One of Athens’ biggest fall attractions – rivaling Ohio University’s Homecoming or its potential for inspiration and excitement – is the annual fall foliage show in the forests of Athens County and surrounding southeast Ohio. While you likely can enjoy a bit of the leafy extravaganza right from the front porch of your Athens apartment or rental house, take a country drive or hike in the woods to get the full effect.
The great thing about the transition from summer to fall to (ugh) winter is that it’s free. No tickets required, and no chance of catching the flu or Covid while rubbing elbows with the maples, oaks, beeches and sycamores that are providing the day’s entertainment.
We’ve all heard the explanations for why the leaves change colors in the autumn, but here’s a short review for those who didn’t listen the first 1,000 times. We will spare you the long version, however. Here’s a summary as detailed on the NOAA’s SciJinks website:
“As summer fades into fall, the days start getting shorter and there is less sunlight. This is a signal for the leaf to prepare for winter and to stop making chlorophyll. Once this happens, the green color starts to fade and the reds, oranges, and yellows become visible.” While the website does have a lengthier explanation, we suspect you’ve already lost interest and really just want some tips on where to find the best fall colors in Athens County. We’ve got you covered.
Prime Places for Fall Foliage Around Athens
• The Ridges. Many successive generations of OU students have explored the campus and lands of the former Athens Mental Health Center/Asylum on the high ground south across the Hocking River from the Convo and West Green areas. Comprising around 750 acres, the land has been managed by the university since the late ’80s. It includes miles and miles of nature trails and dirt/gravel lanes winding through the pastures and woods high above the nearby Hocking River. From the vantage point of elevated pastures and woodland trails, one can enjoy unparalleled fall foliage splendor. OU recently designated much of the Ridges as part of the OHIO Museum Complex (OMC). According to the university, the OMC’s “outdoor museum” transforms “the vast network of trails at The Ridges and points of interest across the region into a unique integrated outdoor learning experience.” See separate blog on this website for more information on this.
• Country Roads. If you have access to a car, motorcycle or bicycle, you have easy access to Athens County’s hundreds of miles of country roads. Within a mile or two of Athens, you can be driving through Appalachian Ohio, with its mix of stunning autumn scenery and wide variety of human habitation. The county’s many ridgetop drives provide an ideal platform from which to enjoy and appreciate the changing of the leaves. Inside the Athens city limits, Longview Heights Road on the South Side features breathtaking views from around 1,000-foot elevation as far as the eye can see. From Longview Heights, you can access several county roads that will take you deeper into rural Athens County, including Angel Ridge and Coolville Ridge. (You can access Longview Heights from Pomeroy Road, Mulligan Road, Hooper Road, Rock Riffle Road and Terrell Road. Just drive up the hill in each case.) But don’t make the mistake of assuming your choices end there – you can take a state or county road in any direction and find great fall colors.
• State parks and forests. Probably more than any other city in Ohio, Athens has very good access to state parks and forests (as well as the Wayne National Forest), any of which provides a perfect way to appreciate southeast Ohio’s glorious fall foliage. A 15-minute drive from uptown Athens is Strouds Run State Park with its centerpiece, the Dow Lake reservoir. The park has many miles of hiking trails plus a lakeside livery from which you can rent kayaks, canoes, paddle boards and pontoon boats. Around 30-45 minutes away are Burr Oak State Park, which straddles Athens and Morgan counties, and Lake Hope State Park to the west in Vinton County. Just 45 minutes to the northwest is the incredible outdoor complex of Hocking Hills State Park, with Old Man’s Cave, Cedar Falls, Ash Cave and several other attractions. These are great in any season, but fall especially. Zaleski State Forest a short drive to the west of Athens also boasts memorable autumn colors.
• East Side Athens trail network. In the forested hills rising above Athens’ far East Side is a network of trails – some part of a city park, others owned by a nature conservancy, and still more in Strouds Run State Park – that wind through thick woods and along interesting rock formations. This is a great way to get up close and personal to our area’s fall colors.
• The OU campus. You really only need to step out of your Ohio University housing and take a short walk to view beautiful fall colors right on campus. Take a stroll to Emeriti Park, the College Green, the East Green, or through any of Athens disparate assortment of off-campus neighborhoods.