Setting Expectations for New England Fall Foliage
Many people comment and say they are happy with pretty much whatever they find. I’m usually the same way until Mother Nature is a drudge and refuses to let the colors out to play…2017 comes to mind.
I always say if I find trees that are just 50% turned, I’m as giddy as a schoolboy (to quote Dickens). If I hit 75%, I’m ready for a heart attack… More than that? Well, let’s back up and look at this image below.
It’s a pretty decent amount of fall color but is it peak? My first thought is it’s pretty close. But a lot of the “understory” of this area of the forest is still green. the leaves that are getting more sunshine are turning faster than the leaves closer to the ground. So the “understory” will remain green longer.
Peak Fall Foliage is in the Eye of the Beholder
If you were on an adjacent hill across the valley from where I was standing when I took the image above, it might look like the image below. As I look at it I would say it’s very near peak to slightly past peak at the top of the hill.
It all depends on your viewpoint, literally! As you saw in the first picture the upper parts of the trees that got a lot of sunshine may have turned first, and from the outside looking in ALL the trees look like they are at peak. This is part of the mystery of peak fall foliage. No one, not even the great and powerful Jeff Foliage, can tell you where all the trees will ALL be turned because they hardly ever ALL turn at the same time… (stay away from that curtain)
The benefits of peak… NOT all at once!
I say this every year but maybe you haven’t heard it. You can’t just show up and “time it” and find peak fall foliage. It’s a gradual change over time. This is beneficial for the majority of you because you don’t live here. I go every single week to look for good fall colors. Can you afford to do that? Would your wife or husband even let you?
This means for many people who don’t live in or close to New England, you have to place your bets like in a game of roulette. You pick a number (or a date/weekend/week) and hope for the best. The benefit is that some of the colors may be gone but some of it isn’t! Because it’s a GRADUAL change of the colors that you are likely to catch on different hills at different points.
So unless you’re hoping to catch great color in Smugglers Notch and it’s 25 October you have a better chance by spreading the bet among different numbers. You may get
Jeff’s Take Away on finding Peak Fall Colors
Just set your dates, consult my blog and articles, and make the best guess you can come away with. I will bet you will see the fall colors, you will get some great cider donuts, and we rarely run out of lobster at the coast… I really don’t see a downside here.
Both images were taken within a couple of miles of each other. The date was 6 October 2015. This was also in or near Island Pond Vermont which is damn near the Canadian border. By the 6th of Oct, I would expect to find peak in this area of Vermont, and yet… it was hard to find, and it was cloudy. Did I complain? nope! Because… (Say it with me) A day with a little fall color is better than being at work!
Jeff Foliage Folger
Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage
- Visit my Fine Art America Gallery
- Visit my Amazon store to pick up New England-related materials
- Visit my Pictorem Gallery (Free shipping in the US and Canada)
- My Facebook foliage page
- Threads.net/@Jeff_Foliage
- Follow our new Fall Foliage FB Group!
- You can visit Lisa’s Artist Facebook Page by clicking here
One of the nice things about being in New England is being able to plan a trip on short notice when the weather appears to be nice and the colors appear to be “near peak” in the White Mountain area.
One of the nice things about being in New England is being able to plan a trip on short notice when the weather appears to be nice and the colors appear to be “near peak” in the White Mountain area.
Coming from England I have to take what’s happening at the time. I’ve always found great colour somewhere if you go with the flow.
Coming from England I have to take what’s happening at the time. I’ve always found great colour somewhere if you go with the flow.
Last year I traveled to the White and Green mountains during the first week of Oct. I reported on my findings here, I was at least a week early and possibly 10+ days for what I considered “peak” in the lower elevations. This year I postponed my travels to begin 10/15. Of course, given the vagaries of weather etc, I may be late (or possible early). However, I still look forward to very pleasant conditions.
Me too!
Last year I traveled to the White and Green mountains during the first week of Oct. I reported on my findings here, I was at least a week early and possibly 10+ days for what I considered “peak” in the lower elevations. This year I postponed my travels to begin 10/15. Of course, given the vagaries of weather etc, I may be late (or possible early). However, I still look forward to very pleasant conditions.
