10 ways to see fall foliage

Everyone has their own favorite mental images of spectacular fall scenery, be it from a deck chair overlooking a secluded lake or a panoramic view from on high. And while these are the snapshots that tend to stay locked in our minds, the most memorable fall experiences are often movies - mental moving pictures of the panoply of colors. Moving, after all, allows the viewer to see and experience so much more, not only compositionally but in the subtle interplay of light, shadow and vantage point.

To help you create the best memories of this year's fall foliage, we offer 10 different ways of taking it in, all less than 200 miles from New York City - meaning they can be done in one long day, if necessary.

Whatever you do, get out there and enjoy: Nature's fall fashion show is held only once a year. During peak foliage season, many activities - some of which run only on weekends - sell out quickly, so you'll want to make reservations soon.

ZIP THROUGH THE TREES

Zip lines and canopy tours are all the rage, allowing thrill-seekers of most ages to careen over and through forests at speeds approaching 50 miles an hour. Come fall, they get to add some serious zest to their zip when the hills that make zip lining possible burst into their autumnal finery. Serendipitously, New England's largest zip-line park, Berkshire East in Charlemont, Mass., is also in one of its most colorful venues. Zippers can choose one of three tours, starting with a one-hour introduction ($30; $20 ages 8-11) to the 3 1/2-hour Valley Jumberkshireeast.comp with six zips of 700 to 2,600 feet in length. ($110 ages 12 and older only; 413-339-6617, berkshireeast.com).

RIDE THE RAILS

While there may be more dramatic trips to be had farther north, railroad aficionados will find a completely satisfactory, multi-hour fall foliage excursion in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Stourbridge Line Rail's 4 1/2-hour trip starts in picturesque Honesdale, the site of the western hemisphere's first commercial locomotive in 1829. The rail follows the scenic Lackawaxen River to the Victorian town of Lackawaxen, where passengers can tour the Zane Grey Museum before the return train trip. (9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays in October; $29 adults, $17 ages 12 and younger, 570-253-1960; waynecountycc.com)

HUDSON CRUISE

For compact scenery, it's hard to beat the remarkably rugged Hudson Highlands between Peekskill and Beacon. And for seeing it in its autumnal finery, it's hard to beat a leisurely day (6 1/2 hours) onboard Hudson Highland Cruises' historic M/V Commander, the last operating vessel that served in the U.S. Navy in WWI. The Commander chugs up the Tappen Zee, past Storm King mountain and West Point, en route to Bannerman's Island and back. Thirteen sailings between Sept. 15 and Oct. 26. ($35 adults, $33 ages 5-12; 845-534-7245, commanderboat.com)

RAFT A RIVER

If motoring up the broad Hudson is a little too sedate for your taste, consider shooting Class I and II rapids in the Lehigh River Gorge in a rubber raft. The action is just wild enough to be engaging for the whole family but not enough to prevent you from taking in the resplendent scenery. Trips, which run through October, last 3 to 4 hours and cost $40-$50 for adults (slightly less for children), not including wet-suit rental, which may be advisable late in the season. Outfitters include Pocono Whitewater (800-944-8392, poconowhitewater.com), Whitewater Challengers (800-443-8554, whitewaterchallengers.com) and Whitewater Rafting Adventures (800-876-0285, adventurerafting.com).

KENT, CONN.

Surprise - the venerable Northeast experts at Yankee Magazine this year selected Kent, Conn., as its No. 1 town for fall foliage in all of New England. There's much to recommend Kent, from its country inns and restaurants, galleries and antiques stores to its historic sites, farmlands and covered bridges, all artistically arranged cheek-by-jowl along the narrow Housatonic River Valley in the Litchfield Hills. Perhaps best of all for Long Islanders - it's only about 100 miles away.

TWO-WHEELING

Covering nearly 1.5 million acres, the Pine Barrens of south-central New Jersey is the largest surviving open space on the eastern seaboard between Maine and Florida. Sparsely populated and predominantly flat, they make for excellent biking. Well-maintained, paved roads wind through numerous state parks and forests, passing abandoned 19th century industrial sites and still-working cranberry bogs, aglow in scarlet during the harvest season. Ride solo along one of six scenic loops (11 to 51 miles) promoted by the Pinelands Alliance or join the "crowds" at the sixth annual Tour de Pines (Oct. 6-10), five consecutive single-day tours of 41 to 56 miles (609-859-8860, pinelandsalliance.org).

RIDE A CHAIR LIFT

Generally speaking, the higher you go, the better the view. But as fall colors appear only on hardwood trees, which don't grow well above 3,000 feet, you can actually get too high. For that reason, some of the best 360-degree views are to be found in the moderate elevation Catskills and Berkshires, and what better - or easier - way to take them in than from the vantage point of a slow-moving chair lift? Both Hunter Mountain (huntermtn.com) and Windham (windhammountain.com) offer them, though Hunter's summit lift is currently being replaced. But Massachusett's Jiminy Peak complements its summit chair ($9 single ride) with a Mountain Adventure Park ($39-$45 day pass includes chair lift, mountain coaster, alpine slide) and a brand-new Aerial Adventure Park with ropes courses and zip lines ($39-$45 for a three-hour session). Open weekends through mid-October (413-738-5500, jiminypeak.com).

VINTAGE BIPLANE

For barnstorming excitement, thrills can come with low-level countryside passes in a vintage, open-cockpit biplane. Throw in the carpet of fall colors along the Hudson near historic Rhinebeck, and you've got an ace of an outing. Though rides are available by reservation at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome midweek, the better time to go is on Saturdays and Sundays for the weekly air shows (through Oct. 17), when authentic aircraft from the 1910s to the 1930s take to the skies ($20 adults, $15 ages 13-17, $5 ages 6-12). Biplane rides are available then on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 10 a.m. ($65 a person, 845-752-3200, oldrhinebeck.org)

UP, UP AND AWAY

With or without a Champagne picnic, the classiest way to see the fall colors has to be from the cabin of a gently drifting hot-air balloon. And while there are individual commercial balloonists throughout the Delaware and Hudson River valleys, enthusiasts and willing participants should go the extra miles to Queensbury, N.Y., for the 38th annual Adirondack Balloon Festival Sept. 23-26. It's the oldest and largest aerialist gathering on the East Coast, with more than 90 creative and colorful balloons scheduled to participate. Hourlong rides are available on 15 to 20 balloons for $200 a person. Admission to the festival itself is free (518-792-2600, adirondackballoonfestival.com).

FAIR THEE WELL

For the younger set in particular, fall's most exhilarating rides are often the loops, dips and gyres of the midway at a state fair. New York's annual affair in Syracuse is over, but the Big E - the unofficial New England state fair - runs Sept. 17- Oct. 3 in slightly more convenient West Springfield, Mass. Originally an end-of-summer agricultural exhibit, the Big E has expanded into an all-purpose extravaganza with competitions, entertainment and, of course, a midway that spins riders high into the crisp fall air. Don't leave without sampling one of the fair's trademark cream puffs ($15 adult general admission, $10 ages 6-12; 413-737-2443, thebige.com).

Leaf forecast

BAD NEWS

This summer's unusually warm weather combined with below-average rainfall probably means this year's fall spectacle is destined to be more muted than usual.

GOOD NEWS

Although the overall intensity of the colors is likely to be diminished, their duration may be longer. Columbus Day weekend traditionally marks the peak of the season - keep tabs on what's happening with state-sponsored online foliage trackers: iloveny.com (New York), ct.gov/DEP (Conn.), visitpa.com (Penn.) and massvacation.com (Mass.).