Exploring Northeast Fall Colors in 2025

We always seem to travel south or west so it was a welcome change to travel northeast instead. The main purpose of the trip was a yoga retreat in Maine. On the way there and back we explored two new national parks, Niagara Falls, and several state and local parks. As an added bonus, the fall colors were peaking along most of our route. 

Cuyahoga National Park

We left home on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, and drove to the Cleveland KOA, which was a close campground to Cuyahoga National Park. The check in was in an old house. Our campsite was a short back in next to a grassy spot and a small, wooded area. The sites were spread out and it felt more like a state park than the typical crowded KOA. We sat outside a while when we arrived to unwind and plan our days at the nearby Cuyahoga National Park. We drove through parts of the park on our way to the campground. The park is tucked into an urban area between Cleveland and Akron. The Cuyahoga river flows through the middle and at one time it was so polluted that the river caught fire. The park is an environmental success story, and we looked forward to exploring it more.

We started our first day in at the Boston Mill Visitor Center. The park’s buildings looked like little New England cottages. After talking to a ranger about our plans for the next few days, we drove to the popular Brandywine Falls and walked a 1.1-mile trail all around it. The waterfall was flowing but there was much less water than usual due to drought conditions. We walked past a deep gorge and open woods with few invasive plants. It was very dry there so most plants were wilted or dried up. Many plants, including trees, showed early fall color from the drought stress.  

Figure 1. Brandywine Falls in Cuyahoga National Park.

From there we drove to the Red Lock Trailhead to bicycle the Canal Tow Road, but the lot was full. We parked in the next lot at the Jaite Mill Historic District instead. We had a light lunch and unloaded the bicycles from inside the van. We had transported them to Ohio on a trailer with Mark’s Triumph Tiger motorcycle, but we find it is easy to transport them inside the van once at a location. 

The start of our ride was very stressful because we had to ride Vaughn Road to the bicycle trail. Once on the bike trail though, the tow road ride was perfect. The path was the former canal road where mules pulled watercraft through the Ohio and Erie Canal. At times it also ran adjacent to the Cuyahoga River. It was an easy grade on crushed limestone. We rode 10 miles north from the center of the park all the way to the end, turned around, and rode back. We stopped to read a few informational signs along the way. At the far north end we rode into Cleveland. Mark liked the first and last sections best because they went through more natural areas with a big, wooded cliff on one side. 

Figure 2. Mark bicycling the Cuyahoga National Park Tow Road Path.

Our second day at Cuyahoga National Park was an even better day of hiking and biking. First, we hiked the Ledges trail in the morning. It reminded us of Fern Cliffe in southern Illinois. It was an easy hike around the giant rock formations. Many were broken into ledges and channels and had honeycomb patterns on them in various colors. We mostly hiked alone except near the hot spots of the scenic overlook and the Ice Canyon Bat Cave.

Figure 3. Ledges Trail at Cuyahoga National Park.

From there we drove back to the Boston Mill Visitor Center parking lot to have lunch and unload the bicycles. This time, we parked on the trailhead and rode south right onto the tow path. We very much enjoyed the southern portion of the tow path. Overall, the route was prettier with trees covering our trail while the canal, streams, river, or railroad ran alongside us. At the Hunt House Visitor Center, we parked and went inside to talk to the volunteers. At Beaver Marsh we stopped to watch the wood ducks, bluegills, and water plants along the boardwalk. We ended at Botzum where we turned around to ride the 10 miles back.

Figure 4. Rhonda bicycling the Tow Road Path.

Back at the Hunt House was a produce market called Szalay’s. It was quite impressive, especially the fresh produce, giant mums, and pumpkin varieties. On the way back, we stopped for cider and pumpkin spice popcorn, snacking in a glider next to a giant swing. What a fun place.

Niagara Falls 

Saturday, September 20, 2025, we left the Cleveland KOA and drove to another KOA in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. We crossed the Canadian border in Buffalo New York, which was easy and quick. We arrived in early afternoon and quickly set up our campsite. It was so early that we decided to load the bicycles into the van and drive the few miles to the waterfalls.

