With the vast majority of Door County’s 3 million visitors arriving in summer, a fall-foliage road trip down this 80-mile (129-kilometer) peninsula will be a communion with the open road. Start with a tour in Sturgeon Bay—by far the peninsula’s largest town at 9,000 people—and head northward. Want to break up the drive? Wander down Sister Bay’s bustling main drag, go apple-picking at a family orchard, venture to Washington Island, and order ice cream at Wilson’s in Ephraim.

Start your leaf-peeping trip at some of Portland's best attractions, then travel up the rocky coast past lighthouses and mansions uniquely set against New England's architectural gems attempting to steal the show. Then, make your way to one of Maine’s top attractions, Acadia National Park and the Hulls Cove Visitor Center, hopping on Park Loop Road. It’s a 27-mile (43-kilometer) scenic drive that covers the east side of Mount Desert Island, or MDI to locals.

The Rockies north of Denver may get all the glory, but one of southwestern Colorado’s best thing to do includes driving the Million Dollar Highway. This 25-mile (40-kilometer) stretch through the San Juan Mountains between Ouray and Silverton is one of the state's best spots for fall foliage. Expect to stop lots of times for photos along this scenic fall foliage drive that includes Switzerland-like mountain views, and hairpin turns which delicately usher you along the edges of sheer cliffs.

Running for 70+ miles (112+ kilometers) east of Portland’s top attractions, the Historic Columbia River Gorge Scenic Byway is America’s first scenic highway. Following along the mighty Columbia River, around 90 waterfalls pour over the gorge’s basalt cliffs, but some, like Multnomah Falls warrant their own stop. On this road trip, park the car, and go on a fall-foliage hike to every waterfall you can, noting the spectacular fall views of the maples and ash contrasting with the firs and pines.

Known as “America’s favorite drive”, the 469-mile (754-kilometer) Blue Ridge Parkway runs from Roanoke, Virginia, to Asheville, North Carolina, through some of the wildest and best fall foliage in the country. Start up north, and you’ll get the vistas of Shenandoah National Park and the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests; start south, and you’ll get Asheville’s brew scene up to Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s best hikes, sights, and attractions.

Consider a road trip that's roughly a 2-hour drive from Palm Brooks State Park to Tahquamenon Falls State Park. At the former, you’ll see a 40-foot-deep (12-meter-deep) natural spring, aka “Big Spring,” surrounded in crimson and orange; at the latter, you’ll get the obvious waterfall views, plus access to 50,000 undeveloped acres (20,235 hectares) of emerald pine and golden tamarack. Another hour east, and you’ll wind up in Sault Ste. Marie, the third-oldest city in the country.

Drive Ohio’s Hocking Hills Scenic Byway for some searing autumn colors. The nearly 27-mile (43-kilometer) scenic drive travels along rolling hills, above caves, near sparkling waterfalls, and deep through the forests in and around Hocking Hills State Park. The fall foliage season here is sublime—and you’re only an hour from Ohio’s effortlessly cool capital, making it easy to explore Columbus’ top attractions along with its food-heavy High Street.

Just a few hours north of NYC lies the largest contiguous wilderness in the US—Adirondack Park, located in the Adirondack Mountains, and one of the best fall road trips in America. At some 18,000 square miles (46,620 square kilometers), it’s three times the size of Yellowstone National Park. Drive the 170-mile (274-kilometer) Olympic Trail, between Lake Ontario and Lake Champlain, to commune with the oaks, maples, and birches climbing the High Peaks region of these ancient mountains.

Though the entire Northeast lights up in fall color, Vermont’s main attraction holds a special place in the leaf-peeping zeitgeist. (Perhaps it’s the cider donuts and warm pumpkin rolls that level up any drive?) Hit the Green Mountain Byway, an 11-mile (18-kilometer) ribbon between three state parks, picturesque farms, and charming inns. It runs from Waterbury to Stowe, sitting in the shadow of the state’s highest mountain, which lights this fall leaf-peeping travel destination ablaze.

Just 90 minutes north of Little Rock lies the Ozark National Forest and the Sylamore Scenic Byway. Running for 26.5 miles (42.5 kilometers), you’ll start in the ghost town of Calico Rock, trading some eerie leaf-peeping views for those along limestone cliffs, up pine-clad mountain vistas, and deep into the white-oak forest. Your terminus is Blanchard Springs Caverns, and while there’s no fall foliage there, you should definitely stop to explore this living, growing, 300 million-year-old cave.