Fall foliage in New York

New York has one of the longest progressions in the East. The High Peaks of the Adirondacks around Tupper and Saranac lakes and Gore Mountain turn at the very end of September; the Champlain and Lake George country follows in the first two weeks of October; the Catskills, Kaaterskill Clove and the Hudson Valley peak in the third week; Long Island and the city finish in early November. Sugar maple, birch and beech carry the north; oaks and hickories extend the season southward.

Those are the months when color is present somewhere in New York, 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 New York 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. New York borders:

• Connecticut fall foliage
• Massachusetts fall foliage
• New Jersey fall foliage
• Pennsylvania 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 New York you would like covered? Write to fallcastapp@gmail.com.