New Jersey Fall Foliage

Updated:
New Jersey Fall Foliage.

New Jersey Fall Foliage Reports, maps and resources to help plan fall foliage hikes and scenic drives.

Check out the New Jersey and the Northeast Foliage Resources below.

For our fall hike recommendations see Best Fall Foliage Hikes in New Jersey.

Need even more hike ideas? Try our interactive Hike Finder map – now with a 🍁foliage map overlay🍁 in order to choose hikes with the best chance of fall color, updated weekly in season.

Also check out the book Best Easy Day Hikes New Jersey for a nice selection of easy day hikes.


Peak Foliage in NJ for 2024

*Average New Jersey peak fall color is October 19 through 29*

While there are average times for color change, it really depends on several variables like temperature and rainfall.

Trees at higher elevations turn color before ones at lower elevations. Leaves change first along water so head to areas with lakes, ponds, or rivers.

Leaves usually change color starting from Maine and higher elevations of New England and then work their way south.

New Jersey fall foliage generally starts in the northwest corner at High Point and in the Highlands region in north central, progresses to the central part of the state, and finally to the south and the coastal regions.

This means that leaves could be past peak in North Jersey but still barely changed in South Jersey.

Use the info here to get in as much color as you can, it doesn’t last long!


* Follow @njhiking for more photos weekly. Foliage Resources are below the report section *

**Foliage reports start in early October**


Previous years foliage report archiveSee how the color usually progresses through various hiking areas in New Jersey. Archive of njHiking.com reports from 2010 to date.

About the NJ Hiking Fall Foliage Report

Since 2010, njHiking.com has been providing New Jersey with suggested foliage locations and hikes, updated weekly in season.

The report is created by reviewing multiple state and regional reports, incorporating map data from The Foliage Report and Explore Fall, combined with our own observations on hikes and drives each week. The result lets Jersey and metro area residents quickly find the best color locally as well as plan east coast road trips.


Resources for tracking fall color in and near New Jersey

Sites that contain forecasts or foliage maps for NJ and the surrounding region such as the Adirondacks or the Catskills in New York or the Poconos in Pennsylvania.

New Jersey Div. of Parks and ForestryFacebook updates for NJ during the season
New York State Fall FoliageFoliage report and map
PA – Pocono Mountains
Foliage maps and reports for the Poconos, plus webcams.
PA – DCNR Fall Foliage ReportsWeekly Fall Foliage Map and Reports.

Resources for tracking fall color in the Northeast

These can be used to help plan trips to the New England region that change well before New Jersey, such as Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

Savvy planners can hit foliage in several spots as it works it’s way down.

The Foliage ReportWeekly foliage map and report for The United States. Detailed and accurate for current conditions.
ExploreFallFoliage maps for the United States, including historical map data.
MaineFoliage.comWeekly report and map for Maine.
Vermont.comCurrent conditions map for Vermont.
VisitNH.govFoliage reports for New Hampshire.
ctvisit.comConnecticut’s Foliage Finder; based on historical data.
Fall Foliage Prediction MapInteractive U.S. map, slide date for color prediction, from SmokyMountains.com. **Note** This popular map is often used in news articles but is a forecast based on prior year data and is not the current status. It also tends to predict the color moving along much earlier than reality for New Jersey.
The Weather ChannelRegional color report maps.
New England TodayNortheast usual color map.

General info about fall foliage in New Jersey

The best fall foliage displays start with healthy green trees. Then September needs warm sunny days and cold but not freezing nights.

If it remains too warm it can delay the change and dull the colors. A cloudy fall also can mute the colors.

Rainfall is also a big factor. Too much before the season is bad for color, while drought conditions can bring on an early change and leaf drop.

Overall it can be very hard to predict the quality of fall foliage every year because it’s a delicate balance between many variables.

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