Wow! Niagara Falls exceeded my expectations several fold. I expected a big waterfall but also expected commercial tourism overload. Instead, the Canadian and American sides had ample green spaces for the heavy crowds to see the spectacular falls. There were several shops and tourist spots, but it wasn’t overdone. 

We parked in a $10 RV lot and rode our bicycles towards the falls. We really just wanted to orient ourselves and get info about the boat ride and such for the next day. We didn't expect to see the falls that first day, but we did. They were spectacular. As we got closer to the falls the river started gurgling and swirling intensely. As we got closer to the falls, we couldn't ride our bicycles anymore because there were too many people. We arrived at the viewing area to a full rainbow arch between the three falls. Canada’s horseshoe falls has 80% of the water flow, though the American and Bridal Veil Falls are equally incredible. It is another place that you must see to appreciate. The area was very wet from the waterfall spray and there was no place to sit or park the bike safely, so we walked them a bit. We booked our boat ride online then headed back to the van with a plan of where to go and what to do the next day. 

Figure 5. Rhonda at Niagara Falls.

Back at camp we had the KOA staff lock up our bicycles because they had warned of theft. We bought some charcoal and cooked a pizza on the fire grate. It was excellent, and Mark said it was our best campfire pizza yet. We ended the night watching Illini football (which was a disaster) and motocross on the van’s TV.

Figure 6. Mark cooking campfire pizza at KOA campground.

The next morning, we took our time before heading toward the falls. We found a $10 parking spot by the Skylon Tower, which was a cheap spot in a prime location for us. We went in a gift shop looking for coffee, looked at the falls again, then headed to our boat tour. The City Cruises Boat Tour gave everyone red ponchos as we boarded the boat. We went to the upper deck. The boat ride was exhilarating. We slowly navigated toward the waterfalls with a speaker describing them to us, though it was hard to hear at times with the blowing poncho noise all around us. As we approached the horseshoe falls the water rained down hard in a heavy mist off the falls. It was turbulent in the water and in the air. The left side of the waterfall was hard to see through the mist, but the right side was clear and powerful. I stood facing it all and laughed as I got drenched. It was so much fun and an experience I'll remember forever. The boat ride was about 20 minutes. We were soaked from our thighs down. My shoes and socks were full of water. I was mostly dry on top from the poncho, but Mark left his arms out so had to ring out of his shirt sleeves. We walked to our van and changed clothes, putting them in the van’s sunny windows to dry out.

Figure 7. Getting soaked on boat by Niagara Falls.

After a short rest in the van, we went to the Skylon Tower. As we waited for our 1:00 p.m. revolving restaurant reservation we looked around at the shops and exhibits. The Daredevil Falls Exhibit was particularly interesting. It had stories of people who went over the falls in barrels and other contraptions. Some lived and some died. All of it was crazy.

Our meal atop the tower was excellent. Mark had salmon and I had a zucchini spiral grill. The restaurant slowly revolved around the tower giving everyone a perfect view of the falls and the surrounding area. We bought a picture that they took of us. It took about an hour to eat and go in a full revolution. Another incredible memory.

Figure 8. Mark viewing Niagara Falls from Skylon Tower.

After lunch, we started to walk across to the United States side but when we had to pay a toll each way, even as pedestrians, we decided to turn around. During our travels, we usually save something for a possible return trip so next time we'll do the American side and maybe a nighttime light show.

From there we drove to Lakeside Park in St. Catherines on Lake Ontario. Mark wanted to see the Neal Peart pavilion there, listen to RUSH’s Lakeside Park song about the location, and toast “The Professor,” aka Neil. It was a very crowded, busy park and we quickly saw why. It was very clean, pretty, and had a lot to do. We sat on a park bench and called Tyler, telling him that we were at his birthday song’s park (Lakeside Park references May 24th). We stayed about an hour, ending with a short beach stroll.

Figure 9. Lakeside Park.

