Experts recommend family-friendly fall hikes and provide naturalist foliage updates

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2009

The Appalachian Mountain Club’s (AMC) experts this fall are blogging about the best family foliage hikes and peak fall colors to help leaf peepers with outdoor adventure planning across the Northeastern U.S. The AMC's new “Great Kids, Great Outdoors” blog during September is featuring a series of recommendations for family-friendly foliage hikes, starting with New Hampshire’s White Mountains and progressing south through New England and New York. Additionally, firsthand naturalist observations in the AMC’s “Nature Notes” blog will track seasonal changes in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, including weekly foliage photos in September and October.

Stay current with the AMC’s latest fall posts at
www.outdoors.org/publications/blogs.cfm.

Kid-friendly fall hikes and walks around the Northeast
AMC “Great Kids, Great Outdoors” blogger Kristen Laine offers advice for taking kids outdoors in every season. To gear up for fall, Kristen is highlighting some of the AMC’s top picks for classic kid-friendly hikes to waterfalls, ponds, and accessible summits with colorful views in the White Mountains, Berkshires, Connecticut, Catskills and Hudson River Valley, and near Boston. The series kicked off at the beginning of September with an introduction to fall hiking in New England and safety tips about preparing for cooler weather and shorter days. Recommended outings for each region will include brief overviews for a range of walks and hikes, from shorter and easier to “high-reward-to-effort” adventures, plus overnight trips to places such as the AMC’s Lonesome Lake Hut.

Detailed descriptions and maps for each hike are available in the AMC’s Best Day Hikes guides. For more planning tips and information on AMC family programs, visit www.outdoors.org/recreation/family.

Fall leaf peeping with AMC naturalists
“Nature Notes” offers AMC naturalist perspectives on White Mountain ecology, from the alpine zone to the valley. Come fall, this includes the turning yellow, orange, and red foliage of birch, beech, and maple trees and ripening wild berries such as Mountain Cranberry. Weekly foliage updates from the AMC’s Pinkham Notch Visitor Center will also capture vantage points overlooking the notch and Mt. Washington, as well as backcountry views across the AMC’s White Mountain hut system. To set the stage, September’s initial posts have offered a brief “foliage 101” on the science behind fall’s color show and talked about the migration of local wildlife.

Additional resources:
The AMC’s Best Day Hikes guides for the White Mountains, Berkshires, Connecticut, Catskills & Hudson Valley, and near Boston are available from the AMC at www.outdoors.org/amcstore or by calling 800-262-4455, and also through bookstores and outdoor retailers.

Visit the AMC’s Fall Planning Guide at www.outdoors.org/fallguide.

Founded in 1876, the Appalachian Mountain Club is America’s oldest conservation and recreation organization. With more than 100,000 members, advocates, and supporters in the Northeast and beyond, the nonprofit AMC promotes the protection, enjoyment, and stewardship of the mountains, forests, waters, and trails of the Appalachian region. The AMC supports natural resource conservation while encouraging responsible recreation, based on the philosophy that successful, long-term conservation depends upon first-hand enjoyment of the natural environment.