New Jersey Fall Foliage Reports, maps and resources to help plan fall foliage hikes and scenic drives.
Ready to enjoy fall in New Jersey? Check out the New Jersey and the Northeast Foliage Resources below.
For our fall hike recommendations see Best Fall Foliage Hikes in New Jersey and check out the Top 10 Hikes in New Jersey.
Need even more hike ideas? Try our interactive Hike Finder map – now with a 🍁foliage map overlay🍁 during the season in order to choose hikes with the best chance of fall color, updated weekly in season.
Also check out the books Best Day Hikes in New Jersey and Hiking New Jersey (2023) for a nice selection of day hikes.
Peak Foliage in NJ for 2025
*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 on socials for more photos weekly. Foliage Resources are below the report section **
** 2025 Foliage Reports **
🍁Be sure to check out the foliage overlay now on our interactive Hike & Foliage Finder Map!!🍁 Choose hikes with the best chance of fall color. Zoom out for popular east coast foliage road trip locations. Finder map data 11/3/25.
November 7, 2025…
This weekend and through next week… look to central and southern New Jersey for color, with more color closer to the coasts (less color in the center of the state, roughly). Just expect trees with full color next to ones with bare branches. More wind this week did it’s thing but there’s still color out there.
11/3/25…
This week through the weekend the focus is on central and southern New Jersey for color, with some of that color popping a little in intensity.
Expect a lot of leaf drop mixed in with that color, and plenty of bare trees – the rain and wind at the end of October was not kind! North is past peak, especially north of Rt 80.
But overall, still lots of colorful candy for your eyes! List of picks are below the latest reports.
11/2/25 Baldpate Mountain – Ted Stiles Preserve [Mercer County]
Peak color with a decent amount of drop but the color was nice regardless. This park has a variety of fall color so you’re getting more oranges and reds.
We hadn’t hiked here in 5 years (time flies!) and it seemed like a lot of trees had come down since, thinning out the forest (bad storms in the last few years).
Such a beautiful fall day too – we’ve had such a nice season for hiking weather – even if the color was not the brightest ever.
We did the short version of our hike guide and didn’t take the WHITE trail out-and-back to that end of the park. Either version passes the viewpoint looking towards P.A. and the Delaware River:
11/2/25 Goat Hill Overlook [Hunterdon County]
This is a popular spot not far from Baldpate that we also somehow had not done in five years. Most just do the easy walk up to the view over Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA but they’re missing other nice viewpoints by not doing the whole short hike.
Continue on from that viewpoint to Washington’s Rock.
Then continue to the South View. You could easily argue the other viewpoints are better than the “popular” one.
Lots of sunshine made the trees just glow on the trail.
Before we hiked Baldpate we stopped for lattes and french pastries at nearby L’Annexe de Mamie Colette – yum. After Goat Hill we grabbed sandwiches to eat with a flight at the newly opened Invertase Brewery in Lambertville, right next to the D&R Canal towpath.
They don’t open to 1pm so we did a short walk down the towpath first. We always bike this so it was fun walking it for a change. Enjoyed our tasters and took some to go.
On the drive back we tried Needle Creek Brewery (just opened earlier this year). Huge farm setting, nice but crowded, beer was fine. The had a little market with cider donuts so we had to get those, of course!
October 31, 2025…
This weekend typically still sees a lot of PEAK color across a wide swath of the state, while the north is moving past and that northwest corner well past. People often give up on foliage after “peak” weekend but there is at least one and often two more weeks with color across parts of New Jersey.
However – the heavy rain on Thursday, combined with high winds, will have knocked more leaves off than normal. There’s a big list of suggestions below, but with the weather just happening our sources are a bit behind.
Expect to see more color when looking OUT from viewpoints over hillsides and leaf drop (or totally bare trees) mixed with the color ON the trails at this point. Color has been subdued this season but the intensity has increased a bit recently in some areas.
Need a Halloween Hike? We gotcha covered.
Looking ahead to next week and weekend, look for the most color in northern Monmouth (Holmdel / Hartshorne area) and southwestern NJ (Salem/Cumberland).
October 27, 2025…
This week and through the weekend look for color moving down through the state, with areas roughly north of Rt 80 moving past peak, and the most northwestern corner with much leaf drop but some lingering color.
Of note, rain/wind on Thursday is likely to knock some color off so if you can get out Tuesday or Wednesday that would be ideal – but there will still be color after that. And clear weather should be on tap for Fri, Sat, Sun.
