Photo by afagen.

To cite a Family Guy reference, many of us here at DCist are committed leafers. Once October hits, we’re the type of people to make a break to the closest wooded area to observe the changing of the leaves.

While the peak period has passed for some parts of the region — at this point, trees at any elevation above 3,300 feet have lost the majority of their leaves — there are plenty of opportunities for you to be a leafer with us over the next two weeks. According to the Virginia Department of Foresty, the fall foliage peak for the areas closest to the city hits between October 25 and November 15. (State-by-state dates are here.)

Probably the most popular local destination is Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, which is easy to get to from the District and offers unrivaled views from 75 overlooks along Skyline Drive. According to the fall foliage report, this is what you might see this week:

Red maple, scarlet oak, black gum, sweet gum, and sourwood trees show off their reds this week, along with the tall, slender sumac. The three-leaved poison ivy and five-leaved Virginia creeper outline tree trunks with their deep reds and burgundies. Once-red sassafras and wild cherry are becoming yellow in company with the orange-reds of the sugar maples. Yellow and gold tulip trees, hickories, striped maple, and birches paint the mountainsides in rich, glorious color. Brown-colored Fraser magnolias, reddish-brown red oaks, and orange-brown chestnut and white oaks provide the perfect backdrop for other trees to display their brightly contrasting colors.

If you’re willing to go a little further asunder, West Virginia also has plenty to offer. According to the West Virginia Division of Forestry, leaves on the Eastern Panhandle — home to Harpers Ferry — are at 85 percent peak. (A handy state map with peak times is here.) I just spent the weekend cycling around the George Washington National Forest — easily accessible from I-81 — and it was beautiful.

Maryland’s not an option to be forgotten, and we’d recommend either making for the Catoctin Mountains or the Green Ridge State Forest along I-68 on the Western Panhandle. Pennsylvania also has plenty to offer, with the counties closest to the District peaking this week and next.

Finally, if you’re looking to stay real close to home, you don’t need to travel any further than Rock Creek Park — hiking the length of the Valley Trail is recommended — the C&O Canal or Great Falls. No matter where, if you head out this weekend, just remember it’s foliage, not “foilage.”