Me too!
It’s necessary to have a sense of humor, and I see you’ve got one. Are you going to be on the Maine Coast this Fall? Good Lobster!
I hope to maybe do Acadia in full color. Have you hit Acadia for the fall color before?
It’s necessary to have a sense of humor, and I see you’ve got one. Are you going to be on the Maine Coast this Fall? Good Lobster!
I hope to maybe do Acadia in full color. Have you hit Acadia for the fall color before?
Considering the last 3 years and the late foliage, we have moved our trip to NH to the 2nd week of October…fingers crossed!
Good luck Karen!
Considering the last 3 years and the late foliage, we have moved our trip to NH to the 2nd week of October…fingers crossed!
Good luck Karen!
Jeff is correct and we have also discovered that Fall Foliage is not an exact science. We have been going to New England every year (with two exceptions) since 1996 and we love it every time. Sometimes the colors are at peak and sometimes they aren’t, however if you’re willing to drive a bit and explore you can always find somewhere in New England with spectacular colors. We usually go around October 2 or 3 every year and stay for 7 to 8 days. Our perspective is a little different from most folks because we are from Arizona and going to New England every October is paradise for us: cool temperatures, the colors, creeks and streams that actually have water in them, charming villages, cider donuts, apple cider, you get the idea. So, go ahead and enjoy!
Jeff is correct and we have also discovered that Fall Foliage is not an exact science. We have been going to New England every year (with two exceptions) since 1996 and we love it every time. Sometimes the colors are at peak and sometimes they aren’t, however if you’re willing to drive a bit and explore you can always find somewhere in New England with spectacular colors. We usually go around October 2 or 3 every year and stay for 7 to 8 days. Our perspective is a little different from most folks because we are from Arizona and going to New England every October is paradise for us: cool temperatures, the colors, creeks and streams that actually have water in them, charming villages, cider donuts, apple cider, you get the idea. So, go ahead and enjoy!
We’re leaving NC September 30th and we’ll return October 9th. We’ll be in Maine Oct 2-4 and Vermont Oct 5-7. FINGERS CROSSED!!!
I have a feeling we’ll get next to nothing in Maine (staying in and around Portland) but I have high hopes for Vermont 🙂
We’re leaving NC September 30th and we’ll return October 9th. We’ll be in Maine Oct 2-4 and Vermont Oct 5-7. FINGERS CROSSED!!!
I have a feeling we’ll get next to nothing in Maine (staying in and around Portland) but I have high hopes for Vermont 🙂
Florida-born and raised here. Spent countless summers on Long Island and never been north of Ridgefield CT. My wife and I are driving up to New England this year October 6 – 20th….a costly vacation, but we haven’t taken one in years and this is for all the marbles. I’ve been doing my research and am reading more and more about late peaks due to warmer summers. We are going to every NE state during those 2 weeks. Would you say the chances we hit peak fall foliage are 100%? 😉
I would like to say your chances are pretty good. I’ll be in Woodstock on the 6th but it may still be a bit early there. You need reservations over the Columbus Day Weekend (CDW) but try to be flexible and barring that be ready to wander North if it stays a slow burn and if it picks up speed may be further south. Climbing in elevation can yield more color but only so high because you can actually get above it…There ain’t no color at the top of Mount Washington… Take a drive up and see what I mean!
Let me know how you do!
OH! and I guarantee 100% you have a very good chance of seeing peak on one day during the trip. I have to be honest, on no trip have I ever found peak over a period of days because it doesn’t take much to move out of it. Those maps with mands of color would be more realistic if they were polka dotted, that would be more accurate to viewers on the ground. going through Crawford Notch, it is color up both sides of the highway and you turn the next bend and you realize you left peak behind you and now its either past peak or not yet arrived… What do you do? Go back and stay safe where you know the peak is or was or do you take a chance and see where you find it next…?
