Fall Foliage Report for 27 Sept 2024
Greetings leaf peepers far and wide!
I’m in the process of moving so I did not go out this week myself but my friends who are very talented photographers have been kicking around the countryside to see what they can turn up… Maybe I’ll get a chance to go out next week but I’m not holding my breath…
I was out on the deck working on this article when it started raining and I had to take my Pumpkin spice coffee back into the house… 🙁
What has been seen in the past few days…
Four Photographer friends have been out on the road this week and their reports are below
New Hampshire
Matt DiMaio
Matt DiMaio is a New Hampshire photographer. Matt was out all this past week (23-26) and Matt says: “A steady rain most of the trip with low clouds covering most higher elevations. I found it spotty through Crawford Notch and across Rt. 3 to Littleton. I saw some decent color coming into and through Franconia Notch but not much going south into Lincoln. On the Kanc, leaving Lincoln behind (heading east), the colors got brighter and were pretty nice for most of the drive to Bear Notch. Bear Notch was ok but nothing worth noting.”
Matt sent in some pictures from The Cog Rail and The Balsams in Dixville Notch this past Monday.
Mike Blanchette Photography
Michael was on the road this week and he said: I just returned from spending nearly 3 days roaming and photographing around the Great North Woods and parts of the White Mountains. Dixville Notch is looking very good already, probably somewhere around 85% toward peak color.
The nights are cool up there, there’s often fog until around 9 am, and now with a couple of days of rain, it could reach peak as early as this weekend. But the rest of the Great North Woods are a full week behind. That includes areas around Lancaster, Guildhall (VT), Stark, Gorham, and Route 16. Crawford Notch looks way behind with lots of green; it will likely need a good 2 weeks to reach peak. You can find Michael on Facebook at… and on Instagram at…
Franconia Notch is a bit better but may need another 7-14 days to get there as well. I drove the Kancamagus and it looked like at least 50% of the deciduous trees are still green so that too will need another 7-10 minimum. There’s decent color on some trees along the Highway at elevation, but it has a long way to go. And the hills still look mostly green. I didn’t see much leaf drop along my travels so they seem to be clinging to the trees so far. Peak foliage in the White Mountains often coincides with Columbus Day Weekend, and I sense that may be the case again this year.
Vermont
John Rowe Photography
John Rowe says the colors in northern Vermont are also slow to develop (Slow Burn) here is a drone image of Lake Wallace near Canaan Vermont.
As can be seen in his image the amount of trees turning is around 50-75% but the colors are still (for the most part) muted and I forsee another week will be needed IF we get some colder temps. You can find John on Instagram here.
Maine
Scenes of Maine Photography
Stephen Beckwith was out in the Eastern White Mountains and while the locations he hiked up to are technically in New Hampshire, I think he came in from the Maine side… And since he is a Maine Photographer… I’m going to go with it.
Matt DiMaio
Matt DiMaio also sent in this image of the Bennett Bean Covered Bridge in Maine
Webcams in Maine
Here are a few shots from the webcams on this website. Millinocket Maine looking at Katahdin, Brownville Maine, and Eustis Maine (All captured this afternoon 27 Sept 2024)
Jeff’s Thoughts on this weekend (28-29 Sept) and 5-6 Oct… Slow-Burn!
Ok folks, the early stress-induced “EARLY” color is “mostly” over. Now we are waiting for the “REAL” fall colors to show up. What is funny is that our colder temps have mostly been happening in the Northern White Mountains (Bethlehem up to the Canadian border. Vermont has been staying in the 50s Along with Much of Maine…
I’m not saying they have not gotten down in the 40s but only for a day or two and then back up again. BUT!!! This next week we are seeing low temperatures heading down into the 40s (Per the weather forecasts) across VT, NH, and ME. And by next Friday (5-6 October) they are projecting the more northern areas to be seeing the 30s in “SOME” areas.
Even by mid-week (1-3 October) Massachusetts could be seeing the 40s creep in as well…
For this weekend (28/29 Sept) I would look north of the White Mountains and in Maine, try Rangeley, Eustis, or better yet, Greenville ME…
There is nothing much happening to the south until after the 6-10th of October and we’ll have to see what happens then… Conway NH has always been slow to drop, temp-wise so I think that area will be pretty by the 7th(ish) and should still be pretty by the 12 but watch out for any late-season storms.
Drives you might take…
In Vermont try Routes 58, 105, 242, 111, and 114.
In New Hampshire try Routes 26 (Dixville Notch to Errol), 110 (Stark), Route 16, (Pinkham Notch to Milan Hill State Park), I don’t know if anything is going on south of Route 2 as of yet.
In Maine try Route 26 from Newry ME to Errol NH, Route 5 to Andover, and 120 over to Roxbury ME, then from Route 17 up to (Height of Land) and Rangeley, From there Route 16 to Quill Hill on Route 16 and then on to Stratton. Also in Maine, the Fryeburg Fair starts on Sunday the 29th.
