ITHACA, N.Y.—With the start of fall a week away, people in New York can take a look at the 2023 Fall Foliage Report to see the gradual foliage changes that are expected to hit their area every week, with local changes anticipated in the next 2-3 weeks.
The report is available at I LOVE NY with weekly updates every Wednesday afternoon. Leaves in the Adirondacks, Thousand Islands Seaway, Catskills and Chautauqua-Allegheny regions have already begun to show vibrant color, according to the report.
Taryn Bauerle, professor and director of Graduate Studies in the School of Integrative Plant Science Horticulture Section at Cornell University said sunny days and cool nights are ideal conditions for leaf color changes, with the relatively wet summer likely producing some vivid scenes as the leaves change.
Bauerle also said she expects the leaves to start to change in Ithaca in the next two weeks.
“Once we hit our peak, which is usually in the first week or second week of October, we have all kinds of great trails,” Bauerle said. “We have lots of great places to do some leaf-peeping.”
Ithaca’s gorges offer plenty of spots for autumn gazing, along with trails like the East Hill Recreation Way, the Dryden Rail Trail or the Cayuga Waterfront Trail, among others.
This week, changes in the Adirondacks, Franklin County will be 20% in areas like Tupper Lake, Chautauqua-Allegheny will have a 10% change in St. Lawrence, Thousand Island-Seaway will have a 10% change in Madrid and Delaware County in the Catskills, specifically Madrid, will have a 5-15% change currently.
“I just encourage people to get out there and enjoy our local places like the trails and our local environment so that we have a great opportunity to participate in that very healthy and relaxing type of event,” Bauerle said.