The last areas to change, as usual, should be the coasts (Palisades along the Hudson River, parts of Monmouth/Ocean and Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland).
10/27/25 Appalachian Trail to Raccoon Ridge / Mount Mohican [Warren County]
Absolutely glorious sunny day to assault our eyeballs with some peak fall color. Followed the Appalachian Trail south from Mohican Outdoor Center to Raccoon Ridge (hike guide not on the site yet) instead of our usual route that approaches Raccoon Ridge via Sunfish Pond.
Peak color seen from the viewpoints looking over New Jersey, while the trails themselves and the views towards Pennsylvania were past peak, with the color beginning to brown.
After a short rocky climb to reach the ridge, the A.T. travels for a bit before the views start. Nice peak color, with just a bit of green and not much leaf drop.
There are several viewpoints looking over New Jersey along the route.
Zoom in and the world looks like a bowl of Fruity Pebbles.
Color on the actual trail was past peak – lots of leaf drop but still nice bits of color. This worked out perfectly as the color in the valley below could be seen through the trees much of the hike.
From a wide open viewpoint marked with a large cairn (pile of rocks) are panoramic views over New Jersey and Pennsylvania. This is looking over New Jersey, with Lower Yards Creek Reservoir in the valley below:
The other side looks over New Jersey, past the Delaware River, and on to Pennsylvania. This direction is past peak but still very nice.
Afterwards we headed to Marshall’s Farm Market to get cider donuts. These are our #1 favorite again this year – moist, good texture, nice cider flavor. And we work hard to do our “research” on this. Last year we swung by after hiking Mt. Tammany, it’s on Rt 46 not too far from the trailhead.
Also picked up cider, apples, their homemade chocolate peanut butter again (this stuff is dangerous on a cracker, cannot stop eating). Then I spotted a jar of key lime dusted pecans – hello! We both love key lime so we had to get those… then we needed to leave before we bought another armful of goodies.
Beautiful foliage driving from Mohican Center to Marshall’s, then down through Washington Township past Spruce Run to Rt 78. From there and on to Rt. 287 the foliage wasn’t as good, more muted.
October 26, 2025…
10/26/25 Clayton Park [Monmouth County]
Needed a spot to get a couple easy miles in on our break day and Clayton’s gentle hills are just minutes away from Screamin’ Hill Brewery and Bullock Farm’s hot cider donuts (today was the last day of the season for them!).
Foliage was quite nice on the drive down winding through farms set on rolling hills. Nice color around the pond.
The trails ranged wildly – from moderate color change with a lot of green still, to bright color, to almost bare trees. Total mixed bag.
October 25, 2025…
This the major weekend for foliage in New Jersey, with much of the state seeing PEAK or NEAR PEAK colors, save for central and the coasts which may have more moderate color in the mix, and northwestern corner (Sussex, north Passaic) which is moving past.
Expect to see leaf drop or totally bare trees mixed with the color after the windy conditions earlier this week. Overall the color has been more subdued than normal.
Looking ahead to next week and weekend, color should start nearing peak in areas closer to the coasts (Palisades along the Hudson River, parts of Monmouth/Ocean and Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland).
10/25/25 Wildcat Ridge – Four Birds, Hawk Watch, Beaver Pond (we hiked a variation of this route) [Morris County]
We hadn’t hiked here since 2014 so and figured fall was a good time for a revisit. Nice peak color at the hawk watch overlook with some green tucked in there and little evident leaf drop.
Not a raptor in sight though. I’d recently read they like a little breeze and this morn was totally calm. Unlike the overlook, the trails in the area were peak to moving past peak, with maybe 20-30% of the leaves already off – still super nice though.
The beaver pond had nice color, also with decent leaf drop, and slightly muted when the sun went away. Hardly any water at all – were the beavers even still hanging out in the lodges?
Afterward – in our quest to try most, if not all, of New Jersey’s craft breweries – we popped into Autodidact. Very good, especially if you like IPAs as that seems to be the focus.
We then swung by the Jockey Hollow section of Morristown NHP. This is always stunning in the fall and I’d read that the Friends of Jockey Hollow had reopened it (it’s a national park so it had been closed).
Color was also at peak here, again with leaf drop thinning out the canopies. The wind earlier this week really got to the leaves that were already changed.
October 24, 2025…
10/24/25 – Cheesequake S.P. [Middlesex/Monmouth County] – A blip in our work load kept us from heading north today as planned but we were able to sneak out for a hike to Cheesequake (great hiking no matter the season).
