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Specialized viewfinders installed across state parks let visitors with red-green colorblindness see more distinct colors.
Like so many other leaf-peeping enthusiasts, Tim Yates ventured out to Virginia’s Smith Mountain Lake State Park late this summer to see the early whispers of the fall foliage, which would soon give way to bright bursts of orange and red.
But for Mr. Yates, it was a rare opportunity to see the leaves, whether they were just beginning to turn or in their full glory.
For his entire life, Mr. Yates, 56, has been red-green colorblind, meaning his eyes have trouble distinguishing between certain hues. For him, the leaf-peeping experience can be relatively muted.
“Clothes or flowers and a lot of different stuff, I just never really knew the color,” Mr. Yates, a retired beverage salesman from Bedford County, Va., said. “In school, I always struggled with colors.”
But at Smith Mountain Lake, which is an hour outside Roanoke, Va., new specialized viewfinders allow Mr. Yates and others like him to appreciate the scarlets and golds on oak and maple trees from a distance. This year, the state park system was the first in the nation to install the red-green colorblind viewfinders at all of its locations, according to a statement from Virginia State Parks. Each one is equipped with lenses that expand the visible ranges of the fall displays.
“I could actually see the red and distinguish the colors,” Mr. Yates said.