What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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Feature 8 What's up! OctOber 24-30, 2021 Painted In The Trees Fall foliage coming soon to arkansas byways JACK SCHNEDLER Special to What's Up! F orecasting peak brilliance for those autumn leaves of red and gold can be almost as much of a stab as picking a winning set of lottery numbers. For regions of Arkansas, moving north to south, the peak periods arrive some time in October through parts of November. The website (arkansas.com) of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage & Tourism posts an updated forecast each Thursday. The latest weekly posting is upbeat as tourism messages generally are. But it's clear that patience is in order, with the pacing of the colors running late: "Patchy and partial color has entered the state! As expected, our higher elevations are seeing the green slowly fade into the bright fall colors we've been waiting on. Hints of autumn dot the trees in Northwest Arkansas, giving a sneak peek at what's to come. It's the perfect weekend to take a drive through the Ozarks and admire the foliage as it begins to turn." Whether the tardy foliage turns out to be vivid or tepid remains in question. In a typical autumn, the Ozark Mountains in the north see the first tones in early October. A week or so later, the Arkansas River Valley starts to turn. The southern part of the state sees its hues by mid- November. Some fall-foliage fans have their favorite routes for viewing the annual palette of maples, hickories, oaks and other deciduous species. Among prime itineraries are the following: Arkansas Scenic 7 Byway — The first of the Natural State's designated scenic byways, Arkansas 7 runs 290 miles from Harrison to El Dorado. A devoted leaf peeper can follow the highway south as the leaves progressively turn color week by week. Prime viewing comes in the higher elevations of Scenic 7's northern stretch, passing through Ozark National Forest and the Ozark Mountains. Arkansas Scenic 7 Byway offers 290 miles of beautiful arkansas autumn. (File photo)