Where to go for New England Fall Foliage

The days get shorter and the New England fall foliage begins its change from green to crimson, orange, and gold. Hot coffee takes on new meaning when crisp mornings herald the approaching autumn. A morning walk by nearby ponds and lakes take on a mysterious feeling with wisps of fog rising from the water. The best part is seeing the fog give way to the morning sun and you see a stand of red maples begin to appear, just over there…

This website is all about helping you decide where to go to find the best New England fall foliage. You will find archived articles in the menu to help in your research. And to make it easier, I have broken the articles into topics. You can look at specific states, scenic drives, covered bridges, or festivals.

When is the best time to visit New England for fall colors

I can honestly say that anywhere between late September and the middle of November are some of the best times to visit New England for fall colors. You have to remember that the dates for the fall colors of New England are a constantly moving target. Also the when is directly connected to the where.

The earlier in September that you come here, the further North you need to travel. The earliest color arrives late in August but NO meaningful fall color occurs before mid to late September. I wrote a Fall Foliage Primer for Leaf-Peeping and this will help you navigate the where and when of New England fall colors.

I will never create a map to visually capture “when” the best colors will show up. I don’t feel they are accurate enough to base your decisions on. I wrote an article on finding “peak” fall foliage which is very helpful in deciding when to be here in New England.

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Where to go in New England in the fall?

When to come is usually the first question people ask me, and then they ask where should I go? Sometimes they know they want to do Vermont but where in Vermont will be the BEST… fall colors. This is when I ask them what are their dates. You see, the “when” equals the “where” and the inverse is true as well.

To help you research where to go I have created lists of articles that I think will help you narrow your search. In my menu up above you will see the following subjects under Articles or Planning your trip:

All of these articles are meant for you to use in researching your fall foliage vacations. I try to answer where to go in New England in the fall so you can have the best autumn vacations. I also have fall foliage forecasts and foliage reports on my forecast and reports page so you have all of my 20 years of experience to help you plan where to go.

Where can I find Peak Fall Foliage?

A quiet back road stroll through the Vermont fall colors
A quiet back road stroll through the Vermont fall colors

To start off with, this subject occupies most of my waking hours and apparently some of yours as well. This is the most asked question of me from leaf peepers the world over. Where can I find it, How can I guarantee I find it?

When is Peak fall color in New England?

Some people say finding peak fall foliage is a science, but I say it’s more of mystical art.  The truth is simple, it’s impossible to forecast where and when it will happen, or IF it will happen. There are some years I have gone through all of October and never really found Peak fall colors. (2005, 2011, and 2017 were terrible)

It does happen infrequently, but with my help, you can increase your chances of finding it.

First, I wrote this article on Fall Foliage 101, Fall foliage primer for leaf-peeping to help you get started. I have many articles on different aspects of finding the peak fall colors. I talk about the search for Peak fall foliage and what if you miss the peak foliage. If that isn’t enough this article on taking the mystery out of finding peak fall foliage will also help in your search. This way you can start to narrow and refine your search. or just figure out what you don’t know and need to know… Next,

You can go to the top of this page and click the Articles. The pull-down menu will allow you to choose pages that have lists of articles for planning your trip.

Jeff Foliage Folger

Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of yearJeff Foliage

Visit my Amazon affiliate store for items that Lisa and I have curated for you. These items are either New England-made or things we think will make your fall foliage trip more successful.

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