Taking the Mystery Out of Finding Peak Fall Foliage
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3Is New England fall foliage a mystery to you?
The mystery of Peak Fall Foliage is more about putting the when with the where when exploring New England!
We know why the colors change, chlorophyll production is stopped when the days grow shorter, and the red, orange, and yellows that were there all along are now revealed, so where is the mystery?
Peak rarely happens when or where I think it should be. It’s seemingly by magic that you come around a bend in the road, and both sides of the road and the hills rising beyond the roadside, are all full of fall colors.
I can’t guarantee that you will find the peak, but below you will find my guidance on taking the mystery out of the guesswork.
Solving the mystery of that elusive “Peak“
Peak fall foliage is subjective at best, so I’m not going to force you to accept my definition… So let’s just say, the best way to ensure that you find great autumn colors is with a little bit of luck and a good sense of where your best opportunities are.
I have been driving the roads of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine (maybe I should just say New England to shorten it) for years, hoping to find peak fall foliage. Let’s just say it’s like trying to time the stock market (something financial experts tell us not to do)
**SO**
If you are hoping to come to New England on a Friday night and leave on Monday, expecting to find everywhere you go, all the tree-covered hillsides are ablaze in New England fall foliage colors of red, gold, and orange, then prepare for disappointment.
This “mythical” weekend is probably NOT going to happen. What you should hope for is to find (hopefully) Good color, maybe some great color, and a spot or two of PEAK color.
If you want the best odds of finding at least some peak foliage… Then read on, my leaf peeper…
Your best chance for a single weekend of color…
Your best chance lies in both good timing and a location that is centrally located. Being near the peak is best, and you will spend the day driving into and OUT of the best color during the day.
There is a good reason why Columbus Day weekend (CDW) is so packed with the highways jammed with leaf-peepers craning their heads out the windows of their cars, looking for the elusive peak colors that have been hyped by every book, newspaper, and TV broadcaster.
CDW is “usually” when a very wide swath of New England countryside is turning or has turned to these incredible fall colors. This doesn’t mean to avoid the traffic; you couldn’t arrive a few days before or a week after CDW, and you will still find good, great, or even “peak” fall color.
If you plan to be here early in September just to avoid the crowds, this means just that… ***You Are Early***. Only once in my years have I found peak color in September. Arriving after CDW means less traffic, but the bright fall colors might be just a little less bright; in my experience, it’s no less enjoyable.
You can be up in Pinkham Notch (route 16) in NH (a beautiful place to be, BTW) and the color will be fantastic. Now you travel a short nine miles, south to Jackson, NH (junction of Route 16 & 16A), and the color will be so-so.
This change from peak fall colors to green leaves can happen within a mile or even around the next bend in the road, so what are you to do?
One of the best tools Lisa and I created was to crowd-source the fall color reporting. Check our New England fall foliage Facebook Group. Here you will see people posting in real-time as they find the fall colors. (mid-September to mid-November). The rest of the year, people can post New England fall colors from any year.
Here are some ideas for bagging the prize, “Peak fall foliage.“
If you’ve already booked your trip, don’t panic! You can find beautiful colors throughout the season if you know where to look. Here is my “cheat sheet” for timing your visit:
1. Match Your Dates to the Right Latitude
The most common mistake is staying too far south too early. If you want the best odds for peak color, follow this general timeline: Download your copy here
| Travel Dates | Recommended Location | What to Expect |
| Sept 25 – Oct 4 | North of Barre, VT; North of Woodstock, NH; North of Rangeley, ME. | High potential for peak in the “Far North.” |
| Oct 5 – Oct 15 | Central Vermont, NH Lakes Region, and Western MA. | The “Classic” window for many popular spots. |
| Late October | Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. | Coastal beauty and “late” oaks/maples. |
2. Don’t Try to See Everything at Once
I see many leaf-peepers try to hit three states in a single weekend. Don’t do it! You’ll spend your entire vacation looking through a windshield.
- Pick one “Base Camp”: Stay in one central town for 2–3 days.
- Drive In and Out: Use your base camp to scout 30 miles north or south. Often, “Peak” is just one valley over.
- Stay Comfortable: Pick a place you can afford so you aren’t stressed. You can check Hotels.com or Vrbo on my sidebar for current deals.
3. Finally: Just Relax
How many vacations do you come home from needing another vacation? If you pick a reasonable set of dates and a relaxing home base, the color will find you. Get out of the car, walk the trails, and breathe the crisp air.
Pro Tip: Don’t drive around like a “chicken with its head cut off” looking for Peak Fall Foliage. That’s my job! Your job is to enjoy the view.
4. Extra hint: Take a good map book (check my Planning tools page for gazetteers of each state and more! )
With a Gazetteer, you’ll find the covered bridges and points of interest that will result in a very special set of memories.If you don’t know why I keep harping about having gazetteers whenever I travel, please continue to read about why…
They have an incredible wealth of detail; it’s the perfect companion for exploring the New England outdoors. Extensively indexed, full-color topographic maps provide information on everything from cities and towns to historic sites, scenic drives, trailheads, boat ramps, and even prime fishing spots.
They have 60 or more map pages; the Atlas & Gazetteer is your most comprehensive navigational guide to New England.
The Full-color topographic maps provide information on everything from cities and towns to historic sites and scenic drives. They have extensively indexed latitude/longitude overlay grids for each map, which allows you to navigate with GPS. Dimensions: 15.5″ x 11″.
Read about some of the tools to help you search for fall colors in this article.
The Real Mystery of Peak Fall Foliage
Science explains the change of colors to us, but where science seems to fall short is the magic of the colors. Why do we react to the colors the way we do? Is this part of our ancestors’ heritage of being mystified by the natural world? Or is it just something as simple as the more complicated our lives get, the more we enjoy the colors and the simpler pleasures?
Science also fails to explain why one sugar maple is scarlet red, and the one right next to it is orange and yellow. Why is one year a tree is orange and the next it’s yellow?
Maybe the fall foliage mystery isn’t such a mystery after all. Maybe we just like the surprise of what we’ll find over the next bend in the road. We’re thrilled to take that turn only to see rows of multi-hued trees stretch off into the distance.
Some years, the tree in your yard is the same red color, and then one year something changes, and the tree is a bright golden yellow. Science would explain it as a shift in nutrients, or maybe it was drier than normal. To me, it’s merely a gift to keep us wondering.
Jeff Foliage Folger
Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage
Thanks Jeff, nice article. Im looking forward to some Fall Foliage Photography this season, although I’m in no rush for summer to end.
Thanks,
Alan
You’re right Alan.. I haven’t had near enough beach days and all I’m doing is obsessing about fall foliage… something is wrong with that if you ask me! :-[)
thanks a lot of information keren