2020 Fall Foliage: See When Leaves Change in New York

It's the most colorful time of year. Some of the best fall foliage in the country can be found in upstate New York. The area has been named the top spot for Fall foliage.

Don't wait. The fall foliage season doesn't last long. The changes begin high in the Adirondack and Catskill mountains in late August and early September, and spreads out and down across the hills and valleys of the state, ending on Long Island and in New York City in early November. It takes about two weeks for the colors to complete their cycles in any given area, with peak brilliance lasting three to four days in any one spot.

The fall foliage season runs September 28th to October 28th, depending on the elevation. It'll hit peak season October 5th in upstate New York, while Western New York and the Capital Region won't peak until October 12th.

Your Guide to Fall Foliage: Peak Report by Region

Best Places to See Fall Foliage in New York:
*Prospect Mountain
*the Catskill Forest Preserve
*West Point’s Trophy Point
*Letchworth State Park
*Saratoga Monument
*Gore Mountain
*Whiteface Mountain
*Lake Placid

Here's an interactive Fall Foliage Map created by David Angotti at SmokeyMountains.com to give you an idea of approximately when leaves will start to change around the country.

"Since the fall foliage map is based on meteorology and predictive patters, the precise moment Mother Nature produces peak fall is difficult to predict," says Angotti. "While the refinement of our algorithmic model over the past eight years has helped us achieve reliable results, accurate meteorology predictions are sometimes elusive and never 100% accurate. However, the good news is that the combination of nearly a decade of experience combined with great meteorological data sources ensures we achieve a higher accuracy over time."