By GREG JORDAN
BLUEFIELD — Bursts of scarlet and gold are blooming midst the fading green of summer, and foresters say better is yet to come in another week to 10 days.
As of Wednesday, Mercer and McDowell counties in West Virginia were at 25 percent their peak fall color, and Monroe County was at 45 percent color, said Leslie Fitzwater, a public information specialist speaking for the West Virginia Division of Forestry.
“Most color will be another 10 days away from peak,” she said Friday.
Out-of-state visitors come to the region to view fall foliage, said Marie Blackwell of the Bluestone Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“We’re really not suppose to peak until the end of October,” she said. “The area welcomes any and all visitors.”
The bureau suggests vantage points for viewing the mountains when autumn colors change the landscape. The East River Mountain Overlook in Bluefield offers a good perspective of the fall foliage, Blackwell said. Along U.S. Route 52 near Bramwell, the overlook at Pinnacle Rock State Park gives visitors another opportunity for viewing.
Several vantage points are available at Pipestem State Park, too, she said.
Across the state line in Tazewell County, Va., visitor can select a variety of venues for their fall foliage tours, said June Brown, manager of the Tazewell County Visitors Center behind the Sanders House in Bluefield, Va.
“There’s Burke’s Garden,” she said. “It’s a natural bowl that we call God’s Thumbprint.”
In Abbs Valley, Va., located between Bluefield, Va., and Tazewell, Va., foliage is already turning to its fall colors, Brown said.
“The valley’s trees down low there are already turning. It’s glorious right now, but not as pretty as it will be in another week,” she added.
Near Pocahontas, Va., Peel Chestnut Mountain, which can be reached by driving past the Pocahontas Exhibition Mine, offers avenues for viewing autumn colors.
In the Richlands, Va., area, the Cedar Bluff Overlook Park off U.S. Route 460 is another good viewing, Brown said.
