The Adirondack color peak has moved. The fifth I LOVE NY fall foliage report, out Wednesday afternoon, shows the High Peaks and the interior Adirondacks now past peak — most of the headline spots at a full 100% color change — while the best remaining color has shifted east and toward the foothills, including one spot right here in Lewis County that is peaking this weekend.
If your leaf-peeping plan was “drive to the High Peaks,” adjust it. If it was “wait for the color closer to home,” your weekend has arrived.
Where the color is right now
The headline numbers from this week’s report:
- Tupper Lake and Mt. Arab: 100% color change, past peak — color remains, in deeper bronze, mahogany and pumpkin tones
- Old Forge (Herkimer County): 95%, past peak, with pockets of gold and orange and significant leaf drop reported
- Lake Placid: 100%, peak to just past peak · Whiteface Mountain: 100%, past peak · Newcomb: 100%, past peak
- Lake Pleasant: 100%, past peak · Long Lake: 100%, past peak, now mostly yellows
And the local angle for us: Wanakena, in St. Lawrence County, is at 100% and past peak, with burnt orange and muted yellow left around the Five Ponds Wilderness. But the tri-county’s best news is in Lewis County — Croghan is at 80% and at peak, and Harrisville is at 85%, peak to just past peak. The color didn’t just come to the tri-county; in the western foothills, it’s having its best weekend right now.
Where to go this weekend
Our pick: Croghan, in Lewis County. It’s the closest spot to home reporting true peak conditions this week — 80% change, with scattered bright reds still mixed into the yellows. While the interior Adirondacks are dropping leaves, the foothill drive is at its best, and it’s a short trip instead of a full-day expedition. Go this weekend; at 80% and peaking, it won’t hold long.
Runners-up if you’re headed east anyway: Crown Point is at 95–100% and at peak, Ticonderoga is at 75% and peak to just past peak, Queensbury is at 80% and at peak, and Malone is at 65% and at peak.
What’s fading, and what’s still coming
Fading: The northern and interior Adirondacks. Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, Newcomb, Long Lake, Lake Pleasant and Wanakena have all reached 100% change and moved past peak, Wilmington sits at 95–100% past peak, and Old Forge is reporting significant leaf drop. There’s still color to see — past peak isn’t bare — but the brilliant phase there is over for this year.
Still coming: The southern shore of Lake George is the laggard of the region at just over 45% change, so that corridor still has color to build. Everywhere else in this week’s report, the story is a peak that has shifted downhill, east, and toward home — which means next week’s report will likely be about the lower elevations and the tri-county lowlands finishing their turn.
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 — and its Route 3 drive passes through several of the communities in this week’s report.
Missed last week? See last week’s update for the numbers at the height of the High Peaks peak.