Fall Colors in the Eastern Region National Forests

10th Fall Color Report 2024 

Catch the colors before they fade!

That’s a wrap! The 2024 USDA Forest Service Eastern Region’s annual Fall Color Flickr campaign is at an end. Several national forests across the region have reported post peak fall color conditions and submitted their final reports of the season. A couple others are just now at peak. The following fall color summary is based on news reports and observations across the region and highlight some local conditions.

New York City’s Central Park has reached peak conditions earlier than normal. Upstate New York is also enjoying fall color. Much of Maryland is also reporting peak conditions this week. New Jersey is still putting on a colorful display. In southern West Virginia, foliage season is going better than expected. Parts of Michigan are still in full color, as seen from satellite imagery, though the fall color season is headed for the final curtain. Interestingly, Indiana is still at peak conditions.

We hope you enjoyed nature’s brilliant fall color show for 2024! It was a good one. Check out our final collection of scenic and colorful fall photos from across the landscape in our Eastern Region Fall Colors 2024 Flickr album!

Where fall colors are popping

• Shawnee National Forest in Illinois
• Hoosier National Forest in Indiana
• Wayne National Forest in Ohio

Where fall colors are fading

• Superior National Forest in Minnesota
• Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Huron-Manistee National Forests in Michigan
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire
• Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia
• Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania

Week Ten Report

Below are our latest observations across the landscape:

Michigan

Huron-Manistee National Forests: Cotton candy-colored skies greet the golden tones of fall quickly fading under seasonable autumnal weather. Hedgerows and tree lines bask in the sun’s warmth. Their colors turning to tawny, umber, ochre and chocolate undertones. Just a week ago, the setting sun lit up the trees with hot-pink, brown and red, resembling the shocking, vibrant colors of Merthiolate. Warm days pop up, leaving forest visitors thinking its second summer again.  Teasing them with enough warmth to shed their layers, only to plummet the temperatures as the sun begins to set. Colder air torments the trees, clenching their foliage only to release it under the torrent of wind that comes with the changing weather. Dramatic gray, puffy clouds dance across a ceiling of blue confining the sun's light to streams and intermittent rays cutting through interwoven, naked limbs. The last of the Canada geese, squawking and honking in their V-formation overhead, rotate in a timely, cyclical fashion, spreading flight fatigue equally among the flock, on their way to warmer winter grounds. Leaves cascade to the ground, blanketing the forest floor with a patchwork of oak, aspen, maple and beech leaves. Their parasailing movement sounding a plunk, plunk, plunk as they come to rest on the forest floor. Ferns angle, crease and fall to the ground weaving a bed of warm vegetation for insects and other creatures overwintering in the newly composed ecosystem. Decomposing leaves, their tannins creating a bittersweet earthy smell, permeate the atmosphere. The smell of autumn signals the last few days of October. Leaf litter rustles as squirrels and chipmunks scurry about gathering pinecones and nuts dropping from the trees, quickly darting for cover when the shadow of a predatory bird glides across the ground. Does, fawns and yearlings gather in the meadows within bounding distance of the forest, grazing on the last of the summer grasses. Sweater weather is upon us. The foggy bottom mornings on the rivers will yield to ice. Crystal clear night skies will harbor a billion points of light holding the space for the northern lights to dance around. We will shiver in the cold, barefoot and jacketless, as we try to capture the Aurora Borealis on our cellphones, deleting pet photos and recipe screenshots when it gets too full. Soon hunters will take to their blinds and the only colors left in the woods this fall will be blaze orange. And then, the snow will come. Missed the colors? Catch the Huron-Manistee NFs' Interactive Fall color map until Nov. 14, 2024.

Minnesota

Chippewa National Forest: Color: Past Peak. Grasses and Flowers: Past. The Chippewa National Forest is “past peak”.  Past peak means many things to many people. Leaves have lost their “peak” color and brightness and get duller and darker.  You will see some leaves still on the trees, but most are on the ground. After a leaf has reached the ground, it breaks down with the help of animals, bacteria, and fungi, creating a layer of decaying organic material at the base of the tree. The leaf matter is converted back into simple carbon dioxide and water. This is just one of the fundamental parts of the carbon cycle.The 2024 fall color show on the Chippewa National Forest has come to…THE END.

Superior National Forest: With almost all the leaves fallen, the forest waits tonight for its first blanket of snow. Tomorrow, the golden brown of autumn on the forest floor will be replaced with white, possibly only for a few hours or days, but a harbinger of the season to come. Deer slip in and out between the bare trees and soon the hunting season opens, bringing new noises to the quiet woods. October is showy and easy to love, but November with its snow squalls, warm spells, and short days has an appeal all its own for those who take the time to know it. Fall is over, but the forest is still here.

St. Paul Field Office: Fall colors near the St Paul Field Office are past peak, with colors fading to dark yellows, oranges, and browns. Many trees have lost 80-90% of their leaves. Staff traveling south have reported strong fall colors continuing.

Wisconsin

Urban Connections Milwaukee: Fall color has started to fade and fall to the ground in the Milwaukee area. Get out to a park or urban forest, enjoy the unseasonably warm weather and see the last of what fall has to offer.

Indiana

Hoosier National Forest: Bright oranges and golds are spreading across the forest. There are several sites across the forest that we welcome visitors to visit to view and experience the colors. You can find a list here. 

Illinois 

Shawnee National Forest: The Shawnee National Forest in the fall is nothing short of magical and it is finally popping with color. The forest transforms into a breathtaking canvas of vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows during the fall season. This stunning display is thanks to the towering oaks, maples, and hickories shedding their summer greens and painting the landscape with rich, warm tones. The serene environment is perfect for a leisurely hike or a moment of reflection. For all your trip planning needs go to southermostillionis.com.
 

Ohio

Wayne National Forest: Fall color is at peak in southeast Ohio!

Pennsylvania 

Allegheny National Forest: The fall color season is ending here in Allegheny National Forest. Trees are quickly dropping their remaining leaves, but a few areas around the Allegheny Reservoir are still hanging on. Webbs Ferry Boat Launch is still sporting bright orange and gold leaves.

West Virginia 

Monongahela National Forest: Until Next Year - This is the time of year when a small squirrel sounds like a huge bear stomping around. As we transition away from fall, a few last bright spots stand out, but it’s impossible to move in the forest without crunching through a blanket of leaves.