Fall colors are on full display at these 10 autumn campsites

Peak foliage season is already rapidly approaching in Colorado, where the aspens typically give their best golden glow in mid to late September. This year may be thrown off by the wild temperature swings Colorado has been experiencing along with much of the est. But it's hard to deny the splendor of camping on 48 private acres studded with aspens and in view of Pike's Peak, one of the state's best-known towering 14er's.

The White Mountains of New Hampshire are beloved year-round for the stunning scenery and outdoor playgrounds found in these swaths of glacier-carved granite, but they're at their absolute best in late September and early October when the leaves are at their peak.

One of the best spots to take in the grandeur is the Wall Trent Treehouse, situated on 45 private acres within the White Mountains National Forest and just a stone's throw from the Maine border. Equipped with a glamping tent and close to mountain bike runs and hiking trails, there are also two ponds on the property where you can fish – your host even offers add-on fly fishing lessons if you're new to casting. 

If you looking for camping in Vermont, the Perch is pretty ideal, close to the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park, the Ottaquechee River, and the village of Woodstock. There are place to go fly-fishing, hiking, horseback riding, or even just to the Woodstock Farmers Market to pick up some produce to enjoy at your glampsite. The Perch is equipped with not only a bell tent and queen bed, but also a fire pit, campfire grill, wood stove so you can eat well and sleep cozy. Best of all, you'll be surrounded by stunning scenery and tree-ringed meadows full of autumn colors.

In the southern region of the Catskills, on the New York-Pennsylvania border just two hours from New York City, the Delaware River cuts through former Lenape country on its way to the Atlantic. There you'll find brilliant fall colors in late September and early October, in addition to a pleasant spot to go tubing or canoeing (available from your host as an add-on, or bring your own gear). The glampsite itself is right next to the river, close enough the water can lull you to sleep at night and provide a mellow background to your morning coffee routine. If you're feeling footloose, the Appalachian Trail is only 30 minutes away, too.

The colors start to change in Bar Harbor Maine in mid-September or early October, a little faster than leaf-peeping locales further south. But the contrast between the leaves and the deep blue water of the Narrows that drift into the Gulf of Maine are something worth hurrying up for – especially if you can nab a campsite as fine as Maine Vibes Farm.

The chill property offers access to Branch Lake, canoeing or kayaking on Winkumpaugh Cove, proximity to the Great Pond Mountain Wildlands, and is a reasonable drive from Acadia National Park. You can even buy some eggs from the farm's own chickens for your breakfast, as fresh as fresh can be.

This glampsite lives up to its romantic name with a bell tent that sits in a glenn of oak and maple trees, just three miles from Jim Thorpe – a bucolic town sometimes compared to Switzerland thanks to its proximity to the Pocono Mountains. The Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway out of Jim Thorpe is a wonderful way to see the leaves – and more of the area scenery – if being ensconced in the foliage at camp isn't enough to scratch that autumnal itch.

There's a lot to do at Whippoorwill Woods, including add-on fun like a horse meet-and-greet and a tree identification tour. Your hosts also offer à la carte dog sitting if you bring Fido but also want to catch that historic train.

If Maryland camping amidst the fall leaves sounds like just your thing, except for the actual camping part, the ECO Cabin at Deep Creek Lake is a smart compromise. This four-season glamping set up rides the line between a bell tent and a permanent structure, with four walls, a solid roof, and glass-paned French doors. You'll be cozy in a grove of hemlocks surrounded by deciduous trees lit up by autumn, and niceities like a memory foam mattress, leather recliner, and a bear-resistant Yeti cooler. You're a hop, skip, and a jump from Deep Creek State Park, along with state game lands and Garett State Forest and Swallow Creek State Park, home to Muddy Creek Falls.

New England gets the lions' share of the attention when fall colors roll around, but much of the east coast puts on a splendid show – it just happens a little later in the season the further south you go. Shepherdstown, West Virginia (the oldest town in the state) is nestled in the Shenandoah region, rich in colonial and Civil War history. Black Barn fits right in as an 1800's farm only five miles from Shepherdstown and half-a-mile from the Potomac River, with access to a private gold medal trout stream where you can sink a line while you watch the leaves flutter down.

Like its distant latitudinal neighbors in New England, Michigan's Upper Peninsula gets an early jump on fall colors, which start to peak sometime around the last week of September through the first week or two of October, depending on the weather. With swaths of shoreline covered in technicolor trees perfect for paddling, tunnels of foliage you can cruise on the region's numerous Scenic Heritage Routes, and spots like the Superior Serenity glampsite to call home base, autumn is an ideal time to see what the UP, as it's affectionately called, is all about. Your bell tent is located amidst 13 acres of Northwoods pine, birch & maple forest complete with 1,000 feet of private Lake Superior shoreline to call your own.

Just northeast of famed mountain town Asheville, North Carolina is Burnsville, where the Black Mountains light up every fall and views of Mt Mitchell are especially wow-worthy. This backcountry location on a sustainable artists' retreat doesn't have the glamping-level creature comforts of some of the other campsites, but if you've got your own camping gear it's hard to beat the price, the solitude away from the crowds in Smoky Mountains National Park – or the panoramic views of the blue, smoky Appalachians contrasting with close-ups of the fall foliage.