Discovering Fall Foliage: New England

The dog days of summer seem to go on forever. Winter often feels like it will never end. What makes fall different from every other season is that it doesn’t last. Every fall day counts because they’re fleeting. Probably the biggest thing most people notice about fall is the leaves changing. One of the delights of the season is waking up every day to a brilliant color palette of reds, golds and oranges. It’s a little different in various parts of the country, so in this brief series we’re going to take a look at where you can find the best colors, starting with New England.

When it comes to fall, the New England states have long been known as the kings of color. This region is typical in the sense that the color will spread north to south and that higher elevations will see their color peaks before lower ones. It varies from year to year, but the peak time for fall color in the southern New England states like Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island is the weekend of Columbus Day. In more northern states like upper New Hampshire and Maine, the peak is a little earlier, usually mid-September.

New England boasts some great trees that are known for their fall color. Among them are the beech, which produces a pale-yellow color, the American Sycamore, with its distinctive yellow-orange leaves and the flowering dogwood that sports red-purple fall coat. The best-known fall color tree in New England is, of course, the sugar maple. These giants not only provide sweet sap for maple syrup, but turn spectacular shades of red, orange and gold. 

Fall is a great time in New England. If you visit, be sure to sip a cup of apple cider, take a hayride and enjoy the historic setting as well as the legendary fall color.