CONCRETE — Fall is here, and yet many people have to wonder:  Where have all those brilliant gold, yellow and orange leaves been?

Local botanists agree that the leaves are a little late in turning this year. But that hasn’t dampened people’s desire to head into the woods or along mountain highways to get a glimpse of the season’s colorful spectacular, said Kili Bergau, who works in the Bellingham call center for Washington State Tourism.

With more people enjoying “staycations,” Bergau said she’s fielded plenty of calls already this year from people ready to head out for some fall color.

“They call us like we’re New England, there’s so many people calling,” Bergau said.

And that’s always good news for the state’s tourism industry.

Bergau said she usually tells people the best time of year to see some colorful foliage is mid-October. But with the late foliage, “This year, I’m scared of getting angry calls from people,” she said, laughing.

The long stretch of warm, dry weather that extended through September and above-average temperatures in early October kept the leaves abnormally green, said Laura Potash Martin, head botanist with the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

Now that the nighttime temperatures have dipped, the leaves have finally started turning their fall colors, Potash Martin said.

Leaves begin turning colors when nights become longer, the amount of light is reduced and temperatures drop, according to the U.S. Forest Service Web site, http://www.fs.fed.us/news/fallcolors.

The chlorophyll present in leaves all year gives them their characteristically green hues. In the fall, the plant stops producing that chlorophyll and other chemicals that are masked by the chlorophyll but have always been in the plant come through to show their colors.

Typically, the best time to begin seeing fall colors begins in late September and early October in New England, mid-October in the Pacific Northwest and early November in the Southeast and Smoky Mountains, according to the Forest Service Web site.

Vine maples and low bush huckleberry in the high mountains turn a brilliant orange-red first; then the big leaf maples turn gold and the cottonwoods follow much later with bright golds in the lower elevations, Potash Martin said.

Lastly, the mountain ash begin showing their colors, Potash Martin said.

Fall foliage trips may not be as hot in the West as they are on the East Coast, particularly in New England, where along with trips to the apple orchards and pumpkin patches, they’re a sacred fall ritual. But Washington has plenty of locales where eager hikers and motorists can enjoy perusing the fall sights. Most people don’t know it, but about three-quarters of the 80 species of trees native to Washington state are deciduous.

This is the second year the Concrete Chamber of Commerce is taking advantage of the North Cascades Highway and its glowing deciduous rainbow to entice people to visit eastern Skagit County with a Fall Foliage Festival.

The chamber kicked off the festival Saturday and it continues Oct. 17-18. Visitors can travel the “magic 30 miles” from Sedro-Woolley east to Marblemount, passing lines of colorful trees and stop along the way for entertainment, wine-tasting and other fall activities at three east county wineries.

“Last year was great,” said Valerie Stafford, chamber president and organizer of the Foliage Fest. “The timing this year seems to be about right; the leaves are just now starting to turn, and there’s real variety.”

Stafford expects a good turnout this year, too.

The North Cascades Highway east of Sedro-Woolley has a reputation as a prime leaf-gazing trail, said Kevin Kratochvil, park manager of Rasar State Park near Concrete. People enjoy tromping along the many trails off the highway to get a glimpse of the larches, mountain ash and vine maples showing their colors against the spectacular forest landscape.

Al Nickerson, park manager at Rockport State Park, said many people start driving through the park this time of year, talking about taking drives up to the mountains to glimpse the changing leaves.

Each year, the numbers of visitors increases, Nickerson said.

But Nickerson said the leaves are changing especially slowly this year, and the colors aren’t as vibrant.

“I’ve been looking at the maples, and it seems like last year they were a lot more yellow,” Nickerson said.

Still, Nickerson recommends that people check out the trail on Sauk Mountain, off Forest Service Road 1030 — also called Sauk Mountain Road. The view of the colors there is amazing, he said.

Another great local leaf-viewing route is along Highway 20 (North Cascades Highway) east to Rockport, and then south on Highway 530 toward Darrington and Arlington, Nickerson said.

One of the most popular leaf tours in Washington is near Winthrop in the Pearrygin Lake area, said Virginia Painter, public affairs director for Washington State Parks.

“We know from reservation statistics that lots of people come up from the Seattle area north to travel across the Cascades Highway to Pearrygin Lake to see the leaves,” Painter said. 

Now if those pesky leaves would just hurry up and turn ...

Beverly Crichfield can be reached at 360-416-2135 or .