Looking Back on New England's 2024 Autumn

Somebody asked me for a look back on 2024 and I wasn’t sure I wanted to do that. I don’t think it was quite as bad as 2023 but it wasn’t (In MY Opinion) stellar in any way, or was it? Adam Baily, in the New England fall foliage Facebook Group (seen here) thought the colors were “Amazing”. The opinions on his post differed quite a bit across the spectrum. Jason, Jeff F. (a different Jeff F.), and Karen found the fall colors sub-par. Susan, Sandy, Happy Camper, and Sandra thought it was outstanding, especially compared to 2023. Here is a comparison of why we had trouble agreeing on what we found…

These two images were taken within an hour and a half of each other, only 16 miles apart, and they are at similar elevations. (actually, the shot on the Kanc is about 300 ft lower?) So one would assume that the colors should be very similar, it was outstanding in many places along the Kancamagus but as was stated in the Facebook group, the colors along Route 93 Never really reached the bright “Peak” that we are used to seeing! Our Expectations far exceeded what we actually saw in many locations.

Expectations Vs. Experience

Now, the reason for the disparity is multifaceted. We all have our expectations on what the season will hold and this is in part based on the experiences we’ve had in the past. First-time visitors to New England may have never seen the fall colors before and the varied colors can blow them away. Compare that with folks like me who have been looking at the fall colors for over 20 years and I hate to say it but this tends to color my expectations.

Jeff F. in the group (still not this Jeff F. ) said he had been doing this for 15 years “but in my opinion was below average. Last year was better”. My opinion is different, and all of us have differing opinions because of expectations, experience, and what we actually saw this year. Jeff F., was not happy (not this Jeff) and Jeff F., was happy(er), yes this Jeff…

I like to think I manage my expectations when I go out on the road each year. But my judgment can be colored by what I remember seeing in past years. Those moments of spectacular fall colors flowing across the hillsides take our breath away. So while I can see a striped maple all in red and orange, if it’s all by itself, I find it underwhelming.

What I/we all want to see is a hillside of sugar maples where every leaf is multi-hued in red, orange, and yellow. A single tree or two is hard to compare to this moment on 14 Oct 2024 when I found the rain ending which caused the rainbow in Townsend Massachusetts.

You can see why I can be a bit jaded when it comes to the fall colors. (A leaf snob if you will) I feel “I” have seen the very best that Mother Nature has to offer in one year or another. It takes a bit more nowadays to impress me. So when I head out I try to look at the fall colors as if I had never seen them before. View the fall colors as a complete Newbie and balance my reports between the two viewpoints of expectations.

Let’s look at how I started in February in my three forecasts.

February 2024, May 2024, and July 2024

I haven’t heard anyone say I let them down, or why didn’t I know? In February, I saw average to low snowpack but within tolerances. In May I said we were light on snow so I was hoping for a balanced rain and sun mixture over the summer.

In July we had just had a deluge of rain that pummeled northern New Hampshire and Northern Vermont. It was almost a year to the date of the storms that hit us in 2023 so I was worried but held to a wait-and-see attitude. I reiterated that I saw a Slow-Burn heading our way but nothing as of then in July was worrying me.
Little did I know that the rain we just got on 12-13 July would be the last “REAL” rain until November!!!

Mother Nature tried really hard, but peak only showed in a few places and not where I thought (I was wrong-ish)

All through the rest of July New England was enjoying great sunny weather and as we got into August I was getting the usual “The colors are early posts”. As with every year I was saying don’t panic, this is normal, except… by 20 August most of Southern New England hadn’t had rain for 15 to 20 days, and by 1 September I was starting to get worried and even Jim Salge over at Yankee was starting to go from a glowing prediction of what could have been a stellar fall foliage season, to one where we were experiencing the driest autumn in the last 50+ years. (Lets say 1922?)

There was no recent history for me to look at and get an idea of how the trees might handle this. A “little” drought is ok and I think it actually helps brighten the colors. But, after 30+ days without rain, we were about to see how resilient the trees would be.