So I don’t have any guarantees but I will say Dixville Notch is worth your drive through and over to Errol… Everything else is a guess on my part.
Safe Foliage Travels!
Jeff Foliage Folger
Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage
- Visit my Fine Art America Gallery
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- My Facebook foliage page
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- Follow our new Fall Foliage FB Group!
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I’ve been watching this website like a hawk since June when me and my husband planned to visit NE for our honeymoon, so thank you for all the updates! We are in NH from 10/7-10/9 and Bar Harbor from 10/9-10/12 so I’m hoping to see some good Fall foliage as it’s been a dream of mine! We don’t get much color change in TX.
I think you should be in a good shape for those dates…
Hey Jeff,
Love your website! You are doing some amazing work! This is my first time experiencing the fall on the east coast and I am very excited!
I will be in Franconia from 10/12-10/13. Do those dates look good to experience fall foliage in the area?
If we don’t have any serious wind or rain events you “should” still see color in Franconia Notch and again that is a should because a lot can happen in two weeks. But Franconia should be peak by this weekend 5-7 Oct and it all depends on the weather after that as to how long it lasts…
Great collection of photos and reports!! I do “feel” the Autumn stress of not being OUT THERE yet!! We see the Instagram photos and it makes us nervous so this is calming to read your thoughts and legit reports– some instagrammers are posting photos from previous years and not always being transparent about that-
Thank you for the reports — wish you were already moved– I know selfish for us leaf lovers… I think people should still get out and explore- Nature continues to change our AUTUMNS so enjoy each precious one, take walks, sit by a lake, stop by every COUNTRY STORE that you can and go in and find something to buy- I love everything about AUTUMN and truly appreciate all that you do !
What are your thoughts on Colors after Oct 20?? Upper Massachusetts?
Good afternoon Jeff,
We are heading to Boston on October 9 and we will be driving from Boston to bar harbor, Maine on the 10th. We will be there till sat the 12th when we head back to Boston for two days and fly out from there on late Sunday night. I have been wanting to so this trip for the last 20 years and finally going to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary. Hoping to see the fall leaves in their glory.
Thanks for all your updates.
you should see some good colors along the coast but if you don’t see good color in one spot try another…
Hey Jeff,
We are arriving in Boston on October 25 and trying to decide where we should go. Seen lots of suggestions for Stowe, Vermont, but heard it is also really busy and touristy. Where would you recommend we go if we have until Monday, October 28?
Waaay to late for Stowe VT… You are down in Massachusetts or Rhode Island or Connecticut. I was out in Massachusetts today and turned up very nice to near peak colors. There is rain off and on tomorrow and then mostly sunny through the 23rd…
I would instead try Bennington (Robert Frost Stone House museum) The War monument is nice and Bennington to Manchester VT on 7A is called the Shires of Vermont scenic byway… But I don’t think further north than that will be worth your time other than seeing them to say you saw them. Woodstock is a beautiful little village as well, and ALL the crowds are going to be gone but the charm is still there.
I hope this helps. watch my Facebook page to see some of the images I captured today in Massachusetts… https://www.facebook.com/NewEnglandFoliage/
Hi, I just found your website and wondered if you have any recommendations for travel for someone that has mobility issues. My husband can’t walk a lot so many of the tour groups won’t work. We thought we would drive our own tours to see New England in the fall but I am overwhelmed with how to get started. Any suggestions? We would be coming from Wisconsin
You might let me know how you are arriving. You are about 2 solid days driving (3-4 if you only drive 300 or so a day)
Or are you flying in and renting a car (more expensive but less stress on you driving long miles)
Assuming flying, I would look at arriving in Manchester NH and going from there as a starting point. I myself am getting where I don’t like to drive really long hours but I can still walk a few miles at a time.
One of the things I stress is picking your desired locations ahead of time… And remember Location = (equals) your dates. Meaning if you choose the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts, you will not travel 25 Sept to be here. you are looking at 15 October.
If you are coming 27 Sept- 3 Oct then you are up in the northern White Mtns of New Hampshire. Or over in the Northeast Kingdom (NEK)
With this in mind much of what I photograph has been seen from a parking lot or roadside… This picture of the gondola ride at the southern side of Mount Mansfield (Smuggler’s Notch) was taken from the parking lot.
Also there are memorable places to drive like Smuggler’s Notch itself, click this link to go to my Youtube channel and you can see how “easy” it is to drive “The Notch”, But NO big RV’s please… 🙂
One last thing and it will take some reading on your part this link https://jeff-foliage.com/locations-state/ will take you to a page on my website where you can read articles that talk about locations in those states. I would only choose one or at most two states (next to each other) and then read (bookmark) and pick places you want to see.
Also I have Gazetteers for all New England states and I would visit my Amazon [Affiliate] store linked here and get a Gazetteer for the states you want to visit. I use a Gazetteer for planning and the GPS in my phone for actual driving.
I hope it helps, I do try to answer these messages but they are not always timely…