By Sara Benson

When summer is over, the merry crowds head to New England and other points north for slow-lane country drives through fall foliage thick with leaves of gold, pumpkin and scarlet. But richly colored groves of maple and oak trees are not the only autumn scenes deserving of a road trip.

Rock formations with trees in foreground.
© John Hay. Lonely Planet Images.

Pacific Coast Highway: Roadside Farm Stands and Rusting Trees

On the western edge of the continent, the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH; Highway 1) calls those with wanderlust to California after summer's gone. Jam-packed stretches of the PCH are commonly seen in summer, when interminably long lines of cars snake along the twisting highway. But on any given autumn weekday, the crowds melt away. Start off in southern California, where prized surf beaches and Hollywood-worthy strands of sand empty out after kids go back to school. Venture up to Santa Barbara, nicknamed the “American Riviera” for its Mediterranean climate, which is balmiest during autumn. Roadside farm stands with baskets full of fresh harvest produce line the highway north to colossal Hearst Castle. The fog that typically shrouds the landmark hilltop mansion disappears in early autumn and you'll get bright sunshine during the day and clear skies for star-gazing at night. Farther north, fresh breezes rustle pine trees perched high above the Pacific on the Big Sur coast, where you can have hiking trails to yourself during the fall, and around the crescent-shaped rim of Monterey Bay, just shy of San Francisco. Keep driving north over the landmark Golden Gate Bridge onto Highway 101 to reach the misty Redwood Coast, where the tallest trees on earth stand sentinel. The stormy rains that roll in later during fall only add to the ancient forest's mystique.

Photo Opportunities in the Southwestern Deserts

The vast Southwestern deserts, as they cool down after the autumn equinox, are transformed from hellishly hot ovens into more meditative spots where harvest moons hang full over the horizon. In fall, the deserts are burnished with soul-warming palettes of layered sandstone and a geological cocktail of earthen materials that change hue every hour of the day. Autumn is a key opportunity for shutterbugs because the low angle of the sun more brilliantly defines the desert's otherworldly shapes and colors. From the salt flats of Badwater, the lowest elevation point in the continental U.S., inside California's Death Valley National Park, to the red rock canyons outside Las Vegas and Sedona, Ariz., to the dazzling white gypsum sand dunes of southern New Mexico, and finally to the delicate arches and rugged canyonland mesas around Moab, Utah, the desert is full of wonders most easily visited during the dry, cool fall season. Don't worry that you'll have to forego water during an autumn journey through the Southwest, when hidden oases like those in Zion National Park still spring forth with lacy waterfalls tumbling down sculpted cliffs.

Florida Among Relaxed Locals and Thriving Wildlife

Autumn is an offbeat time to dive into Florida. Vintage surf towns that overflowed with tourists during summer recover their laid-back seaside vibe and a colorful assortment of migratory birds return to their winter homes. As the mercury in the thermometer drops farther north, you can still have the endless beaches here almost all to yourself, even ones that were recently full of families making the most of their last summer flings. The Sunshine State has golden beaches that stay soothingly warm into the fall and stretch all the way down the Atlantic Coast to Miami. From that sizzling hot city, you can steer west to the lush wetlands of the Everglades, a subtropical wilderness where crocodiles, panthers, manatees, hundreds of bird species and rare orchids thrive. It's a jungle inside Everglades National Park, a precious biosphere reserve, which is too unbearably hot to visit until summer is over. You could also head south to the barefoot archipelago of the Florida Keys, less than 100 miles across the water from Cuba, which cools off deliciously during autumn.

Visitor at lookout, Everglades.
© Greg Johnston. Lonely Planet Images.

So, the next time autumn rolls around, dream big and stretch your imagination. Instead of road-tripping north to see the falling leaves like everyone else, head west, south or east. Be surprised by other knock-out natural vistas, whether on the Pacific or Atlantic coasts, or somewhere in between.

Bio: Sara Benson makes her home in California, except when she's off road-tripping around the USA or working in the Sierra Nevada mountains as a park ranger. Already the author of more than 20 travel and nonfiction books, Sara has written for newspapers and magazines from coast to coast, including National Geographic Traveler and the Los Angeles Times' Daily Travel Deal Blog.

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