We did an extended version of our Yellow, Blue, and Green hike by also going past the lake and over the crabbing bridge. The color had progressed further than expected.
The park is very NEAR PEAK but there’s green and some thinning canopies – this mix always happens in Jersey but it feels more this year, and earlier. Some nice bright color on Rt 516 in Old Bridge on the way too.
October 20, 2025…
This week and through the weekend expect northern New Jersey to move from NEAR PEAK to PEAK color.
Central and southern is varying widely even in areas near each other, from MODERATE to NEAR PEAK – it’s been a little hard to pin down. The most northwestern corner of NJ will be moving past soon. Current hike picks are below.
10/19/25 – Sussex Branch Trail between Kittatinny S.P. and Allamuchy S.P.
Sunny and warm and glorious so we grabbed the bikes to get even more miles of fall color in.
Lots of gorgeous peak color on this whole stretch, mixed in with green unchanged leaves while some trees were thinned out and past peak.
View of Whites Pond in Kittatinny Valley State Park.
Color near the Whites Pond viewpoint. The Sussex Branch Trail has been resurfaced here too, like the Paulinskill Valley trail.
Varied color around on the shore of Cranberry Lake with Allamuchy Mountain State Park seen behind it.
Sussex Branch continues through Allamuchy Mountain State Park.
Jefferson Lake in Allamuchy Mountain State Park. If you’re hiking, the section between the start of Sussex Branch in Allamuchy through Jefferson Lake is a good choice for a short colorful hike.
Afterward we meandered down to Rt 46 and into Washington Township where the foliage was also kickin’ and popped into Chilton Mill Brewing (enjoyed our flight, took home a couple crowlers) and grabbed some goodies to go at Melick’s Farm.
October 17, 2025…
This weekend through next is prime foliage time for New Jersey! But expect a mixed bag – we’re seeing everything from unturned green to colorful leaves to bare branches, often in the same area. Good color AND muted tones.
You take the good, you take the bad, and there you have… the facts of foliage!
Overall you’ll enjoy nicer color ON a trail than looking at hillsides. Even if you aren’t a “hiker” just take a path a short bit into the forest and you’ll see the difference.
Color is all over the state, just in widely varying amounts.
Generally northern Sussex County is just past peak. The Rt 206 corridor was nice today but our route to High Point from Rt 80 – Rt 15N to Rt 565 to Rt 23N – was not as good as expected, at least in early morning light.
10/17/25 – High Point State Park Monument Loop – Sussex County
On our drive up the color along the road wasn’t looking too promising, with lots of bare branches. But it was lovely once we turned into the park, and so nice on the trail.
And you can park at the monument lot and get 360 degree views even if you don’t hike:
Sure the canopy has thinned out a bit but this is one of the best places to enjoy foliage and this loop never disappoints.
One of many viewpoints from the Monument Trail, and foliage around Lake Marcia:
Almost back around, we briefly detoured off the loop to the viewing platform on the Appalachian Trail.
The foliage under monument somehow appeared green and faded at the same time – quite unusual at this point in the season. We couldn’t decide if it hadn’t changed yet – or wasn’t going to.
Our drive back was quite scenic – foliage, rolling hills and farms – if you want to copy our route: From the monument parking we made our way back home… we drove through the park to Sawmill Lake. This stretch of road can have very nice foliage and there’s a few parking spots by the lake.
We swung by Lusscroft Farms, also part of High Point S.P., and wandered around a little (there’s no hike guide on our site for this but the trails are on the Kittatinny Trails mapset).
Next stop was Hillcrest Orchard / Jersey Girl Cheese, a small farm shop, where we scored cider donuts for later, cider, and fresh burrata cheese. Then we stopped at Windy Brow for a cheese scone and cold brew coffee because how can we not?
From here we take Rt 206S and the color was mostly good. If Burnt Mills Cider was open earlier we would have grabbed some hard cider to go! Fall is fleeting – gotta make the most of it.
October 16, 2025…
This weekend should see some peak and a lot of near peak across north west and north central New Jersey, with moderate color in almost all of the rest. Overall this season has been a bit hard to gauge – the drought affected the intensity in some areas and the wind/rain earlier this week is yet another variable.
There are plenty of options to get some color and the forecast is looking clear with seasonal temperatures on deck for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – enjoy it!!
