Fall Foliage

[lammius]

I've been in NJ for a couple years and since my arrival I've wanted to take a Fall trip to New England or Upstate New York to see the famous foliage. Looking out my office window down here in NJ, however, I'm surprised to see so much color so early in October. My questions are these:

Am I already too late to see color in New England or Upstate NY?

Where are the best places to go, most scenic drives, most enjoyable hikes, etc.?

Since this region's foliage is world famous, are there areas that are just overrun by leaf watchers and must be avoided?

Since there's such a large New England contingent here I'm sure you guys will have lots of quality insider info!

[runawayjim]

Am I already too late to see color in New England or Upstate NY?

not for southern new england, and probably northern as well. peak time is usually mid-late october for northern new england and late october to early november for southern new england. as i look out my window, trees are only starting to change now.

Where are the best places to go, most scenic drives, most enjoyable hikes, etc.?

if i can find the CNN thing that recently suggested places, i'll look for it. litchfield county in CT is beautiful, as is northeastern CT around the uconn area. there's good hiking in both places.

in RI, there's lincoln woods and the whole blackstone river valley is really nice as well (there's a nice bike path that has nice foliage views along there).

almost anywhere in VT or NH is good (especially northern NH). in NH try the kancamangus highway and do some hiking in franconia notch.

Since this region's foliage is world famous, are there areas that are just overrun by leaf watchers and must be avoided?

the kancamangus gets a lot of traffic, but i've never noticed a ton of "leafers" (term used on the family guy) that caused certain areas to be classified as "avoid at all costs".

[MadVlad]

not for southern new england, and probably northern as well. peak time is usually mid-late october for northern new england and late october to early november for southern new england. as i look out my window, trees are only starting to change now.

if i can find the CNN thing that recently suggested places, i'll look for it. litchfield county in CT is beautiful, as is northeastern CT around the uconn area. there's good hiking in both places.

in RI, there's lincoln woods and the whole blackstone river valley is really nice as well (there's a nice bike path that has nice foliage views along there).

almost anywhere in VT or NH is good (especially northern NH). in NH try the kancamangus highway and do some hiking in franconia notch.

the kancamangus gets a lot of traffic, but i've never noticed a ton of "leafers" (term used on the family guy) that caused certain areas to be classified as "avoid at all costs".

My parents live in Maine, they said peak was last week, peak here in CT is this coming week from the looks...

[runawayjim]

My parents live in Maine, they said peak was last week, peak here in CT is this coming week from the looks...

interesting... our trees still have a ton of green.

[lammius]

interesting... our trees still have a ton of green.

That's surprising because down here in Jersey I'd say we're quickly approaching peak. Many trees appear bare already. It seems to have come a couple weeks earlier than normal this year.

Thanks for the good information, though. I've heard about Litchfield, CT before. I think that area is probably worth checking out. I drove up the Taconic Parkway on the east side of the Hudson during Summer and thought it would be a nice drive to take in the Fall. Maybe I can head up that way and then hop over to CT or western Mass. I've always thought Rhode Island to be more of a summertime destination, but given the leafer hysteria known to hit Quahog, it might be worth checking out.

[runawayjim]

That's surprising because down here in Jersey I'd say we're quickly approaching peak. Many trees appear bare already. It seems to have come a couple weeks earlier than normal this year.

Thanks for the good information, though. I've heard about Litchfield, CT before. I think that area is probably worth checking out. I drove up the Taconic Parkway on the east side of the Hudson during Summer and thought it would be a nice drive to take in the Fall. Maybe I can head up that way and then hop over to CT or western Mass. I've always thought Rhode Island to be more of a summertime destination, but given the leafer hysteria known to hit Quahog, it might be worth checking out.

northwestern RI is actually almost entirely woodlands.

i'm looking out my window now at a bunch of deciduous trees (maples even) and they're just starting to turn yellow.

[MadVlad]

That's surprising because down here in Jersey I'd say we're quickly approaching peak. Many trees appear bare already. It seems to have come a couple weeks earlier than normal this year.

Thanks for the good information, though. I've heard about Litchfield, CT before. I think that area is probably worth checking out. I drove up the Taconic Parkway on the east side of the Hudson during Summer and thought it would be a nice drive to take in the Fall. Maybe I can head up that way and then hop over to CT or western Mass. I've always thought Rhode Island to be more of a summertime destination, but given the leafer hysteria known to hit Quahog, it might be worth checking out.

A drive up the Merritt Parkway is never a bad thing. My advice: take the Tappan Zee to the Hutch/Merritt, then Rt 8 North from Bridgeport through Waterbury and up into Litchfield County, then just go pick a road....

[runawayjim]

A drive up the Merritt Parkway is never a bad thing. My advice: take the Tappan Zee to the Hutch/Merritt, then Rt 8 North from Bridgeport through Waterbury and up into Litchfield County, then just go pick a road....

i'd go up 7, it hits some of the prettier towns (like kent, cornwall, and canaan) and less industrial areas and you can take it all the way up into western mass through great barrington and stockbridge, which is a beautiful town. plus, it's more of a drive, because 7 isn't a highway most of the way, while 8 is. it's a much more enjoyable drive.

but take the merritt, it's always nice (although i think it's lined mostly with evergreens, so there's not much foliage around it).

[MadVlad]

i'd go up 7, it hits some of the prettier towns (like kent, cornwall, and canaan) and less industrial areas and you can take it all the way up into western mass through great barrington and stockbridge, which is a beautiful town. plus, it's more of a drive, because 7 isn't a highway most of the way, while 8 is. it's a much more enjoyable drive.

but take the merritt, it's always nice (although i think it's lined mostly with evergreens, so there's not much foliage around it).

There's plenty of foliage around the Merritt....

[Cotuit]

With the two feet of snow they just got in the Buffalo area, leaf peeping is pretty much done there. The news was saying lots of leaf-peepers were caught off guard by the storm and got trapped in their hotels. Other areas of Up State and central New York are still a pretty good bet though.

[Cotuit]

[runawayjim]

awesome map... i knew i wasn't crazy when i said that most of our trees still have quite a bit of green.

and they're called leafers!!

[ctman987]

The colors are definitly coming into CT....anyplace that has trees is truly a gem. There are tons of locations in the Litchfield Hills as well as in eastern CT...also dont forget CT's cities....New England cities tend to have trees and now the streets of Hartford and New Haven for example are filled with fall foliage

[runawayjim]

The colors are definitly coming into CT....anyplace that has trees is truly a gem. There are tons of locations in the Litchfield Hills as well as in eastern CT...also dont forget CT's cities....New England cities tend to have trees and now the streets of Hartford and New Haven for example are filled with fall foliage

same here in RI... i looked out my bedroom window and saw the trees of mount pleasant. while mostly green, they're starting to turn. i'd say in about a week or 2 they'll be in full colors, unless of course the weather stays this cool and dry and they'll be like that in a few days.

[lammius]

I took a weekend road trip to Boston and I was quite surprised how much greener portions of CT and MA were than northern NJ!

[Gusterfell]

Anyone drive down rt. 24 from MA into RI in the last week or two? The trees are just beginning to show color in MA, then when you hit the state line the trees abruptly explode with color. It's pretty wierd.