Fall Foliage Map 2025

Posted4 months agoActive3 months ago

rappatic

252 points

37 comments

explorefall.comOtherstory

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Fall FoliageTravelNature

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Fall Foliage

Travel

Nature

The 'Fall Foliage Map 2025' website provides a useful tool for planning trips to see autumn colors in the US, sparking discussions about personal experiences with fall foliage and the science behind it.

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01Story posted
Sep 22, 2025 at 8:14 PM EDT
4 months ago
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Sep 22, 2025 at 9:58 PM EDT
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Sep 27, 2025 at 3:43 PM EDT
3 months ago
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Discussion (37 comments)

Showing 37 comments

mauvehaus

4 months ago

6 replies

This tracks for us in Vermont. It's barely rained since early July, and of the trees in our yard, the birch is damn near bare, the oak is starting to drop, and the maple is just holding on to its leaves. In the wider area I drive in, the trees are starting to show some color.

We're looking forward to some rain this week, but we're a ways behind[0]. If you have New England fall foliage plans, you might want to move them up if you can.

[0]https://www.drought.gov/states/vermont

beezle

4 months ago

1 reply

Can confirm. North central VT a lot of brown/leaf drops very early without even rain. Of which, with this morning's 0.25" we are at 1.08" for Sept after 1.72" in Aug. That said, there are some reds developing and a smattering of yellows.

Advise leaf peepers to skip my town and just stay in NJ ;)

beezle

4 months ago

But for any who still want to do it, rec that you check webcams at the various mountain resorts (Jay, Stowe, Sugarbush, KMart, Mt Snow, etc).

nativeit

4 months ago

We travel to New England the first week of October every year regardless to see family. It’s usually a great week to see the foliage, but considering the way everything has been going here in NC (leaves are already starting) I was expecting an early start, it’s a bummer to hear confirmed. Oh well, looking forward to visiting either way. See y’all in a few weeks!

dugmartin

4 months ago

Confimed. I live in the tiny bit of "moderate" color that is dipping down from Vermont into Western Mass. We are in a drought and the leaves seem to be just drying up and dropping instead of changing colors. I'm hoping the rain this week doesn't just knock them off the trees.

Loudergood

4 months ago

Indeed, I just drove across the state on Saturday and things are just starting to change in the higher valleys. Stressed trees are starting in the lower valleys as well.

lambdasquirrel

4 months ago

Yeah you can't really have a foliage map without a drought map to accompany it. The fall colors are a fickle thing. Last year's was pretty drab in lower NY. The year before it was quite good.

mindslight

4 months ago

It feels like it's going to be a pretty lackluster leaf season, with everything going at different times. Note to tourists: if you'd like to bring some leaves home, take as many as you'd like.

pwarner

4 months ago

1 reply

I want real time updates from satellite imagery!

s0rce

4 months ago

I've used satellite imagery to plan trips to see fall colors, you can see big stands of aspen changing colors but usually there are enough people out taking photos that you dont need it and the high enough resolution photos lack sufficient frequency.

https://www.sentinel-hub.com/

mrdependable

4 months ago

4 replies

Wow, those pictures look gorgeous. I'm guessing they depict the North East US somewhere? Really want to get out of Southern California so I can experience seasons again.

rconti

4 months ago

Looks like the northeast because it's so flat, yeah.

Go on a roadtrip! The eastern Sierra is absolutely GORGEOUS in the fall. Because I am closer to Tahoe, one of my favorite is Hope Valley, east of the crest outside of Kirkwood.

But all the way up 395 should be pretty spectacular.

dgaudet

4 months ago

if you're up for a road trip, then cedar city utah is an option from southern california. the mountains on the east side of town have plenty of fall colors (lots of hiking options, national forests/parks).

s0rce

4 months ago

There are a bunch of canyons up the eastern sierra that have great fall color

https://californiafallcolor.com/map/

cde-v

4 months ago

Both are from Virginia according to the alt text. I had the same thought though, the first one looked like somewhere between Vermont and New Hampshire along the Connecticut River.

