New Jersey Fall Foliage reports and maps 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 Report below.
For our fall hike recommendations see Best Fall Foliage Hikes in New Jersey as well as the Top 10 Hikes in New Jersey.
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.
Need even more hike ideas? Go for an Easy Hike, check out the Best Waterfall Hikes, or select a hike by region: North / Central / South.
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 2026
*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: Facebook / Instagram. **
** 2026 Foliage Reports **
New Jersey Fall Foliage reports will start at the end of September.
Prior reports are moved to the New Jersey Foliage Report Archive. This also contains 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.
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.