Autumn colors grace campus

With campus ablaze in color and a waning number of warm days before winter comes, hardly anyone let a light drizzle stop them from getting outdoors on Oct. 11. From biking to sailing to just reading a book, University of Wisconsin–Madison community members made the most of the beautiful autumn day. The University Communications photo team – three staff and two student photographers — embarked on a mini fall color photography blitz of different parts of campus during the mild and sometimes drizzly October afternoon.

Photos by Althea Dotzour, Bryce Richter, Colton Mansavage, Jeff Miller and Taylor Wolfram

A low shot of two pairs of legs walking across a leaf-covered sidewalk

One benefit of fall is enjoying the crunch of fallen leaves beneath your feet. Photo by: Bryce Richter

A colorful row of leaves and blooming plants in a flowerbed

While growing season is nearing the end, flowers continue to bloom. This flowerbed is at Union South. Photo by Taylor Wolfram

Students study and walk through a common area inside Engineering Hall.

Students study and walk in Engineering Hall even as fall colors fairly burst through the windows. Photo by: Althea Dotzour

A cyclist wearing a neon jacket and black pants bikes in light rain past a flowerbed and a red brick building

A cyclist bikes through the light rain outside Babcock Hall. Photo by Colton Mansavage

Low perspective looking up at the Kohl Center. Red maple leaves cover the wet sidewalk in front of the building's windowed facade.

With the fall season in full swing, tree leaves fall and cover one of the sidewalks outside of the Kohl Center. Photo by Colton Mansavage

Two women high five as they stand over their parked scooters.

Badger women’s soccer player Mary Monticello (at right) tosses a towel to teammate Emma Jaskaniec to wipe off their wet scooters near Camp Randall Stadium. Photo by: Althea Dotzour

Members of the Madison West High School cross country team run along the Picnic Point path of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve on a fall day

Members of the Madison West High School cross country team run along the Picnic Point path of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. Photo by: Bryce Richter

Engineering student Alisha Handa stands on a dock at the Memorial Union holding a wrapped neon sail on a rainy day.

UW-Madison engineering student Alisha Handa prepares to rig a Hoofer sailboat along the Lake Mendota shoreline. Hoofers is a student-run organization focused on outdoor activities. Photo by Taylor Wolfram

Virginia creeper vine with leaves turning red in autumn climbs up a tree trunk.

Ablaze in fall color, tree leaves and climbing vine begin to change color along the Howard Temin Lakeshore Path. Photo by: Jeff Miller

A chipmunk pauses on a horizontal branch to eat a nut.

A chipmunk stands on a fallen tree trunk and nibbles on an acorn while foraging for food in the woods along the Howard Temin Lakeshore Path. Photo by: Jeff Miller

Undergraduate student Sofie Schachter sits on a log on the shore of Lake Mendota reading a book.

Student Sofie Schachter, a junior majoring in English, reads a book while sitting on a fallen tree trunk on the Lake Mendota shoreline near the Howard Temin Lakeshore Path. Photo by: Jeff Miller