Chase the Rainbow in Acadia National Park, Maine

Fall is when this New England gem really shines. A mix of evergreens and hardwoods—birch, maple, oak, and beech—turns to a paint palette’s worth of colors as the weather cools, brushing the hills and seashore with bright yellow, fiery orange and red, and deep green. Snag this view of the autumn splendor at the top of the Beehive Trail, a .8-mile climb up steep rock. Traverse carved-out ledges and scramble up vertical stone with the aid of metal rungs to the summit, where the world drops abruptly away to fall-perfect forests and the Atlantic beyond. The trail can get crowded later in the day, so set out in the predawn twilight for a seaside sunrise all to yourself. Permit Park entrance fee ($30/car per week), available online