West Virginia is famous for its great natural beauty, and every West Virginian knows that there is no place more lovely than our home state during the fall season.

The Mountain State boasts stunning vistas and mountain overlooks just about everywhere imaginable. Next to Maine and New Hampshire, West Virginia is the most forested state in the nation and the most mountainous state East of the Mississippi River. Nearly 80 percent of our lands are covered with a wide variety of hardwood forests that are home to some of the best displays of colorful foliage each autumn.

Beginning in late-September and lasting through October, the densely forested and mountainous topography provides a fantastic show of nature's glory. It seems that everywhere you look is another breathtaking backdrop displaying the rich colors of a West Virginia fall.

As Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, it is very important to me that our nation preserve its natural heritage for current and future generations, and as a West Virginian, I have a particular interest in, and affinity for, the beautiful spaces in our Wild and Wonderful state.

Each fall, West Virginia's tourism industry welcomes visitors from far and wide into our hills and homes to experience our crisp, bright foliage and the festivities regularly staged to take advantage of the season.

Whether it is running through the cornfield "Maize" in Milton, watching leaves at Twin Falls Resort State Park in Mullens, or winding by bike along the Greenbrier River trail, autumn is a perfect time for West Virginians to spend with their families, taking in the natural splendor with which we are so richly blessed.

As temperatures finally cool and the leaves turn from green to gold, I strongly urge you to take advantage of the numerous opportunities available to experience the wealth of natural, scenic wonders our state generously offers.

The West Virginia Division of Forestry does a commendable job of forecasting dates for a best possible show of fall color. It offers up-to-date fall foliage forecasts and maps of prime foliage viewing locations in West Virginia's 36 state parks. This year, West Virginia foresters are expecting a quite colorful display, despite the dry weather we suffered from this summer.

The West Virginia Department of Tourism also offers several opportunities to partake in our state's fall foliage and festivities.

The Department is touting twenty-three byways and backways, which offer motorists a more leisurely alternative to frantic Interstate traffic and provide a unique and picturesque glimpse into the Mountain State's history and natural beauty.

If car trips are not your style, West Virginia is also a good place for lovers of train travel, and fall is the perfect time to take a trip on one of our five fully operating, historic trains.

Pocahontas County, not far from Snowshoe Mountain, is home to the "Big Daddy" of rail adventures, the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. There large, mega-ton Shay steam locomotives chug to elevations of nearly 5,000 feet where the air is crisp and the views are inspiring.

This time of year, it is not only the leaves that change their color. Communities across West Virginia have been preparing a wide range of festivals for you to enjoy, especially in the coming weekends of October.

The New River Gorge in Fayetteville is home to the state's largest one-day festival, Bridge Day, which is strategically planned to coincide with the area's peak foliage on Oct. 20. The Gorge, at nearly a mile across and 876-feet-tall, earned it the nickname, "The Grand Canyon of the East." It also happens to be tree-lined, meaning that, come Bridge Day each year, the Gorge is a vibrant rainbow of colors.

The famous foliage that adorns West Virginia along with the many exciting festivities West Virginia's counties offer are great opportunities to enjoy our natural heritage and reconnect with neighbors. As Mother Nature paints the landscape in radiant reds, oranges, yellows, and rusty browns, tourists and residents alike should not miss this opportunity to capture the spectacular views and lasting memories that can only happen when fall comes to the Mountain State.