PARKERSBURG - With the fall season now officially here and temperatures falling, the annual fall foliage season is beginning as the hills of green change to red, orange and yellow in a colorful display.
A pair of fall foliage events will be held in Wood and Washington counties on Oct. 16 as the local color is expected to peak.
The Mountwood Park Fall Foliage Campground Carnival will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 16 at the Mountwood Park Family Campgrounds on U.S. 50, just east of the main park.
There will be carnival games, fall foliage wagon rides, bonfires and more. Vendors are welcome. For more information call the campground hostess at 304-588-1407. All proceeds for this event go to campground improvements. A checker chip in the haystack 50/50 contest will also be used to raise funds for a family in Belleville that lost their home.
In Washington County, the annual Fall Foliage and Antique Engine Show will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 16 and noon to 6 p.m. Oct. 17 along Ohio 26 in northeastern Washington County.
The tour begins at the Washington County Home on County House Lane just outside Marietta. Some of the sites and stops will include Grimm's Green Acres Apple Orchard, Hills Covered Bridge, Old Sitka Church and Cemetery, the Mailpouch Tobacco Barn and Old Biehl Store, Hune Covered Bridge, Rinard Covered Bridge, the Little Muskingum Watershed Site, Knowlton Covered Bridge and Weddle Covered Bridge.
Fact Box
Fall Foliage
Coloration Guide
YELLOW
Ash, White - Yellow
Basswood - Yellow
Beech - Yellow
Birch, River - Dull Yellow
Birch, Sweet - Yellow
Buckeye, Ohio - Yellow
Coffeetree, Kentucky - Yellow
Cottonwood, Eastern - Yellow
Elder, Box - Yellow
Elm, American - Yellow
Hazel Nut - Brownish Yellow
Hickory, Mockernut - Dull Yellow
Hickory, Pignut - Dull Yellow
Hickory, Shagbark - Dull Yellow
Hickory, Shellbark - Dull Yellow
Hophornbeam, Eastern - Yellow
Locust, Black - Yellow
Locust, Honey - Yellow
Maple, Silver - Pale Yellow
Oak, Chestnut - Yellow
Pecan - Dull Yellow
Redbud, Eastern - Yellow
Shad Bush - Bright Clear Yellow
Tuliptree - Yellow
Walnut, Black - Yellow
Walnut, White - Bright Yellow
Willow, Black - Pale Yellow
REDS
Dogwood - Crimson
Gum, Black - Deep Red
Oak, Northern Red - Rusty Red
Oak, Pin - Crimson
Oak, Scarlet - Scarlet
Oak, Southern Red - Rusty Red
Oak, Swamp Chestnut - Dark Crimson
Sourwood - Deep Red
Sumac - Brilliant Red
BROWNS
Oak, Bur - Pale Brown
Oak, Post - Pale Brown
Oak, Shingle - Brown
Oak, Swamp White - Pale Brown
MULTI-COLORS
Hawthorn - Brilliant Varying Colors
Hazel Nut - Brownish Yellow
Hornbeam - Orange, Scarlet
Maple, Red - Red, Orange
Maple, Sugar - Yellow, Orange, Red
Oak, Black - Dull Red to Orange Brown
Oak, Blackjack - Dull Yellow or Brown
Oak, White - Pink or Red
Persimmon - Glossy Green with Yellow
Sassafras - Red, Orange, Yellow
Sweetgum - Yellow, Orange, Brown
Sycamore, American - Yellow, Brown
Witch Hazel - Bright Yellow-Orange
NO CHANGE
Magnolia, Umbrella - No Change
Holly, American - No Change
The Little Muskingum Watershed Site will also offer concessions, garden tractor and 4-cycle modified pulls and an engine and equipment show each day.
Fall foliage activities are a big attraction in West Virginia and throughout the region. The West Virginia Division of Commerce has compiled several proposed trails in West Virginia, including one through the Mid-Ohio Valley.
Called "River Reflections Tour," the tour begins in Wheeling and follows the Ohio River to Moundsville and Sistersville in early October, Williamstown and Parkersburg in mid-October and Point Pleasant in late October.
Stops of interest along the way include Victorian Wheeling and Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, the Moundsville Penitentiary, the Wells Inn and Sistersville Ferry, Fenton Art Glass in Williamstown, Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park and the North Bend Rail Trail at Parkersburg and the West Virginia State Farm Museum and Tu-Endi-Wei State Park in Point Pleasant.
Other tours compiled by the WVDOC, include the "Southern Accents Tour" in southern West Virginia in late October, the "Scarlet Heartland Tour" in middle and northern West Virginia in late September, the "Mountain Magic Tour" in mid-September and early October in Canaan Valley Resort and Blackwater Falls State Park and the "Golden Gateway Tour" in the Eastern Panhandle in late October.
