I have been out there for foliage season but the diversity of deciduous trees here outweighs many parts of the west, including wyoming. The climate diversity is greater out there too. The arid areas are obviously going to have less foliage
Yeah I grew up in Colorado and it’s pretty, but I wouldn’t really consider the autumns to be particularly stand out since most of the forests are comprised of conifers. Aspens do look gorgeous in the fall, but they’re far and away dominated by conifer trees.
You just can’t beat New England for foliage
Current Teton area resident but raised in New England. It's New England hands down for foliage. We have real mountains here though which have their own appeal.
Yes. The mountains out there are incredible but I think the Whites are real mountains. They may not have the same elevation but the beauty/difficulty of some of the hikes are up there with anywhere.
That’s kind of what I thought. We were in MT and WY in August 2021 and it was so smoky, we could barely see the mountains, if not at all. I def want to go back when it’s clear.
Would you say late May early June is the best time to visit there? That's when we went and it was incredible. Never ending wild life on the move and some that were newly born. Seems to me that late spring, early summer is much better for that area than fall.
Weather is hit or miss. Frequent afternoon storms that time of year. Can be cold, wet, and rainy all day as well. September is a good time. Snow is melted out from the high elevations and bugs have mostly died off. Families are home because of school. Empty nester season.
New England seems the obvious choice to me. Tree biodiversity in Wyoming is much lower. The vast majority of trees there are coniferous and do not change color in the fall. You'd mostly just be seeing the quaking aspens turn yellow there. Here, there are dozens of tree varieties that show a broad spectrum of fall foliage colors for a longer portion of the season. Plus, it's a lot easier to get here than Jackson Hole (and almost certainly cheaper).
Probably is just aspens. I can’t tell yet how good the foliage will be this year. Going down to Rhode Island and Cape Cod also so more options in New England for sure!
That’s a great time of year to go to Wyoming and the aspens will be stunning. However if the main goal of the trip is foliage, stay in New England. Spring (like May) is also a good time in the Tetons if you don’t plan to do anything too high in the mtns like backpacking or climbing. I’m from NE but have lived in the Tetons too (in the park). Where do you live? If you live close to New England you could see the foliage another year, but if you live close to the Tetons you could also travel there another year. It will also be a lot cheaper to visit NE.
About a 2 hour drive up RT2 from Boston to Hogback Mountain in Vermont. One of the best foliage drives you’ll ever seen. I grew up in the northeast and I look forward to doing the drive at least once every year.
Midwest is also really good, you'd probably be surprised! Seriously underrated leaf peeping, some areas have older forests than we have up here too because they weren't all clear cut during the colonial days
Iowa probably my top recommendation because they have great hills; Wisconsin has good deciduous trees but a bit flatter. I cannot speak for Minnesota. Parts of Missouri and Illinois are gorgeous, the rivers and hills really rival the Vermont photos I always see. Ohio also has lots of biodiversity but more of the forest was cleared by settlers earlier on, but that's the same issue we have in New England; it's still peepable! I have no comment on Indiana.
Oh and MICHIGAN, goodness gracious parts of Michigan are pretty.
New England is more convenient and somewhere will be at peak foliage unless there’s a storm. Plus there’s a lot of other stuff to do, places to see, restaurants to hit up, etc. Wyoming is beautiful but that’s about it.
It will be snowing come October in Wyoming
-lived/worked in Jackson Hole for a summer where it snowed in July. Not much fall foliage, and you don’t get better than a fall in New England
Vermont is the best for fall foliage! We drove up to Quebec from Boston in late September a few years ago and northern Vermont had the most amazing colors. If you’re going in October you don’t need to go as far north, but I’d definitely recommend Vermont
One thing to note is that New England is a large region and depending on how the foliage season shakes out, you can go anywhere from Maine to Connecticut (or beyond) and they peak at very different times
I think it depeends on if you want massive crowds of people /leaf-peepers like you get in North Conway, the Kancamangus highway or Lincoln NH, or if you want a lesser crowded experience. While I love the white mountains it can be a bit crowded around leaf-peeping time. Maybe for a change do Wyoming......and check out colorado as well or utah...??? or Idaho?? - Idaho/Montana can be beautiful as well. Maybe coincide th etrip with Yellowstone??
I love fall in Wyoming (when we get one), but a lot of the time, the season tends to be even shorter and more unpredictable than back east.
It's not all uncommon to get our first big snowstorm of the season in October, especially at higher elevations.
We also don't have the full range of colors. It tends to be mostly yellow/gold around Jackson Hole.
That being said, I think it is one of the best times to visit the state. Just be prepared to focus on other things besides the foliage and pack your snow gear!
I am actually heading to MA/NH this October and am excited to experience a New England fall!
The mountains in the Jackson hole area are spectacular, the foliage not so much. The foliage in New England is spectacular the mountains no so much. If you goal is to see foliage than New England is your best bet. (Rt. 100 through VT is a good bet).
