The palette of autumn on the road to Leavenworth

Take a day, better yet take two days, and head for the hills for fall colors.

Specifically, steer yourself over Stevens Pass and onto the downslope of Highway 2 to the 10-mile long Tumwater Canyon, west of Leavenworth, where the leaves put on a show.

Vine maple, cottonwoods and aspen glow red and gold along the highway as it winds through the mountainous canyon and alongside the Wenatchee River. You also may be lucky enough to see another natural show — the silvery flashes of fall-run chinook salmon.

Tumwater Canyon opens out to the faux-Bavarian town of Leavenworth. Its Autumn Leaf Festival has wrapped up, but accordion-players and people in lederhosen will roam around town during Leavenworth's Oktoberfest tomorrow evening and Saturday.

You can watch a parade, join a square dance, cruise the craft booths and snack at food booths. Or dine in one of the German-style restaurants on Front Street — Cafe Mozart among them. They practically all offer schnitzel.

Returning to Seattle? Take a loop drive, over Blewett Pass (Highway 97) then Snoqualmie Pass (Interstate 90). Blewett's high-country larch and the vine maple and buckbrush change even more quickly than the lowland foliage, so go soon.

If you can turn it into an overnight trip, head northeast out of Leavenworth to the tranquil Methow Valley, where the aspens put on a fall show. Stay the night, at a luxury lodge or simple motel around Winthrop, then head back to Seattle via the North Cascades Highway (Highway 20).

Pause at the highway's rest area at Washington Pass for peak views and the scattered gold and red of maple and cottonwood.

IF YOU GO: LEAVENWORTH DRIVE

When to go:

Soon, very soon — like this weekend — because leaves are close to their peak and some are already past it. Shorter days and rain will make them fall fast.

More information:

Tumwater Canyon: See the Wenatchee National Forest Web site at www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/misc/tumwater.html for almost live photos of Tumwater Canyon. Or phone the Forest Service ranger station in Leavenworth at 509-548-6977.

Blewett Pass: See the Web cam for weather and a slice of forest at traffic.wsdot.wa.gov/sno-info/cameras.htm or check with the Leavenworth ranger station.

Methow Valley and North Cascades Highway: Winthrop Chamber of Commerce, 888-463-8469, www.winthropwashington.com. Methow Valley ranger station 509-996-2266.

Forests everywhere: The U.S. Forest Service's national fall foliage hotline sometimes includes updates on Washington forests: 800-354-4595.

Leavenworth information: Chamber of commerce, 509-548-5807, www.leavenworth.org. Oktoberfest: www.oktoberfestleavenworth.com.

Kristin Jackson: 206-464-2271 or kjackson@seattletimes.com.