North Shore a colorful place to be

Statistically speaking, this is the weekend most leaf peepers flock north to view the changing tide of color, but why hit the highway when there is plenty of flora to flaunt right here on the North Shore?The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism reports nearly 2.5 million people passed through Logan Airport last October. Maybe not all of them were leaf peepers, but it’s safe to say that travelers visiting friends and family likely couldn’t ignore the foliage show.For example, the population of Lincoln, N.H. soared from its usual 1,250 to more than 30,000 on Columbus Day weekend in 2011, according to tourism experts.View photos of foliage around town.While the North Shore has yet to hit the 90th percentile for color like much of Vermont and northern New Hampshire, you still don’t have to travel far to see Mother Nature’s bragging rights.With a little patience and a practiced eye, you could skip the traffic, save on gas and view the spectacular beauty that is autumn in New England right here in your own backyard.As the second largest urban forest in the country, Lynn Woods is filled with trees on the cusp of shedding their summer colors for the vivid reds, yellows, golds and oranges of fall.Ranger Dan Small said Lynn Woods has no sugar maples, which make Vermont so pretty this time of year, but it does have its own beauty.View an interactive map of some key areas. Click on each shape or line for more information and use the toolbar on the left to zoom in and out.View Fall foliage on the North Shore in a larger map”I think the area right along Penny Brook Road is really pretty when the witch hazel turns yellow,” he said.Small said intrepid hikers might want to climb Stone Tower. It’s interesting even now, he said, because the maples in the swamps have become islands of bright red in a green forest.When you’re done with Lynn Woods, head south on Route 1 south to the Lynn Fells Parkway and Breakheart Reservation on Forest Street for more great views.If seeing nature from the comfort of an enclosed vehicle is more your thing, the North Shore still won’t let you down.Flax, Sluice and Floating Bridge ponds each are flanked by trees that are just beginning to show hints of their brilliance to come. Even the Lynnway offers commuters color as the leaves on the trees along the median have already turned from green to a sunny yellow. While most go there to take in the sweeping ocean views along Lynn Shore Drive, a glance across the way will soon unveil a corridor of color.Nahant, Marblehead and Swampscott are largely considered beach towns, but most of their interior streets soon will be covered in a canopy of color.Leaf-peeping hot spots in and near Lynn By footLynnLynn Woods “Penny Brook Road is really pretty when the witch hazel turns yellow,” says ranger Dan Small. Intrepid hikers might want to climb Stone Tower. It’s interesting even now because the red maples in the swamps have turned but the rest of the area is still green, which leaves a green forest with islands of bright red, he said. The forest is also criss-crossed with trails, roads and landmarks like Overlook Trail, Hemlock Ridge, Dungeon Rock and Great Woods and Penny Brook roads that each offer their own spin on fall foliage fashions.Gannon Golf Course Those who prefer to walk rather than hike might want to take in the view of Lynn Woods from Gannon Golf Course instead. Directions to Main Entrance (west): Take Walnut Street to Pennybrook Road. Directions to Eastern Entrance: Take Lynnfield Street (Route 129) to Great Woods Road.flw.orgSaugusBreakheart Reservation Peter Rossetti, chairman of the Friends of Breakheart, said the 640-acre park is showing streaks of autumn highlights and he believes the perfect place to take it all in is along Silver Lake. “The beach area is a short distance in,” he said. “It’s about one-quarter mile from the Wakefield side (Hemlock Road) and a little longer from the Saugus end.” Rossetti said the view is doubly pretty: the hill just beyond