The Adirondack foliage season is in its closing chapter. The seventh I LOVE NY fall foliage report, out Wednesday afternoon, puts every Adirondack reporting station past peak — and the last true peak anywhere near home is not in the mountains at all. It’s in Oswego, on the Lake Ontario shore, having its final peak appearance this weekend.
If you want one more leaf-peeping drive, this is the last call — and the drive is a short one, south and toward the water, not east into the High Peaks.
Where the color is right now
The headline from this week’s report:
- The Adirondacks as a whole: past peak — the detailed list names only two spots this week, and both have turned the corner
- Lake George: over 80% change, past peak — still a bright mix of yellow, orange and red, but with significant leaf droppage. Last week it was the region’s last peak at 65%; that weekend was its best, and it’s now on the far side
- Queensbury: more than 95% change, past peak — muted yellow and orange left
Beyond those two, the report gives no individual numbers for the rest of the Adirondacks — Lake Placid, Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, Long Lake and Wilmington aren’t named in this week’s detailed list, and the report states the region’s other reporting stations are past peak. After weeks of 100% readings across the interior, there is no brilliant phase left to chase in the mountains.
And the local angle for us: the Thousand Islands–Seaway’s final peak is Oswego, at a full 100% change and at peak — robust plums and purples with bright orange, red and muted yellow. I LOVE NY names Oswego the region’s most significant change this week — the only Thousand Islands–Seaway place on its statewide list. The rest of the local picture has finished: Pulaski is at 100% and past peak (muted orange, yellow, red and plum — a week after it was the area’s peak pick at 90%), and Potsdam, in St. Lawrence County, is at 100% and past peak, mostly subdued oranges and yellows. Lowville, Alexandria Bay, Massena and Wanakena have no entry in this week’s report, so there’s no new official number for Lewis County or the river shore itself.
Where to go this weekend
Our pick: Oswego and the Lake Ontario shore, in Oswego County. At 100% change and at peak, it’s the strongest — and last — reported peak anywhere near the tri-county this season, and the report calls this weekend its final peak appearance in the Thousand Islands–Seaway region. The color there is the late-season kind worth seeing: deep plums and purples mixed with bright orange and red. Go this weekend; a place at 100% and peaking has nowhere to go but down, and Pulaski, just inland, shows how fast that turn happens — peak one week, past peak the next.
Runner-up, with expectations set: Lake George, over 80% and past peak, still shows a bright mix of yellow, orange and red if you’re headed east anyway — but droppage is significant now, so go for the lake and the late color, not a peak display.
What’s fading, and what’s still coming
Fading: Nearly everything local. The Adirondacks are past peak at every reporting station, including Lake George, which held out longest. Pulaski has followed the mountains over the top at 100% past peak, Potsdam remains at 100% past peak in subdued tones, and the northern lowlands are done. What’s left in the woods is the quieter late palette — golds, russets and bare branches mixed in.
Still coming: One local name only — Oswego is having its peak this weekend, and that’s the end of the local list. Farther south the state’s season has one more act: spectacular peak is forecast this weekend across much of the Finger Lakes, the central and lower Hudson Valley and several spots on Long Island, while New York City is only at the midpoint of change, so its color is still building. Next week’s report — the last in this series, landing November 4 — will likely close the book on the 2026 season statewide.
For the full statewide breakdown, the I LOVE NY foliage report is updated every Wednesday afternoon with observer reports from across New York.
Planning a drive? Our Chasing Fall Color in the Adirondacks guide covers the routes and overlooks worth your time — note its Old Forge and Whiteface stops are now closed for the season, which the guide itself has already been updated to say.
Missed last week? See last week’s update for the week the peak moved south to Pulaski and Oswego was still building.