We ate so much for lunch at the Skylon Tower that we skipped supper. I did laundry at the KOA. We got our bicycles out of storage and loaded them up on the trailer. We were glad we loaded them then because it rained in the night. We were all ready to roll in the morning. This time the American border crossing guy was grumpy, but it was easy getting back over to the United States.

New York Adirondacks

The drive from Niagara Falls to New York’s Adirondacks was colorful. Lots of trees were starting to change color in the upper New York State area that we drove through. The scenic road wound around lakes and through woods. Red maples stood out in bright red. Sugar maples were orange and yellow. White ash was a deep purple. In between, the evergreens provided a deep green background to highlight the changing deciduous trees.

We arrived at the Fish Creek Pond Campground midafternoon and soon had site 39 set up. Mark drove the van in forward so that it faced the lake from our right side, leaving the trailer hooked up. It was a big site with an opening to the lake. A large stone fireplace had a grate for cooking. A brilliant red maple tree hung over the van’s front, leaving plenty of open sky for the solar panels and the Starlink satellite at the back. This site did not have electricity. 

Figure 10. Our Van at Fishcreek Campground.

We sat and watched the lake for a while. We could hear loons calling in the distance. Several boaters and kayakers gently cut through the still waters. Next to us our neighbors from New Jersey fixed supper in preparation for their daughter and granddaughter's arrival. We lit a fire and took a long-time grilling burgers and heating cans of chili. The fireplace seemed warmer since it directed the fire’s heat all in our direction. It was an enjoyable, quiet, evening. Eventually we went in for a good night's rest. 

Figure 11. Cooking supper at Fishcreek Campground.

It started raining in the night. We awoke to more rain and a gorgeous lake view. Mark made a pot of coffee and later pancakes. We planned to hang out in the van working on helmets and fishing poles and such until it stopped raining; but it mostly rained all day. We had a slight break between 12:00 and 1:00 so went for a short hike. There were a couple longer trails there that would have been awesome, but we kept it short. We had planned to unload the bicycles and ride them around the lake, but it was just too wet. 

We had a nice soup lunch and hung out in the van watching it rain on the lake. Even though we couldn't do an activity it was still really nice to be there. The plants were soaking up the rain and seemed to smile as the raindrops hit their previously droopy leaves. Fall colors intensified in the rain and added to the plant’s joyful vibes. Ducks swam across the lake. We enjoyed our easy day in camp, though we did try out our fishing gear. My new Tenkara fishing pole didn’t work well in the lake. It is more of a stream pole, so I hoped to try it another time, though I never did.

New Hampshire

Wednesday September 24, 2025, we left the Adirondacks in the morning after taking our time loading up in the rain. It was a gorgeous and colorful drive through the Adirondacks into Vermont and New Hampshire. For a while it was sunny, which illuminated the colors, but then it got cloudier and darker. I watched the scenery the whole time instead of my usual crocheting. The kaleidoscopes of color were mesmerizing. Some places had more oaks and evergreens and less color, then a whole mountain side would burst ahead of us with mosaics of red, orange, and yellow. We particularly liked driving around Lake Champlain between New York and Vermont which was very near Canada. It's a huge lake with much American history and folklore. 

We arrived at our New Hampshire Sugarloaf II campground in the midafternoon. It took us a bit to position the van and trailer due to the odd site angles. We were very isolated. The site had a steep cliff down to the river. We could hear it, but we couldn't get to it. We took a short walk around the campground to orient ourselves. It was a small place with only about 14 or so well-situated sites. I think ours was the most popular based on all the reservation tags. All sites were primitive without electricity. 

Back at camp, Mark lit a campfire. The wood we had was moist from all the rain, so it took a while to get going. By then, we weren't in the mood to cook anything too involved, so had chili and hot dogs. That night I didn't sleep as soundly. I think I was getting nervous about the yoga retreat. 