DietaryNonsense

4 months ago

1 reply

Can I please just take a moment to talk about the Fall foliage? Autumn crimsons and browns, and golds, and buttery golds, and buttery browns.

wewtyflakes

4 months ago

We decided to drive down to see the seasons change... Was a long trip through Virginia... Kentucky... Tennessee... Georgia... but its just so magical to me to come from the north... where it is cold... to the south... where it is warm... To see the tremendous differences from region to region... in this incredible country ours. Mmmm.

(Birdcage)

echelon

4 months ago

4 replies

Is it just me, or are the leaves changing color earlier than normal this year?

I could have sworn this was a biochemical incident sunlight, and yet the leaves are changing over a month earlier than every other year in recent memory.

Am I crazy?

fransje26

4 months ago

1 reply

Can also be due to drought. Did you have a drier summer/end of summer in your area?

cmiles74

4 months ago

I can confirm, MA is all drought right now.

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/drought-status

whalesalad

4 months ago

1 reply

That’s how I feel here in Michigan. It’s been very dry though. Has been stellar weather for my outdoor cannabis but the good luck has run out and we are in a very wet foggy week now. Fall is certainly here. Fingers crossed I don’t have any issues with mold/mildew. As I look out the window visibility is about 100 feet the fog is so thick.

beezle

4 months ago

1 reply

If the girls aren't in ground, move them indoors during that wet/damp stuff. Nothing worse than getting bud rot with a couple weeks to go.

whalesalad

4 months ago

1 reply

They're enormous (6+ feet tall) in 10 gallon pots with stakes all around. Moving them will be a challenge =(

I might get out the leaf blower and try to gently give them a dry.

beezle

3 months ago

I have two near 7 footers, plus 15 more from the bags. Luckily have an area with a vaulted ceiling. I use two things meant to hang backdrops for photo/video shoots that can go up 10" and hang a few lights on that. My bags are 15G for the photos.

If you have a garage that isn't too much of a mess you can always pop them in and out of it during the worst of the wet.

avalys

4 months ago

Same as usual here in Colorado.

bushman130

4 months ago

What is a false autumn and why is it happening? - BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c75423qzg2go

creamyhorror

4 months ago

1 reply

I use the Japanese equivalents to decide where to visit in Japan in fall. Quite handy.

rconti

4 months ago

My first visit to Japan was late last fall. Tokyo around the 25th, Hiroshima before the end of the month, Miyajima Island, and working my way back north through the 13th of December.

I had heard the colors around Kyoto would peak in November, but I certainly didn't expect it to be so beautiful into December.

pb060

4 months ago

2 replies

Not that I was expecting a global dataset, but title should be “USA Fall Foliage Map 2025“.

rappaticAuthor

3 months ago

That was my original title but I think mods changed it because it doesn’t reflect the website’s title.

bushman130

4 months ago

Maybe we'll get an "Autumn Foliage Map" for the rest of the world. England's looking quite beautiful this month.

JumpCrisscross

4 months ago

Strongly recommend for Clockwork's The Incredible Biology Powering Autumn Colors｜Leaf Senescence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOjkeyjJ364.

The biochemistry of photosynthesis is wild. The fact that these are mobile power stations that plants remove from the frontline for winter is mind blowing. (The closest I can think of would be your eyes shipping all of their retinal into your liver or whatever while you sleep.)

robotnikman

4 months ago

Living in the middle of the Sonora Desert, I unfortunately don't get to experience the wonderful fall weather of the midwest anymore. I hope to someday move to a place where I can enjoy it again, it was always my favorite time of year when I was a kid.

tinyhouse

4 months ago

Thanks! Looks much better than those sites with all the ads.

lippihom

4 months ago

Was hoping this would work for everywhere around the world. Cool project though!

CSMastermind

4 months ago

There are a couple of places I get nostalgic for each year.

Seattle in the summer and western Pennsylvania in the fall.

There's something magical about the leaves changing color, crisp air in the morning, chilly nights with hot chocloate or apple cider.

p1mrx