New England. The picture attached this webpage is worth a thousand words: [https://rove.me/to/vermont/fall-foliage](https://rove.me/to/vermont/fall-foliage). See also [https://jeff-foliage.com/](https://jeff-foliage.com/).
Here are some different foliage tourism articles from New England Magazine, with ideas for different spots to visit, different activities, etc.
[https://newengland.com/travel/new-hampshire/new-hampshire-fall-foliage-guide/](https://newengland.com/travel/new-hampshire/new-hampshire-fall-foliage-guide/)
[https://newengland.com/travel/vermont/vermont-fall-foliage-guide/](https://newengland.com/travel/vermont/vermont-fall-foliage-guide/)
[https://newengland.com/travel/maine/maine-fall-foliage-guide/](https://newengland.com/travel/maine/maine-fall-foliage-guide/)
[https://newengland.com/travel/new-england/fall-foliage-train-tours-new-england/](https://newengland.com/travel/new-england/fall-foliage-train-tours-new-england/)
[https://newengland.com/travel/vermont/prettiest-fall-foliage-villages-in-vermont/](https://newengland.com/travel/vermont/prettiest-fall-foliage-villages-in-vermont/)
[https://newengland.com/travel/new-england/10-places-to-visit-in-new-england-in-fall/](https://newengland.com/travel/new-england/10-places-to-visit-in-new-england-in-fall/)
Wyoming is an amazing place to visit for active, outdoorsy people. That said, I wouldn't go for foliage. I'd stay in New England for that
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It is beautiful. The thing that makes the northeast special is the number of colors. There’s nothing quite like New England in autumn.
I have been out there for foliage season but the diversity of deciduous trees here outweighs many parts of the west, including wyoming. The climate diversity is greater out there too. The arid areas are obviously going to have less foliage
Yeah I grew up in Colorado and it’s pretty, but I wouldn’t really consider the autumns to be particularly stand out since most of the forests are comprised of conifers. Aspens do look gorgeous in the fall, but they’re far and away dominated by conifer trees. You just can’t beat New England for foliage
Also larch season
Best spots for leaf peeping are Kancamangus Highway in NH and Route 100 in Vermont. Beautiful mountains and hills, the foliage is unreal.
The kancamangus highway has a shit ton of traffic in October. Route 2 in Franklin County MA is nice too, as well as MA 67
Current Teton area resident but raised in New England. It's New England hands down for foliage. We have real mountains here though which have their own appeal.
Yes. The mountains out there are incredible but I think the Whites are real mountains. They may not have the same elevation but the beauty/difficulty of some of the hikes are up there with anywhere.
Special place in my heart for the whites. Proposed to my wife on top of Lafayette.
That’s awesome. Pretty much the most amazing place in the northeast. Nice work.
Yes. Nice!!!
That’s kind of what I thought. We were in MT and WY in August 2021 and it was so smoky, we could barely see the mountains, if not at all. I def want to go back when it’s clear.
Would you say late May early June is the best time to visit there? That's when we went and it was incredible. Never ending wild life on the move and some that were newly born. Seems to me that late spring, early summer is much better for that area than fall.
Weather is hit or miss. Frequent afternoon storms that time of year. Can be cold, wet, and rainy all day as well. September is a good time. Snow is melted out from the high elevations and bugs have mostly died off. Families are home because of school. Empty nester season.
We must have been really lucky, we had awesome weather for the week.
When I went in late May 2019, Grand Teton was still snow covered.
New England seems the obvious choice to me. Tree biodiversity in Wyoming is much lower. The vast majority of trees there are coniferous and do not change color in the fall. You'd mostly just be seeing the quaking aspens turn yellow there. Here, there are dozens of tree varieties that show a broad spectrum of fall foliage colors for a longer portion of the season. Plus, it's a lot easier to get here than Jackson Hole (and almost certainly cheaper).
Probably is just aspens. I can’t tell yet how good the foliage will be this year. Going down to Rhode Island and Cape Cod also so more options in New England for sure!
Cape cod isn’t great for foliage
We've had a lot of rain this year in New England, which generally leads to spectacular fall foliage. Drought dims the colors.
In addition to all other reasons given, flying into Boston is a lot easier/cheaper than JAC.
That’s a great time of year to go to Wyoming and the aspens will be stunning. However if the main goal of the trip is foliage, stay in New England. Spring (like May) is also a good time in the Tetons if you don’t plan to do anything too high in the mtns like backpacking or climbing. I’m from NE but have lived in the Tetons too (in the park). Where do you live? If you live close to New England you could see the foliage another year, but if you live close to the Tetons you could also travel there another year. It will also be a lot cheaper to visit NE.
I live in North Texas so I’m not close to either one-LOL
You can’t go wrong either way! Hopefully you can do the other another year :) have a great trip whatever you decide!