The next morning, we had our usual coffee and oatmeal then went for a hike in the rain. The Trussell Trail had two entry points around our campsite, so we did it, even though it said the bridge was out. It was a gorgeous trail. The colors and the ferns and the mosses were sparkly in the rain and quite lovely. The mosses held so much water and seemed to plump like sponges in the rain. We wore our raincoats and boots. It was not raining hard so was perfect for the hike. Past the campground the trail went down the road and across a bridge before turning back down into the woods along the river. Now at river level, we walked next to it and could see the mini boulders and water flow. We hiked past a giant rock sitting in the middle of the woods all by itself. We wound around back to the river where the other bridge was supposed to be. The river had so many boulders that we decided to scramble across it. It was easy but the rain-soaked rocks could have been slippery, so we were cautious. 

Figure 12. Scrambling across a river on wet rocks at Sugarloaf II Campground.

Before we knew it, we were back at the camper enjoying tea and coffee while it rained harder outside. After our snack, we drove towards Mark's next campsite to drop the trailer before going to my yoga retreat location. In the town of Gorham, New Hampshire we had lunch in a cute little sandwich shop called Birdies. They made everything fresh from local sources. I had a Mediterranean veggie sandwich, and Mark ate a homemade pizza. After I started eating, a farmer delivered tomatoes and the lady insisted I add them to my sandwich. It was so good.

It was raining hard when we got to Mark's campsite at Dolly Lopp. It was a large campground. Mark had a big site with electric and water. He backed the trailer in and unhooked it, then we headed to Kingfield, Maine where my yoga retreat was located. It was a long windy drive in the rain. I hated that Mark had to do it all again to go back after dropping me off. I had an amazing yoga retreat while Mark rode the Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDRs) each day (See Maine Remembrance Retreat).

Figure 13. Mark's motorcycle on the colorful BDR.

Acadia National Park

Mark picked me up Monday, September 29, 2025, about 9:00 a.m. I was ready to get back to camping though I thoroughly enjoyed the retreat and meeting all the women. Mark and I wanted breakfast after he picked me up but there was nothing open in Kingsfield, so we drove to the next town of Madison and found a good local diner. We had French toast and blueberries with coffee. We both told stories of our time apart. 

From there it was a few hours’ drive to Acadia National Park. We tried the Visitor Center first to get brochures and ideas for the next few days. However, it was so crowded that we couldn't find a parking spot. Mark drove around while I went in and talked to a volunteer. He gave me a good overview and ideas to try.

Our Seawall Campground was in the slower, quieter part of the park. It took us a while to unhook the trailer, unload it, and move it out of the way. It's a big site but the turn into it was at an odd angle. We were in a generator free loop and there was no electricity. Our site had a boulder fire pit with a big grate. We saw two deer in the campground in the late afternoon.

We drove to a camp store to get firewood and beans, but they were closed so we self-paid for some firewood. Then we drove to the coastal trails nearby and down to a lighthouse. There were too many cars at the lighthouse, so we had to leave. We parked and hiked the Wonderland trail instead. It was a short trail to the picturesque Maine coast. About that time, I started getting tired. I think I “hit a wall” from the weekend. It was a slow, easy retreat, but as Mark said, “I had to be on my game.” Mark overdid his few days of motorcycling too, so he felt about the same. We stood by the ocean on the large rocks and wanted to do more but instead went back to the campground. Along the way, we stopped at another little campground store and Mark got the coffee mug he was looking for. Back at camp it was good to be back in my van again. I slept well and was soon rested for several adventurous days in Acadia National Park.

Figure 14. Mark at coast along Wonderland Trail in Acadia National Park.

Tuesday, we had a gate reservation at 9:00 a.m. to go up to Cadillac Mountain. At the top, we found an easy parking spot close to the summit and went to the store to get my National Park passport stamp. We started to walk around but we were cold, so we went back to the van for more clothes and coffee. We made coffee in Yeti mugs and hiked out to sit on a rock, drink coffee, and enjoy the 360° view from the summit. The morning view was quite stunning. We couldn't get over how the ocean looked like sparkling diamonds and how calm it was especially compared to the Florida or California coasts. Islands spread out far before us. The waters were spotted with various colored buoys attached to lobster traps. Plants up there grew in dwarf form, including short little oaks and grey birch. We took our Yeti mugs back to the van and walked out a little farther, following the gorge trail for a while. It had large cairns for guidance along the way (the park discouraged illegal tourist cairns). We sauntered around up there for almost three hours, then drove back to camp and got the motorcycle.

