Central Mass Fall Foliage Season 2010

Massachusetts Fall Foliage

Tomorrow is the first day of fall/autumn and is the kick off of our fall foliage season.  As residents of New England we may sometimes take for granted the beauty of the fall foliage season.  The best fall foliage is something many people actually plan for.  Vacations and day trips are planned during the Autumn to see the beautiful display of colors both here in Central Massachusetts as well as all over New England.

I tend to find myself thinking about planning a trip to see the best fall foliage when the best time has actually passed.  The reason is that since we don’t realize how fast the leaves can change.  When we notice our own leaves changing some of the best routes for viewing the most beautiful colors are actually beyond peak.  This year I found a resource to help us with both estimating what the best time is to see fall foliage as well as some driving routes across Massachusetts.

The tool can be found on the Massachusetts Travel and Tourism website.  The picture above is what the page looks like.  You can hover over weeks to see what the foliage conditions should be like at that time.  You can also hover over the leaves on the tool and you can see suggested routes for the specific area in Massachusetts(including access to directions) and a listing of the places you can stop.  It even has a fall events calendar that lists events by week.  This is a great planning tool for things to do in the fall in Massachusetts.

Here in Central Mass if you click on the leaf in Central Mass you can see it recommends the Quabbin Reservoir Run.  Possible suggested stops along the way include:

• Quabbin Reservoir
• Wachusett Mountain
• Davis’ Farmland and Megamaze
• Willard Brook State Forest
• Old Stone Church

If you scroll over the dates on the estimated foliage conditions tool you can visualize which weeks are estimated to be the peak of fall foliage here in Massachusetts.  The first two weeks of October seem to be the best time to see the fall foliage here in Massachusetts this year though technically fall foliage season can extend into November depending on the weather.  Keep in mind that Western Mass will be peaking first so that in combination with your availability will dictate the best places to go.  Here is a direct link to your fall foliage trip planning tool.