be the largest waterfall east of the Mississippi River after Niagara. Impressive as it is, the huge fall is more famous for its radiant “moonbow,” a rare rainbow effect occurring only when the glow from a full moon is reflected in the mist rising from the Cumberland River.

Several times, my route crossed the footsteps of Daniel Boone, and late on my final afternoon I saw a sign for My Old Kentucky Home State Park in Bardstown. Of course, I pulled in for a look at another of the state’s curiosities. Chimes pealed “Beautiful Dreamer” as I strolled the garden walkway leading to a graceful old mansion believed to be the inspiration for composer Stephen Collins Foster’s “My Old Kentucky Home,” the state anthem. I hummed along, thoroughly delighted by this lovely, hokey end to my Kentucky holiday.

I stayed at Mammoth Cave’s Mammoth Cave Hotel, ([502] 758-2225), where a room for two is $73 a night, and at DuPont Lodge, Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, ([606] 528-4121), where the rate is $61 a night. For other information, call Kentucky Visitor Information Service at (800) 225-8747, or on the Internet at https://www.state.ky.us/tour/tour.htm.

Southern Accent

I drove into southwestern Georgia--a scenic piney-woods chunk of the state map that has been touched by more than its share of the high drama of history--to see Andersonville, the notorious Confederate-run Civil War prison camp. But my three- day, 400-mile loop out of Atlanta also took me over the state’s “Presidential Pathways.” I stopped both in the village of Warm Springs, where Franklin D. Roosevelt built his Little White House and where he died in 1945, and at Plains, the dusty farm town where Jimmy Carter grew up and still lives.

Andersonville, just 21 miles northeast of Plains, tells a different kind of story--a somber tale of bureaucratic negligence and inhumanity, but one worth reflecting on. A place that once witnessed so much misery, it is now, ironically, a quiet park of subtle beauty. I was there on a gorgeous morning, when the sun beamed warm and birds chirped brightly in the trees. Even in this context, however, the grim consequences of war came easily to the imagination.

One day I drove to the little town of Lumpkin, where a group of Georgians (including the Carters) have been instrumental in re-creating a small Georgia farm town of 1850 called Westville Village on 58 hilly, tree-shaded acres. Just west of Lumpkin is Providence Canyon State Park, where the vivid colors of the deeply eroded gorge suggest Utah’s Bryce Canyon.

I began and ended my drive at Callaway Gardens, a 12,000-acre, flower-filled resort park created from what was once eroded cotton-growing land. I hiked several of its lakeside trails; walked among waves of fluttering butterflies at the Day Butterfly Center, a glass-enclosed conservatory; and stayed at the Inn at Callaway Gardens ([800] 282-8181). A room for two begins at $89 a night. For other information, Georgia Tourism ([800] 847-4842).

Into the Mountains

The Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina tell intriguing tales--tales that seem to spill from the slopes as you make your way over high passes or down steep roads tunneling beneath leafy canopies. The best stories are true ones--of a Vanderbilt heir who conceived a castle rivaling the finest of any kingdom; of a proud Indian nation, the Cherokees, that survived in the face of a tragic wrong; and of a famed poet, Carl Sandburg, who found sanctuary from fame beside a quiet pond.

All of this tempted me a few years back to make an easy, three-day drive from the city of Asheville along scenic back roads and over the highest, most spectacular stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway. In the distance rose the lofty peaks of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I spent much of my first day at Asheville’s Biltmore House, the 225-room mansion built by George Vanderbilt in 1895 that is now a museum of the opulent life. Surrounded by 8,000 landscaped acres, it is as pompously eccentric and regal as any of the chateaus of France’s Loire Valley, which it greatly resembles.

At Flat Rock, about 25 miles to the south, is Sandburg’s more modest but nonetheless appealing cottage, where I headed the next day. It sits on a mere 247 acres, but they are idyllic. In the quiet of a fall morning, I walked the dirt path that circles the pond, crossing a stream on a rickety footbridge, and watched a breeze send fallen leaves flitting across the water.

Just west of Flat Rock on U.S. 276, I chanced upon another historical site called the Cradle of Forestry in America. Located in the Pisgah National Forest, it was the birthplace about 95 years ago of scientific forestry in America--the significance of which is told in a couple of short but interesting hiking trails. Nearby are Looking Glass Falls, a wide and photogenic waterfall, and Sliding Rock, a stream-polished rock that serves in summer and early fall as a natural water slide.

On my final day, I followed the Blue Ridge Parkway into the town of Cherokee, where it ends at the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

A museum and a re-created Cherokee Indian village tell the sad story of the Cherokee Nation, much of which in 1838 was moved West in what became known as the “Trail of Tears.” Descendants of tribe members who escaped the trek now live on tribal lands at Cherokee, called the Qualla Boundary. To complete my route, I returned to Asheville via the parkway--a splendid drive in either direction.

The North Carolina mountains are dotted with inns from luxury to modest, and hotels and motels in a wide price range can be found in Asheville and many other towns.

For information: Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau ([800] 257-1300), and North Carolina State Travel & Tourism Division ([800] 847-4862). The Asheville Chamber of Commerce has a Web site: https://www.ashevillechamber.org.