SOMERSET COUNTY — Ten years ago, Maine had conceded the fall foilage season to New Hampshire and Vermont. Hundreds of motor coaches, rented cars and private vehicles toured those states, the occupants enjoying the brilliant fall showing and leaving plenty of money behind.

But thanks to an aggressive marketing drive over the past eight years and the natural beauty of the foliage, Maine now rakes in more than $770 million in fall tourist dollars.

One of the prime leaf peeping areas of inland Maine is Routes 2 and 201 through Skowhegan, when the Kennebec Valley becomes a huge painting of color every October.

In their annual guide to state recreation, the Maine Publicity Bureau recommends a 210-mile, 5 1/2 hour round trip from Skowhegan, north on Route 201 through Bingham to near Jackman; east and south on Route 15 through Greenville to Dover-Foxcroft; south on Route 7 to Newport; west on Route 2 to Palmyra; west on Route 151 to Athens; and south on Route 150 to Skowhegan.

This route encompasses the great North Maine Woods, Moosehead Lake [the largest lake in the northeastern United States], Moxie Falls in West Forks [a 90-foot cascade and gorge two miles from Rt. 201], the Blacksmith Shop Museum in Dover and the Grist Mill Museum in Dexter.

Nine tour buses based in Boston stopped in Skowhegan on Sept. 23, a fraction of the number that passed through on their way to view fall foliage, according to Edward Butler, secretary of the Skowhegan Chamber of Commerce.

“And we don’t even consider the season started until next week,” said Butler. The little chamber building at the intersection of Routes 2 and 201 is an international rest stop, a place for visitors from Holland, Germany, Australia, Africa, England and nearly every state in the country to learn a little more about central Maine life while viewing the spectacular fall leaves.

Leaf peeping, a grand tourist activity that generally begins the last week of September and continues for about three weeks, is the viewing of Maine’s miracle of the woods: the splendor and beauty created as vibrant reds, a thousand shades of green, golds and yellows replace the deep green of the forests. Almost overnight, Maine’s woods become a majestic display of colors, colors that are luring tourists inland.

Autumn in central Maine is promoted world-wide, as evidenced by two German tourists who stopped Tuesday morning along Route 2 in Canaan to videotape the flaming reds and oranges of the leaves reflected in Sibley Pond.

“We learned about the leaves from a travel magazine in Germany,” said Hans Hartig. The couple arrived the week before in Boston, spent some time on Cape Cod and Plymouth Plantation and then headed for Maine. “This is really beautiful,” said Ursula Hartig, “just like the magazine photographs.”

The Hartigs are two of thousands of international and domestic visitors that travel through Skowhegan on their leaf peeping adventure. Some pass right on through, but many stop and spend money, buy gas and purchase souveniers.

Butler said the tourists have two destinations: they are either headed to the White Mountains in New Hampshire or are continuing up Route 201 to Quebec.

“Since we are halfway between Boston and Quebec, a lot of the buses stop here at midday,” said Butler. “They have their dinner and drop a few dollars in town.”

Jeff Hewett, economic director for Skowhegan, said “There’s no question that the leaf peepers are a tremendous boost to our fall economy. A good quarter of our tourism business is directly from them. It has grown over the past years and we’re hoping for a real good leaf turn this year.” Hewett said that beginning in 1997, leaf viewing will be promoted through Skowhegan’s web page on the Internet.

Louis Sy, owner of The Candlelight Restaurant in downtown Skowhegan, does more motor coach business than any other restaurant in the state, said John Johnson of the Maine Office of Tourism. On Tuesday, Sy fed 400 “bus people” in two hours. He was expecting 12 more busloads on Wednesday.

According to Johnson, “Fall has become a very important time of year for Maine. A lot of profits are made in the fall. This year, July was rainy and tourism fell off. We were running behind last year’s figures. Then August was a very good month and we got back on even footing. If the leaves turn well and September and October are good, we can say tourism had a very good year.”

Johnson said peak foliage is a little late this year. “This is about a week behind normal and hopefully that will extend the season,” said Johnson.

The type of fall visitors to Maine differ from those that come in the summer, said Johnson. “Young people with families, those who do not have a lot of discretionary income, come in the summer. In the fall, we have more retirees, empty nesters, grandparents; those who are more willing to spend.”

Businesses that most often benefit from fall tourists, he said, are antique shops, bed and breakfast inns and speciality shops and state statistics show that expenditures per person increase in the fall.

“These people aren’t on as strict a schedule nor do they have children in the car asking `Are we there yet?’ from the back seat. They are willing to slow down and discover things. They drive until they see something pretty or interesting,” said Johnson.

The Route 201 scenic trip provides an overview of Maine country life. Antique shops, auction houses, vegetable stands offering pumpkins, apple cider and sunflowers, country stores and family restaurants abound. Visitors are often treated to moose viewing mixed in with the brilliant foliage.