Peak color: mid-October
Lancaster County turns hard in October. River gorges, covered bridges and ridge roads all within thirty miles of the city. You can see it through a windshield, or you can see it with nothing over your head at all. A Polaris Slingshot is an open-air three wheeler you drive on a normal license, from $90 for three hours.
Lancaster County starts turning in the last week of September and peaks through the middle two weeks of October, usually holding into the first days of November. It does not turn all at once. The wooded stretches along the Susquehanna and the ridge roads toward York go first, while the open farmland around Route 340 stays green noticeably longer and gives you harvest scenery instead.
If you have one weekend to pick, take the second or third weekend in October. If you are deciding between a morning and an afternoon, take the late morning: the light comes across the river valleys rather than straight down, and the temperature is at its most comfortable for an open cockpit.
These are the county routes that actually change character in autumn, with the timing notes that matter for each. Full turn by turn directions for all six of our routes are on the scenic routes guide.
The strongest color route in the county. You drop south out of Lancaster and follow the river through gorge scenery where the road narrows and the canopy closes overhead. The Holtwood overlook gives you the wide view across the water.
Timing Peaks the second and third week of October.
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Lancaster County has more covered bridges than any county in Pennsylvania. This loop strings several together with a stop in Lititz. Covered bridges photograph best with color behind them, which is what mid-October gives you.
Timing Go early. The bridges are single lane and busy on weekends.
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Open farmland rather than dense woods, so this is the harvest route rather than the canopy route: cut corn, roadside pumpkin stands, and the treelines along the field edges turning at their own pace.
Timing Farmland holds green later. Good through late October.
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The whole county in one ride: ridge, river, farmland and small town. If you have one fall day and want to see everything the county does in October, this is the one to take.
Timing A full day rental at $180 covers this comfortably.
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A fall drive through a car window is a series of framed pictures. In a Slingshot there is no roof and no pillars, so the canopy is directly overhead when the road closes in at Holtwood, and you get the smell of the woods and the cut fields rather than the inside of a car.
It is a three wheeler, but it drives like a car: steering wheel, two pedals, seat belts, and no motorcycle license required in Pennsylvania. If you can drive a car you can drive one of these. October days here mostly run in the high 50s to high 60s, which is jacket weather rather than cold.
Color starts turning in late September, peaks through the middle two weeks of October, and holds into early November. It does not turn all at once: the wooded stretches along the Susquehanna go first, and the open farmland holds green longer.
Holtwood and the Susquehanna. The road narrows, the canopy closes over it, and the gorge overlooks give you the wide view. For covered bridges with color behind them, take the Lititz north loop instead.
Not for a Polaris Slingshot. A standard driver's license is all you need. The Can-Am Spyder does require a motorcycle license in Pennsylvania.
Most October days here run in the high 50s to high 60s, which is jacket weather rather than cold. Late morning through afternoon is both the warmest window and the best light for color.
The color routes run 45 to 110 miles and take two to five hours with stops. Three hours starts at $90, and $180 covers the full day up to nine hours.
October weekends are the busiest of our year and the color window is about three weeks wide. Pick up in Lancaster and you are ten minutes from the start of any route on this page.
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