The woods of Brown County are lighting up red and orange with the changing leaves. The best estimated time to see the changing leaves ranges between Oct. 15 and 25.
The most anticipated time of year for Brown County is here. While some spend their October away from the tourism of Nashville and surrounded by the colors of nature, others — especially business owners — count down the days until Nashville will be flooded with people and the park will be lit up red and orange.
Fall is the most popular time to visit Brown County because of the changing leaves that provide scenic hikes, bike trips and drives while sipping on locally made pumpkin spice or apple cider drinks and exploring the shops of downtown Nashville.
Close your eyes and imagine a quaint, cozy paradise, the wafting smell of fresh baked goods, the leaves crunching under the boots of people around you, locally made art on every corner. Does that sound familiar, Brown County? We are in an oasis of our own.
Naturalist Eli Major at Brown County State Park estimated the peak time to see the changing leaves around Oct. 20, specifically between Oct. 15 and 25.
“It really depends on how wet or dry the fall has been, how windy it has been and the overnight temperatures. We’re at the beginning of fall colors right now, but it’s still predominantly green. The overnight temperatures coming up are going to help,” Major said.
Major said park staff do not have concerns about wildlife responding to large numbers of people in the park.
“The biggest risk to one’s health at the park in October is just going to be how crowded the park and roads are. Anyone that is going around the park by foot or bicycle needs to be very aware that we will have a lot of drivers, and drivers need to be aware that we have a lot of pedestrians and cyclists,” Major said.
The park is gearing up for October events including fall color hikes, a full-moon hike on Oct. 18, and the Halloween in the Hills event on Oct. 19.
The next fall color hike around Lake Ogle is on the books for Saturday from 3 to 4:30 p.m. starting in the Lake Ogle parking lot.
All fall events at the state park can be found online at on.in.gov/browncountysp.
Businesses and accommodations in the county come alive with the sounds of fall. Hotels such as Cornerstone Inn, Brown County Inn, Artist’s Colony Inn, Abe Martin Lodge, Season’s Lodge and Salt Creek Golf Retreat are either fully booked every October weekend or the dates are going fast. They each have more availability throughout the week.
“Probably 70% of these guests booked from departure last October,“Cornerstone Front Desk Manager Lisa Richards said. “We have a lot of people that want their specific room they stay in every year so they try to book immediately at departure.”
Salt Creek Golf Retreat Reservationist Tami Stock said that some golf groups reserve their rooms up to two years in advance to ensure they will have accommodations in October.
With the rising popularity of bed and breakfasts or vacation homes, many travelers have resorted to booking vacation rentals instead of hotel rooms. Patty Frensemeier from Hills O’ Brown Vacation Rentals and Friend O’ Mine Campground and Cabins said that their weekends are filling up, but the weekdays do not seem as busy as past years.
“Definitely an uptick from months past through the week, but not in comparison to October weekdays, so I am hoping that will pick up some,” Frensemeier said. “The campground has slowed down since the COVID-19 time when everyone bought campers to get out and that lasted from 2020 to 2022, so finally maybe back to about normal.”
