Friday, October 22: Peak season for most areas in the forest will occur over the next few weeks and already the forest has begun preparing for it's transformation before the onset of winter. Waves of color cascade down from Brasstown Bald blanketing the surrounding hills with colors reminiscent of quilts used to ward off the early morning chill. In other areas, and even some places not located in the forest like the Supervisor's Office, the change is more dramatic with color exploding from trees in flashes of red, yellow and orange.

Whether you take in the view from a car driving along one of our scenic byways or view nature on foot or from a horse or bike the changing leaves provide a perfect backdrop to any of your Autumn adventures. Why not stop by Brasstown Bald for a guided nature hike on Saturdays and Sundays through November 14th.

If you would like to share any of your digital photos of this year's fall color, please . Feel free to take a look at what we got last year.

Here are this weeks' current conditions:

• Estimated percentage of current fall foliage: Brasstown reports 90 percent in the higher elevations. The Chattooga is reporting 35 perent on the north side and 20 percent in the south. Most other districts are reporting about 30 percent, except for the Oconee which remains between 15 and 20 percent.

• Area with greatest amount of color:The Brasstown, Chattooga and Tallulah Districts report color at elevations above 3000 feet. The Armuchee-Cohutta and Toccoa Districts have color at elevations above 2500 feet and the Oconee suggests the country side and lake areas.
  
• Recommended viewing routes:
  Brasstown- Highway 180 and 180 Spur. Armuchee-Cohutta- GA Hwy 52 from Chatsworth to Ellijay. Toccoa- Highway 60. Tallulah- Popcorn Overlook, 76 West (Raburn County). Chattooga- Richard Russell Scenic Highway, Hwy 75 North from Helen to Hiawassee. Oconee- Highways 441 south of Madison, 44 East from Eatonton to Greesboro and all routes surrounding lakes Oconee and Sinclair.

• Estimated peak viewing period: 3rd or 4th week in October for districts in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The Oconee National Forest is predicting the 2nd week in November.
  
  
• Viewing tips/suggestions: Pack a picnic lunch. Take your cameras and binoculars. Check the weather forecast in these towns across north Georgia:
  
  Blairsville, GA
  Blue Ridge, GA
  Chatsworth, GA
  Clarkesville, GA
  Clayton, GA
  Eatonton, GA
  La Fayette, GA

If you would like fall color information for other parts of the country, call the Forest Services national fall color hotline at 1-800-354-4595 or visit their web page. If you want to see what the fall foliage looks like right now, visit the Fall Color WebCam page maintained by the WeatherMatrix.

Through the fall color season, this web page offers current information about the progress of the changing fall colors across north Georgia. We update the information here once a week with reports from our team of observers across north Georgia. If you like, take a look at A Fall Tour of the Russell/Brasstown National Scenic Byway. It will give you a pretty good idea of what a typical fall color season in the southern Appalachians is like. These pictures of the area were taken Monday, October 26, 1998.