October 14, 2025…
Color continues to improve across New Jersey, with the most color change north and northwest. On our travels over the weekend we spotted moderate color down to north Burlington and even Camden Counties.
It’s unclear how much, if any, the rain/wind from the recent storm has affected the foliage. It appeared to be more of a coastal event and may have less of an impact on areas north or west – will update if we get details.
October 10, 2025…
Today… enjoyed excellent weather and beautiful near peak color in northern Passaic County in the Monksville Reservoir and Long Pond Ironworks area, a few photos follow below. Driving through Morris to Passaic County also very nice. And added more suggestions to the hike picks from yesterday.
Photos from Monksville Reservoir boat launch and Monks Loop (hike guide to come). Still some green in there but lovely color reflecting in the very calm water today. The trail was popping with yellows.
Long Pond Ironworks – Big variety of color between the trees and the brush. Hiked along the water and around the historic buildings, didn’t do the full route.
October 9, 2025…
For the upcoming weekend… MODERATE color is across northwest and north central New Jersey, at least above Rt. 80, and quickly moving south. You can find at least LOW color generally elsewhere, somewhat less so along the most southern part of the state and either coast.
There is a freeze coming across part of NJ Thursday night. While we need chilly nights to encourage those colors appear, a frost is not ideal. Jersey also has a storm forecasted for Sunday and while the rain is welcome, that and the wind may knock some leaves down before they change.
It’s looks like it will be nice hiking weather this Friday and Saturday – dry and highs in the low 60s – don’t delay in getting out there for some color!!
October 4-6, 2025…
10/6/25 – Moderate color is in the northern part of New Jersey – aim for roughly north of Rt. 80. The rest of NJ is at low color with pockets of moderate starting to appear.
Of note, foliage color is much nicer once into the forest where the trees are healthier and have held onto more water. Along roads a decent amount of drought stress which is showing as brown or dropped leaves (so the canopy is thin already) – don’t use that to base how the foliage is going.
Another lovely weekend – incredible!! With warmer than normal temps we decided to bike and kayak:
10/5/25 – On Sunday we kayaked Splitrock Reservoir. Overall low color but lots at moderate ringing the lake.
Big variety – yellow, reds, oranges, almost purple – and more change the closer to the water’s edge.
There was hardly any wind so the lake was like glass and reflected the foliage nicely.
The trails appeared to be low but close to moderate color.
We also have two hike guides here: a 6.2 mile roundtrip section of the Four Birds Trail and the challenging Splitrock Resevoir Loop (awesome, but experienced hikers only!).
On the way back we tried Diamond Springs Brewery. Nice, large, outdoor seating area in downtown Denville, enjoyed a flight and took home their “Bavarian Pretz-ale”.
10/4/25 – Saturday we biked the Great Valley Trail Loop in Sussex County, which utilizes 3 rail-trails.
Of note, a portion of the Paulinskill Trail from Warbasse Junction was just resurfaced – wow what a super nice ride now.
Low to moderate color found through out the route, and mixed in there are trees that have already dropped leaves.
After, we swung by Windy Brow Farms to shovel croissants and iced coffee into our faces, and scoop up a jug of cider and some apple butter.
October 3, 2025…
Low color throughout most of New Jersey, so no particular hike picks just quite yet.
Lots of peak color to be found if you can road trip north from NJ this weekend through next.
And with an excellent forecast – sunny skies with temps in the mid 70s to low 80s – being outside anywhere this weekend will be perfect!
Prior 2025 reports are moved weekly to the New Jersey Foliage Report Archive. This also contains an of njHiking.com reports from 2010 to date. See how the color usually progresses through various hiking areas in New Jersey.
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 Forestry | Facebook updates for NJ during the season |
| New York State Fall Foliage | Foliage report and map |
| PA – Pocono Mountains | Foliage maps and reports for the Poconos, plus webcams. |
| PA – DCNR Fall Foliage Reports | Weekly 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 Report | Weekly foliage map and report for The United States. Detailed and accurate for current conditions. |
| ExploreFall | Foliage maps for the United States, including historical map data. |
| MaineFoliage.com | Weekly report and map for Maine. |
| Vermont.com | Current conditions map for Vermont. |
| VisitNH.gov | Foliage reports for New Hampshire. |
| ctvisit.com | Connecticut’s Foliage Finder; based on historical data. |
| Fall Foliage Prediction Map | Interactive 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 Channel | Regional color report maps. |
| New England Today | Northeast 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.