Fall foliage in Massachusetts

Massachusetts colors from the Berkshires eastward. Mount Greylock, the Mohawk Trail and the hill towns turn in the first and second weeks of October, the Connecticut Valley and the Quabbin in the third week, and the eastern woods around Walden and the North Shore toward the end of the month. Sugar maple and birch give the west its reds and golds; oaks extend the season in the east. The Cape and the Islands fade rather than peak, usually in early November.

Those are the months when color is present somewhere in Massachusetts, from its highest ground to its lowest. Any one location changes over a much shorter period than that.

Why the timing shifts from year to year

Shortening days start the process, so most places in Massachusetts change at close to their usual time each year. Within the state, elevation and latitude account for most of the difference: higher and more northern ground generally changes first, and lower, sheltered ground last. Weather has more effect on how strong the color is than on when it appears. Cool nights and sunny days favor the reds, a dry summer mutes them, and a hard freeze or a windstorm can strip a slope in a day. What determines the timing goes through this in detail.

Nearby states

Fall color does not follow state lines. Massachusetts borders:

• Connecticut fall foliage
• New Hampshire fall foliage
• New York fall foliage
• Rhode Island fall foliage
• Vermont fall foliage

Timing for a specific place

This page describes a whole state, which is about as precise as a season can be described in words. Conditions at one overlook on one weekend are a narrower question, and that is the one Fallcast answers: an expected period of color for a specific location, with a confidence attached, updated through the season as the trees change. It is coming to iPhone this fall.

Questions, or somewhere in Massachusetts you would like covered? Write to fallcastapp@gmail.com.