PERRYVILLE--For Amy Dodson and others who live near Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, it happens every year.

Customers, friends and relatives who live in different parts of the country begin to call, all with the same question.

"They want to know when the leaves will be at their peak color," said Dodson, who works at Antique Tables Made Daily in Sperryville. "Somehow, they think you know exactly when the leaves will change color just because you live here."

It's not a question taken lightly, because to Shenandoah National Park and the businesses and roadside stands that sell everything from apple cider to folk art, the rush of leaf peepers is big business.

Shenandoah National Park officials note that in a month like April, the average visitation over the past 10 years has been just under 100,000.

In Octobers over the same period, the average jumps to between 250,000 and 300,000, though it soared to over 400,000 in the late '80s.

What draws the crowds to the park and the localities surrounding it is the hope of seeing one of nature's grandest shows of color--the leaf change that in good years paints hillsides in electric yellows, blazing oranges, burning reds and various combinations of the three.

And while the color change brought on by cooler nights each fall can last for weeks--especially given the different altitudes visitors drive through along Skyline Drive--many leaf peepers don't want to know the entire duration of the leaf change.

They want to know when the hillsides and forests will be at their absolute peak.

"We have people who order tables and put off picking them up until the fall," said Dodson. "They'll call and want to know when the peak will be, and then schedule their trip around that."

Dodson, and many others who work in and near the park, said you usually won't go wrong if you figure the leaf change will begin some time between the second and third week of October.