The Illinois Office of Tourism, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), has released the 2022 Fall Colors Trip Planner, a new online guide to make finding the best time to spot peak fall foliage across the state easier than ever. The Fall Colors Trip Planner features the new Illinois Fall Color Tracker, an interactive state map for desktop and mobile that allows users to track fall colors by region within a specific time frame throughout the season. Travelers are encouraged to share their fall color photos all season long using the #EnjoyIllinois hashtag to be featured on EnjoyIllinois.com. The new Fall Colors Trip Planner also includes a variety of fall travel trip itineraries created to highlight must-visit sights and attractions that are unique to Illinois. A few highlights include:
● Spellbound in the Suburbs – Experience all you love about fall just outside Chicago where city skyscrapers quickly give way to apple orchards & pumpkin patches. Make a visit to Bengston’s Pumpkin Farm in Homer Glen, Richardson Adventure Farm in Spring Grove or the Morton Arboretum in Lisle – all truly spectacular in the autumn.
● Destination Shawnee – Trek across thousands of acres of majestic natural landscapes that emit colors of fall foliage resembling sunrises and sunsets. With majestic rock formations, picturesque hills, lush woodlands and scenic bluffs, there’s no better place to experience fall than the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois.
● Frights & Delights in Illinois – Featuring local haunts in the southwest region of the state along the Great River Road, including the McPike Mansion in Alton, the Ruebel Hotel in Grafton and Alton Hauntings Tours, winner of a 2021 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award.
● Great Pumpkin Country – Discover some of central Illinois’ fun-filled agritourism destinations for families to enjoy like the Great Pumpkin Patch in Arthur, picking apples at Curtis Orchard and a visit to the state’s only Dark Sky Park in Champaign.
To view the 2022 Falls Colors Trip Planner and learn more about planning a fall getaway in Illinois, visit EnjoyIllinois.com.
