Fall is officially here, which means its usual bright colors and beautiful views will follow. Here are the top 5 destinations you’ll want to visit to see the best fall foliage the United States has to offer!

New York’s Adirondack Mountains

Visit New York’s Adirondack Mountains during late September through late October to see some of the widest variety of fall colors on the East Coast. Contained within the Adirondacks, you’ll find marshes, river valleys, hardwood forest and high-elevation alpine environments. Visitors can gaze upon thousands of birch, aspen, oak and silver maple trees, all of which turn a beautiful yellow in the autumn. These trees are then complimented with the brilliant crimson of the red maple. When you put all these trees together, it provides a fantastic contrast and variety of color. To get the best view, visit Thacher State Park, located on the Helderberg Escarpment in Voorheesville, a great spot to not only admire the fall foliage, but also to get amazing views of the Hudson-Mohawk lowlands, the city of Albany, and the southern Adirondacks.

New Hampshire’s Lakes Region

Another great place to see fall foliage on the East Coast is New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, anytime during late September through late October. To find the vantage point for viewing the stunning foliage, choose locations away from the wind of the coast and at higher elevations. These places are generally safer from weather that knocks leaves from their branches and therefore offer a great opportunity for visitors to find lingering foliage. This New Hampshire region, which encompasses more than 273 lakes, including Lake Winnipesaukee, Squam Lake, Lake Ossipee, Mirror Lake, Newfound Lake, Lake Wentworth, and Lake Winnisquam is protected from the harsh winds of the coast and doesn’t rise more than 600 feet above sea level, giving you the best chance for a long leaf season!

If you want to get the best view, bring a kayak and head to the middle of a lake. You’ll be able to see red maples along the waterways showing their bright colors on the trees, and then reflected down into the water as well. If boating and hiking feels like too much exertion for a good view, tour the lakes region from a fall foliage train.

Leavenworth, Washington

Visit Leavenworth, Washington anytime during mid-to-late September through late November to see several leafy routes starting this Eastern Washington, Bavarian-imbued town. Trees line Tumwater Canyon on Highway 2, which stretches to the Puget Sound area, while south on winding Highway 97, the forests of Blewett Pass sport red huckleberry bushes, aspens, and cottonwoods. Visitors can spot electric-yellow trees reflecting in Lake Wenatchee north of the town. To see the widest variety of fall colors, head to Waterfront Park downtown, where the steep walls of the valley rise in every direction. If you’re visiting in late September or early October, be sure to check out the Autumn Leaf Festival and Oktoberfest!

Glacier National Park, Montana

If you’re planning a trip to Montana to see fall foliage, mid-October is usually the best time to go. Timing is everything in Montana’s rugged northern park, where the window between the summer rush and winter snows is short and varies every year. But visitors can’t miss the bright yellow larch and aspen and red maples against the area’s jagged peaks and vertigo-inducing big sky. To get the best view, drive down the Going-to-the-Sun Road through Logan Pass. This driving route is not only poetically named, it’s one of the park’s most popular. After your day of taking in the breathtaking views, finish off your afternoon at nearby Flathead Lake, offering more scenic vistas and plentiful huckleberry picking.

Columbia River Gorge

Another must see destination for fall foliage during late October is the Columbia River Gorge. The leaves at the highest elevations often start to change color first, meaning that the low-lying Columbia River Highway east of Portland gets color late. Visitors can see big-leaf maple and cottonwood in between riverfront vineyards. For stunning views, head to Multnomah Falls, just east of Portland, where you can see fall foliage set amongst a jaw-dropping waterfall.