New England
2018 Foliage Report | Peak Color Reaches Southern New England
Where can you find peak foliage right now? Learn more in our latest New England fall foliage report.
By Jim Salge|Oct 25 2018|
A Small Waterfall Surrounded By Color This Week In Shannock, RI
Credit: Mark Truman
A Small Waterfall Surrounded By Color This Week In Shannock, RI
Credit: Mark TrumanCredit: Mark Truman Already now, the maples and birches are turning bright shades of yellow and orange across Rhode Island and central and southern Connecticut, and they should continue to only brighten from here. Unfortunately, though, after such a lengthy period of warm and especially cloudy weather this autumn, red colors do not seem particularly prominent outside of the wetlands in southern New England, though the landscape is nonetheless beautiful.
Great Yellows and Oranges Are Nearing Peak In The Cockaponset Sttate Forest in Chester, CT
Credit: Jonathan SteeleCredit: Jonathan Steele While great road trip options exist throughout the region, one of our favorites — and possibly the most surprising — is the Merritt Parkway, across southern Connecticut. Though it represents a bit of a departure from the back roads and small towns that we usually suggest in these reports, this tree-lined highway is not only beautiful for foliage but also features unique bridge architecture. (We also have plenty of suggestions for more typical foliage drives in the region on our site.)
2018 FOLIAGE UPDATE: WHERE TO FIND PEAK COLOR NOW
There are a few caveats to the foliage show across this region this weekend. First, the timing of the maples and birches seems very decoupled from that of the oaks across all of New England this year. As I look out the window right now in southern New Hampshire, where most of the early peak colors lay on the ground, I see a lot of green on the hillsides where oaks are still waiting to turn. Therefore, the fall show in Connecticut and Rhode Island will depend on the forest mix: It will be strongest where there are more maples and fewer oaks.
Foliage and Green Mixed at the Perryville Dam This Past Week
Credit: Bryan BzdulaCredit: Bryan Bzdula Second — and more important — we are expecting a significant coastal storm with wind, rain, and snow across the region this weekend. This certainly will have a negative effect on the foliage display. Not only have the leaves come on strong this year, they seem to be leaving just as fast! As the first wave of color has finally made it all the way south, we turn to a second wave of colors coming in now farther north. These colors are more subtle and more intimately a part of the landscape, and they emerge across the landscape after the peak. They are the tones of rusts and golds in the late beech trees, the slow-turning oaks, and the surprising larches.
Peak Colors Have Passed In Many Areas Of the Northern New England States
Credit: Jim Salge