Figure 15. Coffee atop Cadillac Mountain at Acadia National Park.

We rode the motorcycle around the entire park loop road, pulling over a couple of times but not getting off. During the leisurely ride around the park, we made plans of where to go back. We rode to the Bar Harbor Lobster Boil for a lunch of beer and lobster tacos. We had three tacos with chunks of lobster and many fruit and vegetable toppings, plus homemade chips. I had a Leaf Peeping Ale beer. It was an expensive place, but it was fun to eat lobsters in Maine.

Figure 16. Motorcycle ride at Acadia National Park.

Wednesday, October 1st was my dad's 80th birthday and I was sad not to be there with him. Instead, we started our day very early across from our campground at an oceanside picnic area. We arrived just as the sun was coming up over the far island, which was very bright. We started up our generator, had coffee, and enjoyed the ocean sunrise from the warm comfort of our van.

We anticipated parking issues again at the visitor center, so we arrived very early about 7:30 am. We got an easy spot along the side in RV parking where we unloaded the bicycles, made more coffee and oatmeal for breakfast, and relaxed. As we sat more bicycles arrived from tour companies. Soon hundreds of bicycles lined the edge where we were. The guys were nice and gave us tips for riding the carriage roads. The bicycle paths there were old carriage roads built by the Rockefellers. They also built many historic bridges over creeks and vehicle roadways. 

Figure 17. Rhonda under a historic Carriage Road bridge.

We started out on the bicycle about 8:00 a.m.  Unfortunately, we quickly got cold and turned around to ride back for more clothes. We're glad we did because it stayed cool all day. We very much enjoyed our ride, which took most of the day. We rode over 20 miles. Our first stop was at Jordan Pond. It was the first day of the government shutdown so many places were closed but the Jordan Pond concessionaire was open. We had a coffee and a scone on the second level deck overlooking the pond with a perfect view of the twin Bubble Mountains in the distance. It was a gorgeous sunny morning. Lots of people were there. We bought a Christmas ornament then got back on our bicycles and rode all the way to the Day Mountain Summit, another place with outstanding views. On the way up we passed a few carriages pulled by teams of horses and three single horse riders.

Figure 18. Mark atop Day Mountain Summit at Acadia National Park. 

On our ride back toward Jordan pond we started to get tired. We stopped to rest by a pond and then finished the ride. Back in the van we laid on our beds and moaned. They were good moans, and we were happy we had another outstanding bicycle adventure.

Figure 19. Resting by pond at Acadia National Park.

Two sort of negative things happened that day that changed our plans. The US government shutdown closed parts of the park. Our campsite was okay, but we had to change a few plans. Then, as we left camp in the morning a tire pressure alert came on. When Mark examined the tires the back right rear tire had weird diagonal cupping in it, and we decided we needed new tires. After bicycling we drove to a tire shop and made an appointment to get new tires the next day. We stopped at a grocery store on our way back to camp. We were tired and cold so spent the evening in the camper, fixing soup and grilled cheese on the van’s stove.

Thursday, we decided to stay together when getting the new tires. I had planned to go explore the Gardens of Acadia while Mark got new tires, but the Nature Center there was closed due to the shutdown, and it was too cold to not have shelter. In the end I chose well because the gardens were also gated shut.

After dropping off the van, we walked across the street and had a good local diner breakfast at Governors Café. When the guy drove our van out, he said, “Boy, those were some wavy tires.” The new tires were much smoother and quieter. The tire shop couldn't do an alignment, so we did that when we got back home.

From there we went back to the park where I hoped to explore the Gardens of Acadia. Since they were closed, we hiked on a boardwalk and wooded trails instead. The trails were well maintained through exceptional woods and wetlands. We enjoyed it and wanted to hike more, but since it was already near midafternoon we ran out of time. We did spend a little time walking along the coast on the rocks and were able to experience the thundering waves at Thunder Hole. The area was very crowded but there was ample parking along the roadway and in many lots. We did try to hike the Bubble Mounds but couldn't find a parking spot so headed to our campground area instead.

