11 Great Places in MoCo for Fall Foliage

Fall is here and the colors around us are about to change. Whether it’s the taste of a warm pumpkin-flavored latte, the cool breeze of a crisp fall morning, weekends full of football, or the yellow glow of the sun on a tall birch tree, autumn is often a contender for MoCo residents’ favorite season (however short it may be). Many locals are looking forward to combining all the best parts of fall and enjoying the foliage outdoors, so we’ve put together a small list of 11 where you can enjoy the foliage across the county:

Agricultural Reserve: A drive through the rural areas that the 93,000 acre Agricultural Reserve encompasses, along with the larger rural communities of Damascus and Poolesville and small crossroad communities such as Beallsville, Sunshine and Dickerson, are sure to give you your fill of fall foliage.

Black Hill Regional Park (Boyds): With over 2,000 acres of land for outdoor recreation and family gatherings, you can enjoy spectacular views of the foliage and Little Seneca Lake.

Agricultural History Farm Park (Derwood): You can find fall changes beyond foliage at Agricultural History Farm Park. The fields are golden brown and ready for harvest. Dahlias are in bloom next door in the Montgomery County Master Naturalists’ gardens. And, there are glints of red on a maple tree.

Rock Creek Regional Park (Derwood): Lake Bernard Frank at Rock Creek Regional Park is a beautiful spot for quiet and solitude right now. Pack in a chair or find a log and take in the crisp air and seasonal scenery. Yellow leaves are saturated at sunset.

Seneca Creek State Park (Gaithersburg): Th3 6,300 acre park extends along 14 scenic miles of Seneca Creek, all the way to the Potomac River. Clopper Lake offers boating and fishing, as well as trails for hiking, cycling and horseback riding. A 16.5 mile hike down Seneca Creek Greenway Trail follows the entire course of the creek.

Cabin John Regional Park (Potomac): Look high and low on the trails near Locust Grove Nature Center at Cabin John Regional Park for autumn color.

Great Falls Park (Potomac): Foliage and the Potomac River? Count us in. You can catch a little of everything at Great Falls this time of year.

Maydale Conservation Park (Silver Spring): In the eastern part of Montgomery County, there are hints of fall. Dabs of yellow are beginning to show on trees around the pond at Maydale Conservation Park.

Sligo Creek Stream Valley Park (Silver Spring): Crunch your way along Sligo Creek Trail. The paved path is covered in brown and yellow leaves which collect and disperse with the wind. The canopy is punctuated with hints of yellow and orange.

Brookside Gardens (Wheaton): Montgomery County’s incomparable, award-winning 50-acre public display garden within Wheaton Regional Park has plenty of foliage for visitors to take in.

Sugarloaf Mountain Vineyard (Dickerson): While the mountain itself is in Frederick County, the vineyard is in Montgomery County with amazing views of the surrounding area (as seen in our featured photo). As of press time the mountain is closed to the public, but you can still enjoy the view nearby.

Featured photo courtesy of @dronifyDMV