A Year of Orange, Gold, Russet Colors, and Some WAS Early

Some areas like Northern New Hampshire down to the White Mountains, southwestern Vermont, and Eastern Massachusetts seemed to do better than other areas. Why? I can only assume these areas retained water in the ground and the trees were happier…

19 Sept 2024, the early color begins to show up

People were posting left and right about “How early the fall colors were” and I forced myself to drive up to Errol New Hampshire (Just so you know this is about a 4 hour journey up and 4-5 back home again…). and then over to a place where if any place was going to be early, Dixville Notch would be it. On 19 Sept it was early in Dixville Notch but west or east of the Notch still had a ways to go. (mostly green outside the Notch.)

2 Oct and some nice color is seen, but…

On 2 October Lisa and I went up through Route 16 to the Kancamagus (check the mage comparison in the lead images of this article). Here is another comparison, between 2 Oct 2024 and 7 Oct 2022 (a really good year)

In the first image, you have The Ammonoosuc River running along Zealand Road (at the campground. In the second image, you see the sign on Route 302 pointing to the campground. So it’s obvious that the difference in the time of day will make a difference but the the question is, aside from the fact that the 2022 image was five days earlier, where are the bright fall colors?

I think its safe to say the Slow-burn temps and the complete lack of rain is NOT a good combination to produce good fall colors

I did see some very nice fall colors, but not up North…

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Southern New Hampshire

Except for the Kancamagus, I never saw really outstanding color in Northern New Hampshire, Vermont was much the same. I did most of my New Hampshire exploration from 14 to 22 October for this year. We explored places like Greenfield, Temple, and Peterborough NH.

A couple of these might sound familiar to my readers who also read Yankee Magazine. Please take this as no surprise that I too, read Yankee and I look for their guidance. I mean they have been doing this since the 1930s. I’ve only been doing it since 1999, so yes! I like to see what they recommend.

[Funny Story] Lisa and I were driving up to the Greenfield-Hancock covered bridge when my friend Butch Lombardi called and asked where I was and if I would want to meet him and his wife Cyndi in Hancock NH? Huh? We were heading there and would be there in less than an hour… Well, we got there and had brunch at the Hancock Market. (32 Main Street)

We started talking about the current issue of Yankee magazine and He and Cyndi were finding all the little towns they recommended. Well, we spent the afternoon exploring Temple and Peterborough, and then Lisa and I headed home to Salem. Its the 16th of October and here are a few shots of what we found.

Temple New Hampshire

Temple is a quiet little village with Route 45 running through it. The church, town common and the old cemetery are all within sight of each other.

Peterborough NH

Peterborough is a beautiful town to visit (or stay at) It’s very artsy, with shopping, dining, and places to explore.

Massachusetts in October

In past years I felt that Massachusetts hasn’t always met MY expectations. Well, this year my expectations were far exceeded. Here is a gallery of images to give you an idea.

Some shots were from my drone point of view and the others are on the ground with my ground-based cameras. As you can see the views and colors in Massachusetts (almost all of this group were from 14 October 2024) The Hairpin turn above North Adams was 10 October.

Conclusion

Well, as I always say Peak fall foliage is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe you didn’t find the absolute “PEAK” Or were you one of those who were absolutely happy with what you found? I don’t think it was as good as I think we all would like to see but it wasn’t the worst either. I tried new places that I don’t usually try and just drove back roads to see if I would get lucky. I do the best I can in preparing for the coming season but you just never know for sure!

Try this method

If you treat this LESS as a hunting expedition going for PEAK where nothing less will satisfy, and more of an exploration to be open to what you may find… I think you will be happier.

I’ll tell you now, I never know what I may find as I’m heading out the door… I really hope I’ll find something and I try to be open to everything I do find… If I get skunked, I will be unhappy but I know tomorrow is a new search.

Jeff Foliage Folger

Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage

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