Figure 20. Hiking boardwalk at Acadia National Park.

Once at camp we decided to go ahead and hook up the trailer and load it. We cooked burgers and beans on the fire for our last supper at that campsite. A deer came within feet of me. They were prevalent in the area. It was a great campsite, and we hated to leave.

Figure 21. Acadia National Park campsite.

Ohio State Parks

Friday morning, we left early and headed back west, this time without any specific plans or camping reservations. The top Google map route included a $27 toll, so we opted for another route that was only $5. In retrospect that was probably a mistake. I mapped out a route and decided to arrive at a campground in Pennsylvania about 5:00 p.m. That got delayed over two hours due to traffic in Connecticut. We didn't realize how close we were to New York City and Friday afternoon was probably worse. Anyway, we encountered slowdown after slowdown and arrived to a very dark Promised Land State Park campground about 7:30 p.m. We were stressed and tired. With my assistance, Mark did great backing into the dark, crowded, campground. We hooked up power and I made quesadillas in the van.  

We left early the next morning. As soon as I had cell service, I booked our next two nights in Ohio. It was much easier driving that day. We often listen to books on tape while driving long distances. For this trip, we listened to Robert Redford's biography. Later in the day, we listened to the Illini versus Purdue football game on SiriusXM. Our new JVC radio had been rebooting every few minutes for the last few days, but it worked well for the game. 

Our destination in Ohio was Hocking Hills State Park where we wanted to hike Grandma Gatewood’s trail. We listened to a book about her a few years ago. At 67 she was the first woman to hike the entire Appalachian Trail continuously, and she did it three times. 

Unfortunately, Hocking Hills State Park is very popular and was fully booked on Saturday night. Instead, we stayed about an hour east of Hocking Hills at Burr Oak State Park. We drove to the Burr Oak lodge first but soon realized that we had to go all around the lake to the other side to get to the campground. The Burr oak lodge was very nice, but the campground wasn't. Our spot was facing the wrong way for backing, was very close to other people, seemed too short, and we couldn’t find a water faucet to fill our tanks. We were grumpy tired so parked across the road and walked to check it out, talking to a nice neighbor. He said that the campgrounds only faucet for filling was at the other end of the campground. We went back down and around for water and then I backed the camper and trailer to the spot, and it just fit. We sat outside and unwound a bit then went inside and fixed supper. I fell sound asleep way too early, but I was tired. 

The next morning, we took showers and ate and then drove over to Hocking Hills State Park. On the way there the radio cut out again and a low battery light came on. It was a new battery so at the visitor center Mark pulled off the battery connector and it was too loose with no way to tighten it. He put some foil on it hoping that would help secure the connection. That worked the rest of the way home and then he fixed it better once we got there.

Grandma Gatewood’s entire trail is a four-mile trail out and back making it eight miles total. It's a popular place for good reason. There are amazing rock formations, towering trees, caves, waterfalls, and a well-done infrastructure. The high visitor areas, especially around Old Man's Cave, are one way for easier navigation. We hiked about half of the Grandma Gatewood trail from the Devil's Bathtub to Cedar Falls. The hike was impressive and, at times, difficult. On the way back we took a side trail for something different, but it ended up being longer. We were very sore and tired by then, but we trudged along. We hiked seven miles over four hours and 11 minutes with the 741-foot gain.

Figure 22. Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio.

We enjoyed our campsite at Hocking Hills very much. I reserved the last open site in the campground. Sight 49 was short but wide, so we had to position the van and trailer side by side. It had water and electric. We sat behind our site next to the woods in the shade. 

Figure 23. Hocking Hills State Park Campground.

The next morning, we drove home, arriving mid-afternoon. Back at home our house felt humongous. After weeks in the van, the house had so much room, though it was comforting. It was time to settle in and regroup and prepare for our next big trip and my next big project. Stay tuned to see what they are.