I guarantee even if I get to 50%, I’m pretty darn happy and if I hit 75% I’m freaking out… anything above that is a wonder for your soul… Good Luck on the journey!
Florida-born and raised here. Spent countless summers on Long Island and never been north of Ridgefield CT. My wife and I are driving up to New England this year October 6 – 20th….a costly vacation, but we haven’t taken one in years and this is for all the marbles. I’ve been doing my research and am reading more and more about late peaks due to warmer summers. We are going to every NE state during those 2 weeks. Would you say the chances we hit peak fall foliage are 100%? 😉
I would like to say your chances are pretty good. I’ll be in Woodstock on the 6th but it may still be a bit early there. You need reservations over the Columbus Day Weekend (CDW) but try to be flexible and barring that be ready to wander North if it stays a slow burn and if it picks up speed may be further south. Climbing in elevation can yield more color but only so high because you can actually get above it…There ain’t no color at the top of Mount Washington… Take a drive up and see what I mean!
Let me know how you do!
OH! and I guarantee 100% you have a very good chance of seeing peak on one day during the trip. I have to be honest, on no trip have I ever found peak over a period of days because it doesn’t take much to move out of it. Those maps with mands of color would be more realistic if they were polka dotted, that would be more accurate to viewers on the ground. going through Crawford Notch, it is color up both sides of the highway and you turn the next bend and you realize you left peak behind you and now its either past peak or not yet arrived… What do you do? Go back and stay safe where you know the peak is or was or do you take a chance and see where you find it next…?
I guarantee even if I get to 50%, I’m pretty darn happy and if I hit 75% I’m freaking out… anything above that is a wonder for your soul… Good Luck on the journey!
Yes! We are going to Jefferson, NH on Oct 7th to Santa’s Village. I was looking at the drive on google maps and noticed the street photos were taken in Oct 2016 and Mt Washington was green! We are thinking of spending CDW, Oct 7-11 in Hanover, NH to explore Vermont and New Hampshire, and then Oct 12-15 in Westford, MA to explore Maine and Massachusetts. Lots of driving, but a scenic drive makes it all the better.
Well, to be honest, the color has been later than desired the past few years and I’m attaching a cell phone shot of mine from Bear Notch lookout which is a road that connects Bartlett NH to the Kancamagus highway.
I still think your dates will work out. The temps this month are starting to moderate and start to lower. Not to say they are where they should be, but they are(at this time) showing lows in the 40s and in a few cases the upper 30s in places like Peacham VT, and Littleton NH. But I’m only looking 10 days out. Rangeley isn’t showing any 30s for low temps and that means that area of Maine will show a slower start to the colors than over in NH and VT where over the next 10 days the temps are a little bit cooler. What really matters is the lows and if they stay mostly in the 40s with the days getting lots of sun then the leaves will slowly develop color and also slowly drop the leaves because it has not been as dry as past years… I’m still very optimistic.
Yes! We are going to Jefferson, NH on Oct 7th to Santa’s Village. I was looking at the drive on google maps and noticed the street photos were taken in Oct 2016 and Mt Washington was green! We are thinking of spending CDW, Oct 7-11 in Hanover, NH to explore Vermont and New Hampshire, and then Oct 12-15 in Westford, MA to explore Maine and Massachusetts. Lots of driving, but a scenic drive makes it all the better.
Well, to be honest, the color has been later than desired the past few years and I’m attaching a cell phone shot of mine from Bear Notch lookout which is a road that connects Bartlett NH to the Kancamagus highway.
I still think your dates will work out. The temps this month are starting to moderate and start to lower. Not to say they are where they should be, but they are(at this time) showing lows in the 40s and in a few cases the upper 30s in places like Peacham VT, and Littleton NH. But I’m only looking 10 days out. Rangeley isn’t showing any 30s for low temps and that means that area of Maine will show a slower start to the colors than over in NH and VT where over the next 10 days the temps are a little bit cooler. What really matters is the lows and if they stay mostly in the 40s with the days getting lots of sun then the leaves will slowly develop color and also slowly drop the leaves because it has not been as dry as past years… I’m still very optimistic.