Arkansas fall foliage updates now available

Want to know the latest about Arkansas's fall color? Or scenic routes for best viewing?

You'll find all this information -- and more -- on www.Arkansas.com. Click on the "Fall Color Update" icon or subscribe to receive updates via email at http://bit.ly/ARFallColor.

Updated fall color reports are sent to subscribers and posted to Arkansas.com each Friday morning. A network of spotters keeps the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism apprised of the fall foliage status around the state. These reports are then compiled and posted online.

In addition to the leaf report, you'll find information on various scenic drives across the state, popular fall color destinations and travel deals and packages to help in planning your trip.

Some of the state's more popular scenic drives are nationally designated routes. These include Talimena National Scenic Byway, which traverses the top of Rich Mountain in western Arkansas, and Crowley's Ridge Parkway National Scenic Byway and the Great River Road National Scenic Byway, both of which cut through the colorful hardwoods of the St. Francis National Forest in eastern Arkansas.

There are also U.S. Forest Service Scenic Byways with impressive natural vistas. Five of these are in the Ozark National Forest:

• Mount Magazine (Arkansas Highway 309 from Paris across Mount Magazine to Havana)

• The Pig Trail (Arkansas Highway 23 north of Ozark to its junction with Arkansas Highway 16)

• Ozark Highlands (Arkansas Highway 21 north out of Clarksville to the Buffalo National River)

• Highway 7 (Arkansas Highway 7 from El Dorado north through the Ozark National Forest into Harrison)

• Sylamore (Arkansas Highways 5 and 14 from Calico Rock and Allison, which provides a peaceful and beautiful approach to Blanchard Springs Caverns).

Other Arkansas scenic byways include:

• I-530 State Scenic Byway, which roughly follows Bayou Bartholomew (the longest bayou in the world) around the cities of White Hall and Pine Bluff

• West-Northwest Scenic Byway, a 261-mile interconnected route that stretches through both the Ouachita and Ozark National Forests

• Boston Mountain Loop, offering two very different options to travel from Alma to Fayetteville in the northwest corner of the state.

For more information, visit www.Arkansas.com/travel-tools/seasons/fall/fall-update.