Aerial Leaf-Peeping Trips Kids Will Enjoy

The annual family leaf-peeping trip parents plan with enthusiasm may not be so enthralling to smaller travelers in the back seat. One way to make everyone happy is to take foliage viewing from the top: On scenic mountain rides with panoramic views – and a welcome rest for the driver.

For the most options within a short distance, head for New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Less than 30 miles apart, a trio of different experiences reward with three different panoramas and views stretching across miles of forests and mountains in shades of red, yellow and green. The rides are fun for kids, and mountaintops have attractions of their own.

The most unusual is Mt. Washington Cog Railway, one of only two mountain-climbing railways in the country and an exciting ride as it climbs at a 45-degree angle and seems to hover over thin air on the tall trestle called Jacob’s Ladder.

North America’s first passenger aerial tramway, Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway, climbs to a 4,080-foot summit with views as far as New York and Canada. Follow the Rim Trail (hold onto little kids’ hands) to the observation tower and, before riding back down, stop at the station for their famous pretzels.

Along with the views, nearby Loon Mountain Gondola leads to a mountaintop surprise. When the mile-deep glacier that once covered these mountains melted, it scoured the mountaintops and carried huge chunks of stone, dropping them as it moved. Just below the summit of Loon Mountain, a jumble of these gigantic stones forms a natural fun house of caves and passageways with spaces to squeeze through. Explore the tumble of house-sized boulders on wooden walkways and stairs.

For views across New Hampshire’s huge Lake Winnipesaukee with the White Mountains as a backdrop, travel south to Gunstock Mountain for a scenic ride on the four-passenger Panorama Chairlift. Take a picnic lunch or stretch your legs by following a trail back to the base.

Ski lifts elsewhere double as fall foliage rides, too. In neighboring Vermont, Gondola SkyRide at Stowe climbs Mount Mansfield, Vermont’s tallest mountain. Views of the foliage-painted landscape extend to the Adirondacks in New York and New Hampshire’s White Mountains.

In New York, ride the eight-passenger gondola at Gore Mountain for views of the southern Adirondacks. Gondola cabins are large enough to fit strollers, wheelchairs and even mountain bikes. Or take the Kaatskill Flyer chairlift to the summit of Hunter Mountain for views of the northern Catskills (and on clear days, to the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts and Vermont’s Green Mountains).

In the West, the mountains of Utah and Colorado are bright with yellow aspens and red Rocky Mountain maples set off by deep greens of conifers. In Utah, the Giant Steps High-Speed quad chairlift at Brian Head Ski Resort whisks guests up to the basin beneath Brian Head Peak for views of desert plateaus and the Tushar Mountain Range.

Deer Valley’s Silver Lake Express and Sterling chairlift climb to views of the surrounding slopes of yellow quaking aspens glittering in the sunlight at the slightest breeze. At Snow Basin, the 12-minute Needles Gondola ride promises views of deep crimson maples and yellow aspens for the whole 8,700-foot ride.

In Colorado, gondolas at Keystone, Breckenridge, Vail and Beaver Creek all offer fall foliage rides, but Telluride offers something unique in North America — a free gondola system. Connecting the town of Telluride with Mountain Village, this gondola ride soars above a mountain landscape of yellow and orange foliage.

Colorado is also home to America’s highest railway, and one of only two mountain cog railways. The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway climbs more than 14,000 feet, soaring above red maples, golden aspens and dark green pines in the canyons of Pike National Forest.