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

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