Fall for Texas

Our fall season is short, so we make the most of it. Whether it’s a walk at the Houston Arboretum or a drive to the Hill Country, there’s beauty in our subtle show of colors.

November is a busy month at Texas’ parks. The sumacs and cypress trees of Pedernales Falls and Guadalupe River state park are reason enough to drive four hours from Houston to the Hill Country. At Lost Maples State Natural Area, an ancient stand of Bigtooth Maples along the Sabinal River draws fall visitors from around the state.

Some of Texas’ best fall color greets visitors to the state’s two national parks. In November, the green pines and golden grasses along Big Bend National Park’s Boot Canyon Trail give way to stands of red maples and orange cypress trees. In the Chisos Mountains you can even find quaking aspens catching the light with their bright yellow leaves. The brilliant fall colors of Guadalupe Mountains National Park’s McKittrick Canyon typically continue through late November.

Of course, serious leaf-lookers head north. In this issue, design writer Diane Cowen vists The Greenbrier, West Virginia’s luxury resort — one of America’s oldest, dating back pre-Civil War. While the resort has grown and evolved, it has never lost its original purpose: a place for the well-heeled to relax and mingle.

Not far north enough? Travel writer Jen Murphy travels to Swedish Lapland for the arctic fall experience. Niehku — a new lodge set on the Norway/Sweden border that’s the vision of a ski-racer-turned-sommelier and an acclaimed mountain guide — offers a golden fall on the fjords and an adventure-filled winter escape.

Here’s another reason to love the season: fashion. Society writer Amber Elliott shows us what Houston’s social set — those with expensive tastes — will be wearing when the weather turns, while fashion writer Joy Sewing uncovers the best capes designers flaunted on the fall runways.

And, of course, the holidays are right around the corner. Allison Bagley does her best to get us ready with her luxury gift guides.

For dessert, food editor Greg Morago takes us on a tour of the city’s most impressive chocolate confections. The chocolate mousse with toffee and torched meringue at Hugo’s? Or the classically French chocolate souffle for two at La Table? So many choices.