Vivid leaves, shiny apples in Georgia mountains

www.corneliageorgia.org/BigRedAppleFestival.aspx

ELLIJAY APPLE ORCHARDS

www.georgiaapplefestival.org/orchards.aspx

Aaron’s Apple House. 8350 Ga. 52 E.

B.J. Reece’s Apple House. 9131 Ga. 52 E.

Hillcrest Orchards. 9696 Ga. 52 E.

Hudson’s Apple House. 8036 Ga. 52 E.

Mack Aaron’s Apple House. 8955 Ga. 52 E.

Panorama Farm Market. Ga. 515 Bypass

Penland’s Apple House, (2 locations: Ga. 515. Also Ga. 282 /7678 Tails Creek Road.

R&A Orchards. 5505 Ga. 52 E.

Red Apple Barn. 3381 Tails Creek Road/Ga. 282.

Seller’s Apple House. 255 Parks Drive/Ga. 52 E.

FALL FOLIAGE

See Georgia State Parks’ Leaf Watch site: www.gastateparks.org/leafwatch

Top state parks for fall color:

Amicalola Falls State Park – Dawsonville

Black Rock Mountain State Park – Clayton

Cloudland Canyon State Park – Near Chattanooga, Tenn.

Don Carter State Park – Lake Lanier

F. D. Roosevelt State Park – Pine Mountain

Fort Mountain State Park – Chatsworth

Hard Labor Creek State Park – Rutledge

James H. (Sloppy) Floyd State Park – Summerville

Moccasin Creek State Park – Lake Burton

Red Top Mountain State Park – Lake Allatoona

Smithgall Woods State Park – Helen

Sweetwater Creek State Park – Lithia Springs

Tallulah Gorge State Park – Near Clayton

Unicoi State Park – Helen

Vogel State Park – Blairsville

Vivid red and gold leaves as well as ruby-red apples draw people to the Georgia mountains this time of year. It’s the season to drive, soak in the color and smell of the woods, pick some apples and come home with a crunchy bounty.

Last year, winds from Hurricane Sandy blew many leaves down, but the forests this year could be filled with color, says Joe Burgess of the Georgia Forestry Commission, unless heavy autumn rains mute the foliage.

Peak color occurs around the first week of November, depending on weather conditions. But the forests are pretty throughout October, and the apple harvest is in full swing.

One way to get the full benefit of leaves and apples is to head up I-75, then I-575 and U.S. 76 to Ellijay for the Georgia Apple Festival the weekends of Oct. 12-13 and 19-20. The festival is smack in the middle of Gilmer County, the center of the state’s apple production. Orchards line Ga. 52, where growers set up roadside stands.

Visitors to the orchards will find fresh produce and “every jam, jelly, syrup and apple butter you can possibly imagine,” said Paige Green, president of the Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce. There are plenty of fried pies, too.

Four Gilmer County orchards let you pick your own apples: B.J. Reese’s Apple House, Hillcrest Orchards, R&A Orchards and Red Apple Barn. In addition, you can pick pumpkins at Red Apple Barn.

Visitors to the apple festival in Ellijay will find more than 300 vendors with handcrafted items. An antique car show is held on Oct. 12 and a parade is held Oct. 19 at 10 a.m.

A smaller festival, the Big Red Apple Festival, is held in Cornelia, northeast of Lake Lanier in Habersham County, on Oct. 12.

The one drawback of a pretty October weekend is that mountain roads can be crowded, says Kim Hatcher of Georgia State Parks. She suggests a weekday trip for those who want to avoid traffic.

A scenic drive that lets you take in both the apples and the leaf color runs from Ellijay on Ga. 52 East toward Amicalola State Park. Amicalola is a good park to take in fall colors, Hatcher says.

From there, Green suggests heading to Dahlonega, then taking Ga. 60, which crosses the Appalachian Trail, toward Blue Ridge, where you can pick up Ga. 515 and I-575 South to return to metro Atlanta. Or from Dahlonega drivers can head down Ga. 400 and home.

Another scenic drive is Ga. 52 W from Ellijay toward Fort Mountain State Park. Scenic overlooks line the road; this is a good route for people who want to get out of their car and take hikes. In Fort Mountain State Park, a 1.2-mile trail loops around a lake. The more challenging 8-mile Gahuti Trail offers an all-day hike.

Hikers and drivers will see the crimson colors of scarlet oak, white oak, black gum and red maple trees. Yellow poplar, white ash and black cherry trees turn vivid yellow.

“Dogwood turns a pretty red,” Hatcher said, “and sweet gum turns purple.”

Hatcher’s list for the most colorful fall foliage: Cloudland Canyon near Chattanooga, Tenn., and Tallulah Gorge and Black Rock Mountain parks near Clayton.

Fifteen parks are listed on the Leaf Watch website of Georgia State Parks, which also provides details about hiking trails, mountain cabins and campsites, fall events, and forest safety. No state parks are closed due to the federal shutdown

For the best fall color, hope for warm, sunny days and cool, but not freezing, nights — and an absence of rain.

The heavy rainfall in the summer, however, did produce large apples. The harvest started at the end of July with early-maturing varieties and will continue until Thanksgiving. October is the peak time for the greatest varieties.

In Georgia, apples generally are not shipped to stores or distributed through wholesalers. About 90 percent are sold at roadside stands or directly from the orchards.

About 60 percent of the apple trees in Georgia are found in Gilmer County, which produces more than 600,000 bushels of apples per year.

In Gilmer, apple growing seems to be a family affair. “The majority of apple growers are all related,” Green said.

Ann Futch concurs. She and her husband, Roger, operate R&A Orchards.

“My daddy’s the one that started it,” she said. A World War II veteran, he set out 4 acres of trees in 1947. Today, the family has 75 acres in production and additional property that could be used for expansion. Their son Andy, who now runs the day-to-day activities of the orchard, married the daughter of another apple-growing family. Futch’s grandchildren help out on weekends, making this orchard a fourth-generation business.

Futch is prepared for an influx of visitors to the orchard.

Said Futch, “It’s a good crop this year.”