Legends of the fall

Fortunately, trees don’t compete. You’ll never see a Vermont sugar maple smear Vaseline on her teeth to outshine a Manito horse chestnut.

Thank God. If they did, year after year, those New England beauties would likely wind up with tear-streaked mascara and rhinestone crowns.

Instead, each stunning, golden tree of the Inland Northwest stands as an individual triumph, and residents of this region who forget to admire their foliage this month simply miss out.

Today, we offer several recommendations. The first, for most of us, is the simplest: Just step outside your front door. Most neighborhoods glow with brilliant golds, yellows and reds this season.

But if you’d like to venture a bit further, we suggest five fall foliage routes: Soak up color in the cities with a trip to Finch Arboretum in Spokane or the University of Idaho Arboretum in Moscow, or drive outside of town for one of three daytrips into Eastern Washington or North Idaho.

After all, as Woody Allen once said, “The talent for being happy is appreciating and liking what you have, instead of what you don’t have.”

Happiness surely lies in appreciating our fall color rather than casting longing glances at New England’s. There sugar maples and oaks bring nearly fluorescent reds, purples and oranges to the landscape.

“The deciduous landscapes of northeastern North America are unparalleled in the world,” says Richard Naskali, professor and arboretum director emeritus at the University of Idaho. “But ours is good.”

So the happiest Inland Northwest residents this season will be wise enough to revel in our region’s bright yellow maples and aspens, the dramatic gold stands of larch trees and the deep reds of the cities’ burning bushes. And they’d better start now.

So far, regional tree observers make upbeat predictions for this October. “I think we’re headed for a really great one,” says Naskali.

We’ve had a dry summer, sunny fall days, cool nights, and – knock on a Norway maple here – no deep frost.

“The best fall color is caused by weather conditions we’re having right now,” says Jim Flott, Spokane’s urban forester.

U.S. Weather Service forecaster Matt Fugazzi predicts mild weather next week. He’s expecting daytime temperatures in the mid 60s to low 70s and nights in the low 40s.

“It might just be perfect conditions for what the experts like to see,” Fugazzi says.

But one never knows when a deep frost will swoop down and ruin the entire color scheme in a single night.

In our region, the summer drought caused some trees to start turning yellow in late August, and the burning bush glowed a deep cranberry red by late September. The buckeyes and lindens started turning in the last week or so, and by mid-October, the Norway maples on city streets should begin to peak.

Sally Sullivan, a gardener at Finch Arboretum in Spokane, says, “The trees out here are turning pretty spectacularly already.”

That’s because the days are growing shorter.

“The biggest myth about fall color is that cold weather causes it,” says Flott. “The reality is it’s the day length.”

Throughout the summer, leaves contain other pigments besides the green chlorophyll. As the days grow shorter, the chlorophyll responds to the lack of light by breaking down. As it disappears, carotene, the yellow pigment, can emerge.

How long will our fall foliage last? If the weather holds, the colors should continue throughout the month, and even into November, as various species peak in succession.

“The kiss of death in all of this is a very deep frost,” Naskali says. “The grade school myth of Jack Frost painting leaves bright colors is not only hokum; frost has nothing to do with it.”

Last year, a hard frost stopped the colors early. Leaves turned brown and clung to the trees throughout the winter.

“That was a killer for the color,” Sullivan says.

Weather forecaster Fugazzi doesn’t predict deep frost anytime soon. He can make fairly accurate predictions seven to 10 days out.

“Quite frankly, after that,” he says, “all bets are off.”

So don’t put off your fall foliage tour too long. Here are the trips our tree and tourism experts, along with the American Automobile Association and Spokesman-Review outdoors editor Rich Landers, recommend this fall. All of them start in Spokane, and include stops for a short hike or a snack along the way.

Finch Arboretum

This is the time of year when crowds begin to converge on this 65-acre preserve off the Sunset Highway in Spokane. They come to view the best selection of trees in town: 2,000 labeled trees, shrubs and flowers.

“It’s pretty huge,” says Sullivan. “People specifically come out here to see the color and take photographs.”

The arboretum’s fall leaf festival will be Oct. 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will feature a big pile of leaves for kids to jump in, along with crafts, hot cider and information booths from various gardening and tree-loving groups. It’s free.

Plan a walk through the arboretum; it’s likely to take a couple of hours. Pack a lunch, bring a Frisbee, or pose your family for Christmas card photos.

To get there, simply head out the Sunset Highway and turn south on Woodland Boulevard.

University of Idaho Arboretum and Botanical Garden

Heading to the University of Idaho on Dad’s Weekend next Saturday? You can take a free tour of this 63-acre arboretum and garden at 10 a.m.

“Our arboretum here at the university is really a tapestry of colors now,” says Naskali. The various species will peak throughout the month.

