Day: October 2, 2025

• I’ve traveled to all 50 states and think the Midwest is the best part of the US to visit in autumn.
• The foliage is incredible, and there are lots of opportunities to take a scenic drive.
• Plus, the outdoor activities don’t stop in the fall months. In my opinion, they only get better.

After traveling solo through all 50 states, I’ve found that fall has a unique magic in every part of the country.

From the golden aspens of my current home in Colorado to New England’s bucket-list-worthy fiery maples, each region has its own seasonal beauty and charm.

However, the region that has surprised me most is the Midwest. Despite being born and raised in Illinois, I didn’t appreciate the beauty and charm of this area in the fall until I moved away.

Often overlooked as “flyover country,” the Midwest transforms each autumn into a sight that, to me, rivals the more popular leaf peeping areas of the country.

The Midwest foliage is incredible

When most people think of fall foliage, they think of New England. And I get it — I’ve visited the region during peak fall foliage several times, and always recommend others do so.

However, I’ve found that many people don’t realize the fall colors in many parts of the Midwest are just as brilliant.

I’ve been especially impressed by how beautiful the leaves in the Great Lakes region are, with abundant maple, cottonwood, oak, aspen, and birch trees that turn vibrant shades of red, yellow, copper, and gold.

Outside the Great Lakes, similarly striking scenes exist in Southern Illinois and Missouri (especially in the Ozarks).

And, one of my favorite ways to view all of this incredible fall foliage is with a scenic drive.

For example, I love driving the 20-mile Tunnel of Trees in Michigan, which is especially gorgeous in the fall months.

I also enjoy taking a trip along the Great River Road, which winds its way through several Midwestern states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.

My hometown area in Illinois even hosts multi-weekend fall events centered on scenic drives. These paths wind through multiple small towns with beautiful foliage-filled roads to several festivals filled with arts, crafts, food, and entertainment.

Midwestern small towns feel like they’re built for fall

The Midwest is known for its small, rural towns, filled with farmland and a very distinct charm — which, in my opinion, is most evident in the fall months.

I especially love towns like Bayfield, Wisconsin, and Petoskey, Michigan, which have walkable downtown areas with unique shops and local restaurants, all surrounded by beautiful foliage.

There are lots of ways to get outside and explore

If you’ve spent time in the Midwest, you know it’s overflowing with opportunities to get outside.

Plus, the outdoor activities don’t stop in autumn here — with fewer crowds, cooler weather, and a backdrop of beautiful changing leaves, they only get better.

For example, I love hiking on a portion of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail, which winds an impressive 1,200 miles through Wisconsin. I also enjoy kayaking to sea caves in Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Lake Superior.

Similarly, I always stop to admire the changing leaves and waterfalls on a hike at Gooseberry Falls State Park in Minnesota.

Overall, there’s so much to love about this part of the country in the fall months

As someone who grew up in Illinois, I think there’s truly something special about a Midwestern fall. From festivals and scenic drives to apple picking and a wide range of events, there’s always something to do.

Plus, I think there’s something wholesome and unmistakably American about the season here — harvest time, football games, apple picking, and small-town fairs.

These simple pleasures remind me of a slower, quieter time. It’s not commercialized or overdone; it just is. And somehow, in all its quiet familiarity, it’s stunning.

• Russian soldiers are increasingly using unjammable fiber-optic drones to ambush Ukrainian vehicles.
• Ukrainian soldiers who described the tactic said Russian pilots are targeting key logistics roads.
• The style of attack resembles the roadside IEDs that US forces faced in the Middle East.

Russian drones are increasingly lying in wait along Ukraine’s roads and ambushing military vehicles as they pass, turning routes that used to be relatively safe into kill zones.

Ukrainian military officers who talked to Business Insider about this tactic said Russian pilots are targeting key logistics roads near the front lines with fiber-optic drones immune to electronic warfare countermeasures, making the deadly weapons extremely difficult to stop. They said the attacks are interfering with the movement of troops and supplies.

This style of attack is similar to the roadside improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, that US and partner forces often faced in the Middle East; however, in Ukraine, the Russian drones can fly and hunt down their targets. It underscores one of the many jarring ways that uncrewed systems are raising the threat on the battlefield.

Artem, an officer in Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps who requested to be identified only by his first name for security reasons, said that Russia has increasingly been flying fiber-optic drones to logistics routes, landing them on the side of the road, waiting until an armored vehicle passes by, and then staging an ambush.

He said that these attacks happen weekly and have resulted in the loss of both soldiers and vehicles.

Fiber-optic drones are cheap, first-person-view (FPV) drones that can cost as little as just a few hundred dollars and be equipped with a small explosive payload of a few pounds.

Unlike normal FPV drones, which are controlled by radio frequency signals, fiber-optic drones are connected to their operators by long, thin cables that preserve the connection and allow the drone to resist electronic warfare and jamming tactics. For this reason, they are especially dangerous on the battlefield.

Fiber-optic drones tend to have a more limited range than the traditional radio-controlled FPV drones because of their cables and the challenges of navigating the terrain. But they can still get across the front lines and into Ukrainian territory for an ambush.

Artem, a former deputy commander in Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade and the current head of military partnerships at the independent Snake Island Institute, said that the roads once felt relatively safe, but ambush tactics have become a serious problem.

Treacherous driving conditions have affected troop movements, even forcing troops to stay in one place for longer instead of rotating to new sites as they normally would.

Drones have emerged as the predominant threat to armored vehicles — like tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, or armored personnel carriers — in Ukraine. Many vehicles are now equipped with additional protective armor and electronic warfare technology in an effort to blunt attacks.

However, fiber-optic drones aren’t affected by electronic warfare tactics. Physical barriers are one of the few effective defenses against them.

Recognizing this, Ukrainian troops have covered many key roads near the front lines with jury-rigged netting, transforming the routes into open-air tunnels to keep drones out and increase the chances of survival for vehicles. But this protection only reduces the risk; it doesn’t eliminate it entirely.

Alex Eine, section commander for a drone unit with Ukraine’s Separate Presidential Brigade, previously told Business Insider that Russian pilots are able to navigate drones through gaps in the netting and land them on the side of the road. There, they wait to strike.

Eine said he’s seen some Ukrainian vehicles destroyed in the drone ambushes.

The increasing vulnerability of combat vehicles to drones has raised questions about their relevance and effectiveness in a future conflict where uncrewed and autonomous systems would play an even greater role than they do on today’s battlefields.

Ukraine has become a death trap for armored vehicles, with thousands of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, or armored personnel carriers, lost on both sides, according to open-source intelligence estimates.

Despite the losses, many of which are caused by drones, Artem said armored vehicles are still very much relevant in combat, explaining that it is nearly impossible to carry out offensive operations without them.