Fall out East?

I'll be heading out East next week and will have a couple of days for photography in the trip. I asked on MANP and NENP, but thought I'd ask y'all here since you're so active - anyone got special locations between Rochester NY, Windsor CT, and Harrisburg PA for fall color landscapes?

My two current top candidates are Harriman SP and Ricketts Glen SP; depending on what I see I might detour through Durand-Eastman or Mendon Ponds parks in Rochester; if things are further progressed, I'll probably focus on more of the central PA region.

Ideas, anyone?

So far most of the suggestions you have been getting look to be on target. Harriman/Bear Mt State park has lots of good areas to shoot. Harriman is great for lakes and streams and Bear Mt has some great views of the Hudson Valley as well as some nice hardwood type shots. On a good year Harriman/Bear Mt. can really have some killer fall color. Check out Iona Island when @ Bear Mt. Its right along the river and offers some nice marsh scenes. The area along the Hudson River has mostly oak trees which turn more orange/brownish. Also this area tends to peak the last week of October first week of November. As you gain elevation away from the River (Bear Mt, Harriman) you should be hitting stuff near peak. Obviously I dont know the current conditions of the fall colors back in NY but I was back there a week ago, my general observation on the southern part of NY state was the following. They have had very little rain the last month or more, from what I have been told its also been hot late into the season. Trees appeared to be on the dry side and some of the fall color that was starting to change had a muted/brown apperance. Also with the dry weather they have been having I would expect most of the stream shots in Harriman to be dried up.

As Jennifer Geck suggested in another thread, the Finger lakes regions should be really good. Watkins Glenn, Lectworth SP, the area around Ithaca(Taughannock Falls, Robert Treman SP) will yield tons of photo opps. It's an area I would like to explore more when I have time. I'm lucky my wife is from Elmira and I'm from downstate so I usually get back to these areas a couple of times of year, especially to shoot fall color when I can.

When in the Harrisburg area a good area to check out is the MD/PA border area. Catoctin SP in Thurmont, MD has some really nice fall color/stream shots. Thurmont is about 55 miles south of Harrisburg on US 15. This will also take you through Gettysburg and there are some really nice shots in this northern section of the Blue Ridge Mts.

I'm actually in Vermont right now and will be in the Adirondacks tomorrow. The colors are below average but there are, of course, still plenty of good photo ops. I'd say things are close to peak in northern Vermont, though it will probably be a little better in a few days. So I'd guess central New York still has a ways to go and your timing should be good.

I plan to go to Ithaca, NY and visit Taughannock Falls State Park and Watkins Glen. If I have time, I may visit Chittenango Falls State Park on the way down there and may also visit Buttermilk Falls near Ithaca. Other places I considered while researching the trip were:

Letchworth State Park
Lucifer Falls in Enfield Glen
Ithaca Falls
Stony Brook Park
Hector Falls
She-Qua-Ga Falls
Eagle Cliff Falls
Akron Falls

These were just places I jotted down, so I don't know too much about them, but you can Google them if interested.

I lived 10 miles from Chittenango Falls. It is OK. There is some decent shooting above the falls but honestly they have big fences set up to protect yourself down below and the shot is so-so from the bridge alone. I like the lists people are giving you but would also add Filmore Glen State Park, New Hope Mills, and ANY of the country roads in the upstate NY area (Cazenovia, Chittenango, Skaneateles, Pompey, Oran are all terrific towns). All you need to do is avoid the Thruway and drive Route 20 (or any rural road your GPS can handle) instead. You will see great rural scenes that will rival Vermont (I also used to live 10 miles from Bennington, VT).

Now, keep in mind my hometown is Fayetteville, NY and my parents are telling me it has been an incredibly dry summer. They also are telling me that things arent changing like normal for this time of year.

If you start to head downstate you can always take Route 17 through the Catskills and again hit any of the country roads around there. If you make it to Mid Hudson Valley make sure to drive up the Taconic if the colors are in full swing.

Shoot me an email if you have any questions. Cant wait to see your images!!


RichieV

What, there are fall colors OUTSIDE of Colorado and the West?

Heh heh...

Have a good trip!
-D

Thanks for all the additional suggestions; I am a bit concerned about the dry spell they've been having out there - I'm getting reports from relatives that are similar if not quite as bad. Does anyone have any suggestions specifically in CT or the Springfield, MA area?

Yes, there are fall colors outside of Colorado and the West. And unlike out here, I don't have to photograph One Red Aspen standing by its lonesome just to get a solid red colored tree...