When Mother Nature changes into her fall coat, there’s not a more beautiful sight in the world.

The fact is a car brings you close to all the autumn action, which just isn’t the changing leaves, we’ve discovered.

Almost every state and province have fall fairs built around autumn harvest, when orange pumpkins and golden corn husks turn naked farmland into a colourful quilt. Then there’s all those quaint inns in New England where you can park your car, curl up in front of an open fire with a glass of wine, enjoy a harvest meal accompanied by pumpkin pie, and fall asleep in a comfy bedroom with a bed that reminds you of grandma’s house.

That’s the autumn drives I remember as a kid and they still stir my emotions today.

It doesn’t matter what kind of automobile you drive, the key here is the routes you take and the places you end up. There are many fall foliage routes we can recommend but here’s 10 drives we highly suggest you put on your “must do before I die list.”
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1- New York’s Adirondack Mountains: Just a few hours from New York or Montreal, the colour show put on in this awesome region by Mother Nature is truly one of the most spectacular you’ll ever see. Drives along narrow, winding highways bordered by fast moving streams lead to places like Saranac Lake, Lake George and Lake Placid. In between, a canvas of colour clings to mighty mountains where tress and rock blend together to make one fabulous site.
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2- Quebec’s Mont-Tremblant: Just two hours north of Montreal, a blanket of colour spreads across this famous ski region in late September and offers some of the most vibrant shades of natural colour you’ll ever come across. The French Canadian ambience and food just add to the autumn glory in this area of glorious Canada. The sweet nectar that runs in the spring from the maple trees is used in many French Canadian dishes and one spa in Mont-Tremblant, at the Fairmont Mont-Tremblant Lodge, even has a maple syrup scrub that will make you feel sweet for days after.
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3- New Hampshire: This state was always one of my favourites on family fall outings,  especially the areas around Franconia Notch and North Conway. The colours in New Hampshire always seemed brighter and the festive mood of the people there in the fall seemed more enthusiastic and genuine.
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4- Pennsylvania: We stumbled across northern Pennsylvania’s autumn glory after visiting a cousin in State College, home to the University of Pennsylvania. We were blown away by what we saw. The state has 108 species of native trees and most change colour in the fall. Hiking and biking trails cut through much of the state’s foliage and that supplies outdoor enthusiasts with lots of memories. There are lots of covered bridges and wineries in the Commonwealth to explore during the fall and one thing is for sure, you’ll never be bored. The area around York and the Amish country is especially beautiful in the fall.
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5- West Virginia: This is a state that gets overlooked by a lot of leaf hunters. However, America’s most forested state, as you’d expect, offers some of the most brilliant colour changes. Here trees begin turning in late September and the spectacle lasts until late October – the peek season for the colours there. The state embraces the colour change with lots of fairs and festivals set amidst West Virginia’s beautiful Appalachian backdrop.
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6- Ontario: The area north of Toronto known as the Muskokas, and in the Niagara Falls region, south of the city, are among the favourites for fall colour enthusiasts. The Agawa Canyon train trip is one of the top-rated spectacles anywhere, but the province’s other regions also have much to offer in autumn. The trees in the Muskoka region, two hours from Toronto, stand out against the rugged rock outcroppings of the fascinating Canadian Shield while in Niagara, fall trees blend in very nicely with the area’s vineyards.
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7- Virginia: Virginia’s stunning landscape never looks better than in the fall months and drives and hikes along the Skyline Parkway, Blue Ridge Parkway, Appalachian Trail and many others will leave you speechless. There’s 2,500 miles of scenic byways in Virginia and every inch is pure delight in fall. Some suggest the Shenandoah Valley offers the best autumn moments but I find it difficult to recommend one Virginia region over another.
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8- The Carolinas: Believe it or not, both North and South Carolina offer fall foliage seasons. They’re not as vibrant as their northern neighbours but they’re still pretty spectacular. South Carolina’s Upcountry, set amidst the rugged beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills and along the Cherokee Foothills National Scenic Highway (SC Hwy. 11) are two areas we highly recommend. In North Carolina, autumn doesn’t get any better than in the Asheville area, which sits not far from the famed Blue Ridge Parkway. Here, the oaks take on burgundy tones in the fall, the sugar maples go from orange to red and red maples are brushed with deep purple hues.
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9- Canada’s East Coast: Densely forested provinces like Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are the best places to see the changing colours. In the small town of St. Andrews by the Sea, N.B., just across the border with Maine, they celebrate the fall season with parades and fireworks and many cooking festivals.
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10- Maine and Vermont: I left my favorite autumn destinations for last. The states of Maine and Vermont are without a doubt the most beautiful of all 50 when fall descends upon the northeast. In small seaside towns like Maine’s Boothbay Harbor to ski centres like Vermont’s Killington and Stowe, and every town and village in between, fall is celebrated like Christmas. Trees glitter like jewels and towns are decked out in colours of red, yellow and orange to blend in with the surrounding natural beauty. Fairs and festivals ring in the season. There’s a chill in the air in Maine and Vermont at this time of the year but the warmth one feels when visiting these states in fall is simply indescribable.

But, as you’ve read, I have plenty of options – and now so do you.