Leaf Peeping Trip: Up North This Weekend!

[Jimmy Snyder]

Next weekend I'm taking the family north for leaf peeping. The plan is to be in Maine by Saturday afternoon in case anyone is interested in meeting us there. Then it will be a day of peeping and back home Sunday.

 

[Evo]

Next weekend I'm taking the family north for leaf peeping. The plan is to be in Maine by Saturday afternoon in case anyone is interested in meeting us there. Then it will be a day of peeping and back home Sunday.

Leaves haven't started turning here yet, i think we're in for a disapointing fall, the summer heat caused a lot of trees to drop their leaves prematurely.

I hope you have a great time leaf peeping. I think I'll drive to Maine and look for you, what color is your car?

 

[Gokul43201]

What part of Maine, Jimmy? Right now, I hear (and see) that colors are peaking in parts of the White Mountains, the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks. Baxter SP in ME is just approaching peak, but Acadia is still quite colorless.

 

[berkeman]

One tip -- when planning your drive to wonder in the turning leaves, try to drive into the sun for much of the trip, if possible (like if you're doing a loop). It makes the colors even more vibrant.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

One tip -- when planning your drive to wonder in the turning leaves, try to drive into the sun for much of the trip, if possible (like if you're doing a loop). It makes the colors even more vibrant.

That's excellent advice, but unfortunately, it'll be exactly the opposite.

Evo, my car is opal-blue. You won't have any trouble finding me. I'll be the one with Jersey plates doing 40 in a 50, no passing, with 10 Maine plates behind me shaking their fists.

 

[turbo]

Northern Aroostook county is prime. Most of central Maine has suffered from drought this summer, so the trees are losing leaves at record rates, especially as the remnants of tropical storms/hurricanes sweep through. If you are willing to head up here, I'll give you fresh garlic (Astronuc didn't take as much as I wanted to give him) so you can plant some and be a garlic-farmer.

 

[airborne18]

That is one thing I miss. We moved to Delaware and it never quite gets cold enough to force a sudden turn of the leaves. It slowly drags out depending on how far you are away from the ocean.

 

[jtbell]

The western North Carolina mountains usually put on a good show. It looks like the area around Asheville (about a hour and a half drive for me) and westward should peak in a couple of weeks, according to the state tourism department's weekly fall color reports.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I'm sorry to say that due to time constraints, I will have to pare back my plans. Instead of Maine, we will head due north to upstate NY and keep going until we see something nice. We'll bring passports just in case we have to cross the border to Belgium, or whatever they call it.

 

[Evo]

I'm sorry to say that due to time constraints, I will have to pare back my plans. Instead of Maine, we will head due north to upstate NY and keep going until we see something nice. We'll bring passports just in case we have to cross the border to Belgium, or whatever they call it.

LOL, have a great time!

I saw three trees with fall leaves today. Very pretty.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Things didn't turn out as planned. We went north to Syracuse passing some very nice fall colors in Pennsylvania, but nothing as nice in New York. Then we headed west to Niagara Falls but still nothing. Then, instead of crawling along the north side of Lake Ontario, we headed north to Algonquin Park. It was a great scenic tour, but we didn't see much in the way of peep-worthy leaves. I did see a moose, but it lumbered into some tall grass almost as soon as I caught sight of it, so my family had to take my word for it. It was Thanksgiving in Canada so we had to search long and hard for a motel and overpaid when we finally found a room. We'll do better next time.

 

[Evo]

Things didn't turn out as planned. We went north to Syracuse passing some very nice fall colors in Pennsylvania, but nothing as nice in New York. Then we headed west to Niagara Falls but still nothing. Then, instead of crawling along the north side of Lake Ontario, we headed north to Algonquin Park. It was a great scenic tour, but we didn't see much in the way of peep-worthy leaves. I did see a moose, but it lumbered into some tall grass almost as soon as I caught sight of it, so my family had to take my word for it. It was Thanksgiving in Canada so we had to search long and hard for a motel and overpaid when we finally found a room. We'll do better next time.

Moose bites hurt.

Glad you had a nice time.

 

[JaredJames]

This might be a typical British thing to say, but do people really get that excited about leaves in the US?

I'll be honest, I can't see the fascination, then again, I have three oaks (big buggers) in the back garden doing just that right now so it's just become something that happens for me.

 

[turbo]

This might be a typical British thing to say, but do people really get that excited about leaves in the US?

I'll be honest, I can't see the fascination, then again, I have three oaks (big buggers) in the back garden doing just that right now so it's just become something that happens for me.

In northern New England, the colors of the foliage can be breathtaking. I have experienced "fall" all over the eastern US from FL to TX, and ME to WI, and there is a ton of variation. Western MA can have some beautiful foliage, as can eastern NY state, but I think that the northern tiers of VT, NH, and ME get more dramatic colors on average. When the temperature drops very quickly, and it happens in a way that affects the maples, aspen, mountain ash all at about the same time, the scenery can be incredible. This year, the drought stressed a lot of trees, and most of the white ash trees and birches have already lost foliage. Those trees are very "thrifty" and are quick to drop leaves when they can no longer help sustain the trees.

 

[mugaliens]

I spent the week in Vail two weeks ago. It was wonderful to see the mountain aspens turning as I was driving up there and back.