The Best Places To Go “Leaf-Peeping” In New York State

That time of year is here.  If you haven't noticed from all the coffee shops selling pumpkin spice everything, it's time for all the fall activities.

That includes something as simple as checking out the leaves.

Just like when the first snow falls, or when we get our first 80-degree day of the season, a lot of people wait all year for the day when they can finally take a trip to check out all the foliage in the area.

The Fall Foliage Map is here

Around this time every year, a Fall Foliage Prediction Map is released by SmokyMountains.com.  While they will admit, it cannot be 100% accurate, it will normally give you a pretty good indication of when leaves will begin to see mass changes, when they're in peak season, and when they're past their peak.

You could just hop in the car

If you're not in the mood to wait, you could just hop in your car and see what you see.  The US News put together a list of the Best Places to go Leaf Peeping in the United States.  They picked 26 places to spotlight and while most of them were in the northeast, a couple of them were right here in New York State.

The areas they highlighted were:

1. Hudson Valley - "The area's bounty of trees produce brilliant red, orange and gold hues beginning at the end of September, with peak viewing time around mid-to-late October."

2. Letchworth State Park, New York - "Letchworth State Park, fondly known as the "Grand Canyon of the East," is home to some of the most striking fall foliage views in the U.S. The park's 14,300-plus acres of lush forest usually hit their peak in early-to-mid-October, when leaf peepers will be treated to yellow, orange and red foliage framing the magnificent Genesee Gorge and Genesee River."

3. Adirondacks, New York - "The Adirondacks offer leaf peepers 10 distinct regional destinations covering more than 6 million acres in the northeast corner of New York state."