Colorful leaves will soon turn New England into a picturesque postcard. But the exact timing of leaf peeping season changes from year-to-year.
Here’s what we know about peak fall foliage times in New England this year.
The leaves changing in New England are expected to start as early as Sept. 13, according to Explore Fall, a website dedicated to fall foliage. This is when leaves in the northern parts of Maine will begin changing.
The leaves will then slowly start changing further south. At the end of September, Explore Fall expects northern Maine’s leaves to hit its high to peak color.
Peak color isn’t expected to hit Massachusetts until Oct. 5, according to the website. Soon after that, it’ll be past time to see peak color in parts of Maine.
It estimates most of Western Massachusetts will have peak color around Oct. 16. But it’ll be past its prime by Oct. 25, which is around the same time eastern Massachusetts will see its peak.
But it’s just an estimate, the website warns. It claims its “fall foliage model is accurate within three days 80% of the time.”
“Don’t get us wrong, we haven’t cracked the exact recipe for the progression of fall foliage, but our deep learning approach allows us to minimize potential errors and quantify fall color,” the website states.
Farmer’s Almanac predicts that fall foliage will start to change in northern states by late September with some areas being past their prime by Oct. 4.
“Much of New England as well as the Pacific Northwest, will be at or near peak fall color by October 11,” Farmer’s Almanac wrote.
It’s animated map shows that Maine will start seeing colorful leaves by the start of September and it’ll trickle down to Massachusetts by Sept. 11.
Western Massachusetts is expected to be at peak around Oct. 11, according to the Farmer’s Almanac map. Eastern Massachusetts is expected to have peak colors around Oct. 17.
Maine’s prime is expected to end by Oct. 18 and Massachusetts will be past it’s prime by Oct. 25, according to the map.
According to Smoky Mountains’ map, minimal change will begin in Maine by Sept. 4. The state will begin to see peak colors by Oct. 2 and will be past its peak by Oct. 16.
In Massachusetts, Smoky Mountains predicts minimal color changes by Sept. 18 with color peaks on Oct. 9. Massachusetts color will begin to fade around Oct. 16.
And while Yankee Magazine is known of its foliage season predictions, it has not released its guide for the 2024 season.
However, in 2023 it predicted that Worcester County would be the first in Massachusetts to see early color change, with Yankee Magazine’s map predicting Sept. 6 as its official early start date.
