By Judy Reed

Now is the time to take a drive and take in all the beautiful fall colors Michigan has to offer in our area.

Color is filling in fast in our area, and some leaves have already dropped. Trees are expected to peak in the next couple of weeks.

Most of the Upper Peninsula is nearing peak. According to Pure Michigan’s fall color update, this week, traveling I-75 north of St. Ignace, you’ll find brilliant reds, greens and yellows covering a variety of trees. In the northern lower peninsula, The Grand Traverse Bay region is showing brilliant crimson color, especially at the edge of the forests, while sugar maples are starting to glow with reds, oranges and gold. There’s dusky purple in the ash trees and warm gold in the walnuts, while the cottonwood trees near the Sleeping Bear Dunes on the Leelanau Peninsula are turning a bright buttery yellow now, and the honey locusts are a warm gold. Full peak color is still at least a week away in most parts of the Grand Traverse Bay region.

A drive around our community shows an array of bright, beautiful leaves, as shown in the photos on this page. These photos were taken in areas just in townships surrounding Cedar Springs. Take a walk along the White Pine Trail, or a drive through our surrounding townships—Solon, Nelson, Courtland, Oakfield, Spencer, and Algoma—and you are sure to be delighted with the colors in this fall’s fashion show!