Fall is quickly approaching and if you’re planning on coming to New England for the foliage this year, you are probably thinking about when the best time would be to plan the trip. Often the hardest part about finding foliage can be timing it right. This quick guide will give you everything you need to know in order to make sure you plan your trip at peak season!
General Fall Foliage Timeframe
Peak foliage in New England usually occurs in October. Exactly when it occurs depends on where you plan to visit. Last year we spent most of the month in the White Mountains region of New Hampshire and found that our best foliage day was on October 12th. (Generally a good rule for the white mountains is the second week of October). However, the following week, we went a little further north to one of our favorite hikes, Table Rock, and the leaves had already mostly browned. This just goes to show how important it is to schedule your trip accordingly, even an hour drive can have a completely different foliage environment.
One of our favorite tools for planning foliage routes is the tracker on the Visit New Hampshire page! It maps each of the counties and the dates on which they reach peak foliage so that you can make sure to make it to your favorite spots at just the right time. You can find that here!
Another great resource if you’re interested in tracking all of New England foliage is this map here.
Factors that Contribute to Peak Foliage Timing
While trackers are usually pretty accurate, there are still a lot of factors that can affect peak timing and the color of the leaves. It’s important to be aware of them in order to plan your best trip. Here are a few to look out for!
Daylight Hours: As the year progresses and the days become shorter, trees begin to prepare for winter by sealing off their leaves. This blocks the flow of nutrients into the leaves and prevents the production of chlorophyll, which is the pigment that makes leaves green. This lack of chlorophyll exposes the yellow and orange pigments that are associated with the fall foliage we are so familiar with.
Temperature: Cool temperatures also help break down chlorophyll faster. Obviously this is beneficial to foliage color, however, freezing temperatures can kill leaves so it’s important that the temperature remains right in that sweet spot of cold but not freezing.
Rain: In the spring, a wet growing season is crucial so that the barrier between the leaf stem and tree branch doesn’t form prematurely, which can cause them to fall in the autumn before they have fully developed color. In the fall, heavy rains and wind can also cause leaves to fall before they’ve reached their peak color.
So, to quickly sum up, the ideal conditions for beautiful fall foliage colors are a wet spring season along with a dry, sunny, and cold but not freezing autumn!
Got the timing down but still not sure where you’d like to visit? Take a look at some of my favorite leaf peeping locations in New Hampshire here!