Ohio's Fall Color Forester is optimistic this season. David Parrott with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources says last year's leaf colors, overall, were disappointing because of a hot, dry summer. He says this year should be different.
“It’s looking pretty good for us. There’s only a small area of the United States that seems like it has a chance of having an average fall season. Ohio is in the little bubble that’s predicted to have that,” Parrott says. “Considering the fact that we had a decent summer where there hasn’t been a ton of stress on the trees, and if we can have that typical fall, this could shape up to be a really great fall color season."
Parrott notes Ohio had a lot of rain, which is good for making sure trees stay hydrated and don't drop their leaves early.
“Something that people might be seeing now is certain species might be browning their leaves where it’s been too much water. That’s not going to have a huge impact moving forward. The more important thing is going to be what weather we’re going to see as we move into the fall," he explains.
For the best fall colors, you need cooler evenings and sunny days, Parrott adds.
Not everyone is optimistic.
Boone County Arboretum Director Kristopher Stone says a lot of places were dry from the middle of August until recently.
“I think we’re still okay,” he says. “What we don’t need are these days where it’s in the 90s, no rain for weeks on end, crispy lawns, and all that, that stresses out the trees.”
The weather isn't the biggest factor for when trees start changing color. It's the amount of sunlight they get. The sun goes down earlier, and comes up later the further north you go.
David Parrott says trees in Ohio generally start changing color the last week of September.
“Depending on where you are, from now until we get into October there might be areas where you start seeing changes,” he says. “There are certain species that always turn sooner, too. Walnut trees and buckeye trees right now, a lot of those you can find with yellow leaves. Definitely once we get into October, that’s when you’re going to see real sorts of changes.”
Parrott says the peak for leaf colors in northern and central Ohio will be the last week of October. Southern Ohio's peak will follow about a week later.
Kristopher Stone says Northern Kentucky is on a similar timetable as southern Ohio.
“As you go further south, that time will go into early November as you get further into western Kentucky, southern Kentucky, and all that,” he says. “Eastern Kentucky could actually be a little earlier than us — maybe October 15 — because they have higher elevations. As you’re going into the Appalachian Mountains, that elevation change cools things off better. They can start out a week or two before we do with their peak.”
Stone recommends Eastern Kentucky, the Red River Gorge area, Natural Bridge, and Daniel Boone National Forest for leaf peeping.
"They’re going to be little bit earlier than us — might be crowded with lots of people — but they are excellent places and extremely beautiful for photography."
Locally, Stone suggests the Boone County Arboretum, the Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana, and Hocking Hills in Ohio.
David Parrott also suggests Mohican State Park, Mohican-Memorial State Forest, and Shawnee State Forest, where he once worked.
“It’s a big area ... so there’s always good fall colors somewhere there in the forest to check out.”
Parrott really wants to see the leaves at Triangle Lake Bog, near Ravenna.
“That is one of the only places in Ohio that has tamarack trees, which, if you’re not familiar with tamaracks, those are deciduous conifers, so they have needles but they actually turn colors and drop,” he says. “They turn this golden color.”
If you're going to plant a tree for fall colors, Kristopher Stone recommends sugar maples and red maples.
“We used to be able to rely on ash, but the emerald ash borer came along and took those out. I think our fall colors have shifted a lot in the last decade or two because of that,” he says. “I think people often forget about hickory trees. They can have really outstanding bright gold fall color. Just put your eyes out, so vibrant and bright.”
A spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources says it's already seen some yellow leaves, from tulip poplar, walnut, redbud, hickory, and sycamore trees.
Emma Balzer recommends places around lakes, like Brookville, because the colors are contrasted by the water. She also suggests places with extreme topography, like Turkey Run in central Indiana and Brown County.
Balzer says northern Indiana trees will be at their best in early October, while the southern half of the state will peek in mid-to-late October.
Read more:
