September 10-16:
This is the very early stage of our fall foliage season. To
find color, we suggest you travel to northern Maine - Aroostook
County, Aroostook
State Park, Allagash
Wilderness Waterway, Fort Kent, Presque Isle, Ashland, Mars
Hill. Peak color typically occurs in these locations the last
week in September.
September 17-23:
Maine is traditionally experiencing less than 30% color change
at this time of the year. Higher elevations in northern areas
display the most color. We suggest you visit Sherman Mills,
Baxter State
Park, Shin Pond, Ashland and Portage.
September 24-30:
Maine's hillsides are beginning to blush with more than half
of the trees displaying fall colors. The best locations
to leaf peep are anywhere in northern Maine, like Aroostook
State Park, Route 11, Eagle
Lake Public Reserved Land unit, Pittston Farm, Kineo
and Rockwood.
October 1-7:
This is the best week for Peak Color in central Maine. Fall
foliage color is in full swing in western and central Maine:
Visit Grafton
Notch State Park, Route 17 near Richardson
Lake, Bigelow
Preserve, Route 27/16 in Carrabassett Valley, Cathedral
Pines Rest Area in Eustis, the lookout from Eustis Ridge, Mt.
Blue State Park in Weld, Tumbledown Mountain Range, Greenville,
Moosehead, Jackman, Lily
Bay State Park, Rockwood, Sebec Lake, and Dover-Foxcroft.
October 8-14:
Best week for Peak Color in western and southern Maine This
is one of the peak weeks for leaf peeping as peak conditions
are coloring Maine hillsides. Visit Fryeburg, Bethel, Rangeley,
Mt. Blue, Skowhegan, Farmington, Rumford, north of Portland,
and the greater Augusta area.
October 15-21:
Best week for Peak Color in southern and coastal Maine. Find
peak color south of Portland, Sebago Lake region, Bridgton Limerick,
Waterboro, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Wells, and York.
Where and when can I
see peak color in Maine?
- Northern Maine: last week in September
- Central and Western Maine: first week in October
- Coastal
and Southern Maine: second and the third week in October
- See When & Where
to Visit for
a chart of historical peak foliage dates, and more trip-planning
information.
Can I get more information
about Maine trees?
View our Maine Tree Guide and Maine
Forest Facts pages. We
can also mail you a packet of information about Maine trees.
Please email your request.
Find more information about managing trees on your land, visit Be Woods Wise.
Which state parks have the
best fall color?
Aroostook
State Park
Bradbury
Mountain State Park
Camden
Hills State Park
Fort Knox State Historic Site
Grafton
Notch State Park
Lamoine
State Park
Mount
Blue State Park
Wolfe's
Neck Woods State Park
View
our animated movie to learn more! (Flash Player required)
Springtime and plenty of chlorophyll.
Each spring leaves contain green, red, orange and yellow pigments.
Throughout the summer, the green is dominant due to chlorophyll
production.
Day length, rainfall and sugar.
Many factors influence autumn coloration and the most important
being day length, followed by rainfall, sugar accumulations
in the leaves, wind, and prolonged periods of cool, bright,
sunny autumn weather without a
killing frost. The brighter the light during this period, the
greater the production of these pigments.
Cool autumn days.
When the days of autumn are sunny and cool, the nights chilly
but not freezing, the brightest colorations
usually develop. This is when the production of chlorophyll
, which is created by sunlight during photosynthesis, slows
down.
Autumn colors. As sunlight hours decrease, the green starts
to disappear and the other pigments - red, orange, yellow,
scarlet and purple - come alive!
Getting ready for winter.
Meanwhile the tree produces a waxy substance to protect itself
from the elements once a leaf
separates from the branch. That's why leaves can withstand
strong wind and rain during the summer, but come down so easily
during a fall rainstorm. The key is to get a picture of your
favorite tree when you see it: don't wait!
Here's a guide to the species of trees and the color they produce
during autumn:
Yellow:
Green and black ash, basswood, beech, birches, butternut, and
elm. In the maple species - boxelder, mountain, silver, striped
and sugar. And don't forget mountain ash, poplar, serviceberry,
willow, and witch hazel.
Red and Scarlet:
Red, mountain, and sugar maples; black, red, scarlet and white
oak; hornbeam, sumac and tupelo.
Brown:
White and black oak
Purple:
White ash and witch hazel.
Visit the Maine Tree Guide
for more about Maine trees and coloring book pictures of Maine
tree leaves!
How do I take great fall
foliage pictures?
Here are a few tips for those of you who are taking photos
with point-and-shoot cameras.
Use 400-speed color print film. The lenses of
most point-and-shoots are fairly slow. A fast film helps you
on those less-than-bright days and the quality and sharpness
of modern 400-speed print films is outstanding. Don't worry
about using it when the sun is bright. Print films have broad
exposure latitudes and at worse, your automatic camera will
be using its fastest shutter speeds (cutting down on camera
shake) and its smallest lens openings (improving depth of focus).
Add Depth. Add a sense of depth to your landscapes.
When shooting the distant hills of color, include a closer tree,
or other object in the foreground.
Scale. Occasionally include an object for a sense
of scale to visually depict how large a landmark is in real
life. This way, when you're home looking at your vacation photographs,
you can point to how high you were on top of Mt. Battie in Camden,
for instance. You can include a man-made object or another person
to achieve a sense of scale.
Think Macro! Don't forget the macro setting on
your camera. Most point-and-shoot cameras have a close-up or
macro setting (many times indicated by a tulip symbol on the
controls). Bringing your camera as "up close and personal"
as its minimum focusing distance will allow, can give you a
whole different type of foliage photo to enhance the large landscapes.
Cloudy Skies? - Don't Despair! If the sun isn't
out, sometimes the best foliage shots are possible. As long
as you're not insistent on having blue sky in your photos, the
light available from overcast or even rainy days can give you
a host of colors with a nice even contrast. On especially dark
days, one of the new 800 or 1000-speed films might be advisable.
How do I preserve leaves?
There are different ways to preserve leaves. Our suggestion:
Make a solution of one-third glycerine and two parts boiling
water. Place the stems in the solution while it's still hot.
Keep the leaves in the solution over night. Remove and dry the
next day.
To press leaves, place them between sheets of newspaper and
place them under something heavy, like a stack of books. You
can also press leaves with a warm iron. Place leaves between
tissue or wax paper first. The color will last longer if you
keep leaves out of direct sunlight and away from the air.