“Probably the big swan song of color will be late October with our American oak trees in oranges and reds,” he says.

Planting in this relatively new arboretum began in 1982. In 1989, 100 oaks were dedicated that are now 20 to 30 feet tall and well-established. Visitors can also expect to see maples, poplars, willows, aspens and larch turn color this month.

One of Naskali’s favorite aspects of UI’s arboretum? “It’s one of the ways we are 14 notches above WSU,” he says with a chuckle.

Cheney-Turnbull-Williams Lake loop

At Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, manager Nancy Curry recommends taking the five-mile auto tour (which can also be biked or walked), and stopping to hike short trails along the route. The quaking aspen should provide gold leaves along the way. You may see moose, pelicans or tundra swans, and in the early morning and evening you’re likely to hear elk bugling.

Head west of Spokane on I-90 and take exit 270. Follow Highway 904 through Cheney and turn left on Cheney-Plaza Road. Turn into Turnbull on Smith Road. The entrance fee for this 22-acre public use area will be $3 through the end of October.

Turnbull’s open seven days a week during daylight hours. If you want to stop for a snack, though, you’ll need to head to Williams Lake. Drive south on Cheney-Plaza Road and take a right on Williams Lake Road.

Klink’s on the Lake at Williams Lake Resort is open for the last day of the season today. Curry recommends the Chinese chicken salad and the mud pie. Owner Jennie Salle says after today, Klink’s will only open for large group reservations (509-235-2391). She also recommends packing a picnic to eat at the public boat launch.

Then turn right on Mullinix Road and head north to Cheney to view more fall foliage along the western edge of the wildlife refuge.

Lake Coeur d’Alene loop

This route circles around Lake Coeur d’Alene, where you’ll find cottonwoods, aspen, larch and huckleberry turning this month. The best color appears on the southern and eastern sides of the lake.

Head south of Spokane on the Palouse Highway to Highway 27. Drive south on 27 and just south of Freeman, turn left on Elder Road, and travel to Highway 95. Turn right and travel south to Plummer. Follow Highway 5 from Plummer east through Heyburn State Park to St. Maries, and then travel north on Highway 3 and Highway 97 to Harrison.

In Harrison, you can rent a bike at Pedal Pushers Bike Rental (they also rent bikes at Heyburn State Park). Consider biking a section of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes while you’re there.

Then drive north on Highway 97 along the east shore of Lake Coeur d’Alene. If you time your trip just right, you might want to stop for a steak at Wolf Lodge Steakhouse (call 208-664-6665 for reservations) before heading back to Spokane.

Ione-Metaline Falls loop

This route north of Spokane offers a couple of options along the way. On weekends through Oct. 24, the popular Lions Excursion Train will be running from Ione over Box Canyon Dam to Metaline Falls and back. The train departs at 11 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. It travels through stands of yellow larch, or tamarack – the deciduous conifers that also turn gold in this region – as well as maple and aspen trees.

“The most breathtaking (sight) is when they stop on the trestle over Box Canyon Dam,” says Nancy Davis, who is in charge of reservations.

The train often sells out, so you need to book reservations as early as possible. Call (509) 442-4355 between noon and 6 p.m., e-mail lions@povn.com or register online at www.povn.com/npovlions/ reservation. The cost is $10 for adults or $7 for children or seniors.

The other option is a drive around Sullivan Lake, which will loop back to Highway 31.

For either choice, drive north from Spokane on Highway 2. North of Elk, turn left on Highway 211. Follow it to Highway 20 and continue north. At Tiger, drive north along Highway 31 to Ione for the train trip. To loop past Sullivan Lake instead, just south of Ione, cross the Pend Oreille River and drive east on Sullivan Lake Road. You’ll drive north along the west side of the lake, then head west, ending up back on Highway 31 near Metaline Falls.

Conclude either trip by circling back down to Tiger and following Highway 20 to Colville. Then take Highway 395 back to Spokane.

But other options abound: There are trips to Leavenworth and the Tumwater Canyon; drives along the Highland Historic Loop in north central Washington from Republic to Tonasket to Oroville, Chesaw, Curlew and back; and ambitious journeys around the International Selkirk Loop which extends from Newport north into British Columbia, through Nelson, Crawford Bay and Creston, and south to Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint and Priest Lake. There’s also a gorgeous drive from Sandpoint east on Highway 200 along Lake Pend Oreille and following the Clark Fork River into the Cabinet Mountains of Montana to Flathead Valley.

If urban forester Jim Flott were to plan a leaf tour, where might he go? He’d start with Finch Arboretum and Manito Park. He’d consider a wine tour through the Walla Walla area, an efficient way to combine two passions at once.

But he also might set out in sheer defiance of Woody Allen’s adage.

“I’d get on a plane and fly to New England,” he says.