Start planning now for trips during fall foliage season

Days are growing shorter and somewhere the leaves already are starting to turn color.

Whether you're thinking of taking an afternoon drive, a weekend trek or a full "leaf peeping" vacation, the Web is full of sites that'll tell you where and when to find the best viewing.

They might not all be giving color updates yet for 2001, but they can at least give you a start on making plans, including places to stay and other sights to see along the way.

Start up north in the woods of Maine -- www.state. me.us/doc/foliage/index.html -- but you'll have to wait until Wednesday for the start of this year's foliage reports. In the meantime, entertain yourself with their photo gallery, and hit When & Where to Visit to pick out some spots to visit.

If you're not sure the trip is worth the effort, visit Foliage Vermont -- www.foliage-vermont.com -- and take a few minutes to scan the slide shows and video.

Online reports

Vermont Fall Foliage at www.vtweb.com/foliage says this year's foliage reports are coming soon, along with a Live Webcam. And clicking on More Foliage Information at the state Department of Tourism's foliage site -- www.1-800-vermont.com/seasons/fall.asp -- will take you to a summary of this year's leaf conditions and suggested driving tours.

Looking for more on New England? Enjoy Yankee Magazine's foliage Web site -- www.newengland.com -- and its articles on day trips, hikes and festivals, as well as links to other Web sources.

For tree-filled upstate New York, check out a regional Web site called Round the Bend -- www.roundthebend. com/nysfoli.html -- for brief descriptions of where and when the foliage might be at its peak. Next, go to the Adirondacks -- www.adirondacks.org -- and look over their suggested road tours.

Need more?

Take an advance look at some of the millions of acres of forest in Pennsylvania at www.fallinpa.com and its collection of live Web cameras.

Don't ignore the possibilities in the upper Midwest. Michigan -- www.ring.com/ travel/color.htm -- promises fall color updates beginning in mid September, and has autumn festivals and suggested tours. Minnesota has already started color reports; visit Explore Minnesota -- www.exploreminnesota.com -- and click on Weekly Updated Reports.

And the Great Lakes Information Network -- www.great-lakes.net /tourism/fallcolor.html -- has links to more information on Illinois, Ohio, Ontario, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Don't want to go that far north? Take a look at Fall in the Ozarks -- www.ozark mtns.com/foliage/index.htm -- and its photo album.

Wherever you live, you're probably within driving distance of a national forest, where fall colors abound. Visit the National Forest Service -- www.fs.fed.us/news /fall.shtml -- to see if they've started up this year's reports.

GORP -- www.gorp.com/ gorp/features/fall/fall--00.htm -- has Top Ten Fall Forests and other guides, and Photo Travel -- www.phototravel.com/fall.htm -- has a big set of links.

The Weather Channel -- www.weather.com/outlook/driving/fallfoliage -- has foliage reports and a map of peak color dates. StormFax at www.stormfax.com/foliage.htm -- has links for the entire country.