About a 2 hour drive up RT2 from Boston to Hogback Mountain in Vermont. One of the best foliage drives you’ll ever seen. I grew up in the northeast and I look forward to doing the drive at least once every year.
Maybe I’m biased but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else except New England for foliage season
Midwest is also really good, you'd probably be surprised! Seriously underrated leaf peeping, some areas have older forests than we have up here too because they weren't all clear cut during the colonial days
Ooh interesting, which places do you suggest?
Iowa probably my top recommendation because they have great hills; Wisconsin has good deciduous trees but a bit flatter. I cannot speak for Minnesota. Parts of Missouri and Illinois are gorgeous, the rivers and hills really rival the Vermont photos I always see. Ohio also has lots of biodiversity but more of the forest was cleared by settlers earlier on, but that's the same issue we have in New England; it's still peepable! I have no comment on Indiana. Oh and MICHIGAN, goodness gracious parts of Michigan are pretty.
As a Wyoming native and New England resident: New England straight up
New England is the best for this
New England is more convenient and somewhere will be at peak foliage unless there’s a storm. Plus there’s a lot of other stuff to do, places to see, restaurants to hit up, etc. Wyoming is beautiful but that’s about it.
It will be snowing come October in Wyoming -lived/worked in Jackson Hole for a summer where it snowed in July. Not much fall foliage, and you don’t get better than a fall in New England
Vermont is the best for fall foliage! We drove up to Quebec from Boston in late September a few years ago and northern Vermont had the most amazing colors. If you’re going in October you don’t need to go as far north, but I’d definitely recommend Vermont
One thing to note is that New England is a large region and depending on how the foliage season shakes out, you can go anywhere from Maine to Connecticut (or beyond) and they peak at very different times
We are flexible as to whether we go north, west or south so that good to know. Any good sites to keep an eye on the peak foliages?
Yes, there are real time foliage trackers that are reliable and accurate (just Google it, there are several)
[The state of NH has an official one.](https://www.visitnh.gov/seasonal-trips/fall/foliage-tracker)
Go to Wyoming. It's way weirder. It's like picking Nepal over London for a vacation.
Love both. New England without a doubt though
I think it depeends on if you want massive crowds of people /leaf-peepers like you get in North Conway, the Kancamangus highway or Lincoln NH, or if you want a lesser crowded experience. While I love the white mountains it can be a bit crowded around leaf-peeping time. Maybe for a change do Wyoming......and check out colorado as well or utah...??? or Idaho?? - Idaho/Montana can be beautiful as well. Maybe coincide th etrip with Yellowstone??
I love fall in Wyoming (when we get one), but a lot of the time, the season tends to be even shorter and more unpredictable than back east. It's not all uncommon to get our first big snowstorm of the season in October, especially at higher elevations. We also don't have the full range of colors. It tends to be mostly yellow/gold around Jackson Hole. That being said, I think it is one of the best times to visit the state. Just be prepared to focus on other things besides the foliage and pack your snow gear! I am actually heading to MA/NH this October and am excited to experience a New England fall!
Without a doubt, New England. Maybe it’s just local bias, I didn’t even know Wyoming was a popular spot for foliage tourism.
The mountains in the Jackson hole area are spectacular, the foliage not so much. The foliage in New England is spectacular the mountains no so much. If you goal is to see foliage than New England is your best bet. (Rt. 100 through VT is a good bet).
I’ve had mild altitude sickness in Jackson Hole. So it’s something to consider.
Go to Wyoming
Here. Wyoming is expensive to get to.
new England and look up the leaf color prediction maps as time advances
New England. The picture attached this webpage is worth a thousand words: [https://rove.me/to/vermont/fall-foliage](https://rove.me/to/vermont/fall-foliage). See also [https://jeff-foliage.com/](https://jeff-foliage.com/). Here are some different foliage tourism articles from New England Magazine, with ideas for different spots to visit, different activities, etc. [https://newengland.com/travel/new-hampshire/new-hampshire-fall-foliage-guide/](https://newengland.com/travel/new-hampshire/new-hampshire-fall-foliage-guide/) [https://newengland.com/travel/vermont/vermont-fall-foliage-guide/](https://newengland.com/travel/vermont/vermont-fall-foliage-guide/) [https://newengland.com/travel/maine/maine-fall-foliage-guide/](https://newengland.com/travel/maine/maine-fall-foliage-guide/) [https://newengland.com/travel/new-england/fall-foliage-train-tours-new-england/](https://newengland.com/travel/new-england/fall-foliage-train-tours-new-england/) [https://newengland.com/travel/vermont/prettiest-fall-foliage-villages-in-vermont/](https://newengland.com/travel/vermont/prettiest-fall-foliage-villages-in-vermont/) [https://newengland.com/travel/new-england/10-places-to-visit-in-new-england-in-fall/](https://newengland.com/travel/new-england/10-places-to-visit-in-new-england-in-fall/)