To me the best time of year to travel to the mountains is in the autumn. You have the craft shops open, and something that makes you hungry is the smell of a good old campfire in the evening. To me the beautiful colors of the leaves on the trees when you get in your car and drive on the parkway are sometimes breathtaking. The weather also gives you a little break from the heat as it starts to cool down a little bit, but sometimes it is a tossup between autumn and winter, but if I had my choice it would definitely be autumn, I love to see snow scenes but only on postcards.