Railroad Tracks near Spring Lake State Forest Campground

This image was taken looking west on the railroad tracks that run adjacent to the Spring Lake State Forest Campground, just south of the town of Fife Lake. From Fife Lake, take US131 south for 0.9 miles. Then, turn left into the campground. Drive in and park at an open site that has spur access to the train tracks. After you've parked, take a right and walk east about 1/10 of a mile until you can position some fall colored trees in your shot. To get to exact spot where I took this photo, follow the GPS coordinates.

Along the railroad tracks near Spring Lake State Forest Campground, the fall colors will peak around mid October. If you're here earlier in the season, the colors of the leaves will be mostly green and later on in the winter, the trees will be bare.

The morning and mid-day sun will bring light to the trees and foreground. If you want your photo to look extra moody, visit on a day with dense clouds in the sky. The most important thing at this location is to avoid the late-afternoon when the sun is in the west, backlighting the trees.

Before stepping onto the tracks, make sure there isn't a train coming.

Try using a wide-angle lens (I used a 31mm here) to position something of interest in each of the image's corners. Put the tracks splitting the bottom left corner, the leaf-covered embankment in the lower right corner, and use trees in the top corners for strong leading lines.

You can use a polarizer to cut the glare for richer leaf color and darker looking skies.

The Manistee River Roadside Park is less than 6 miles south on US-131. It has nice views of the Manistee River as well as a really pretty boardwalk.

If you're up for some hiking, you can also visit The North Country Trail.