Fall Color Report 2009

It has been suggested we feature a sticky for fall color reports from the various areas within the MWNP forum. Let us know what is happening in your region as fall progresses!

Please put your region at the beginning of your post so people can easily find what they’re looking for.....post your images too, if you have them!

Andy..thanks for the suggestion!!

Northern Illinois: Early, sporadic change--the odd rogue maple has already turned completely; most trees, however, are still green.

Will have a look at central Indiana on Tuesday; my wife tells me there's very little change there (despite tantalizing bits of color more than two weeks ago).

Southwest Michigan:

About the same as Kerry's report, although we may lose a lot of green leaves today, thanks to the strong cold front that came through in the wee hours of the morning. The winds of November appear to have come early as high winds are making the waves pop out on the big lake, however!

Mid-Michigan: (Owosso to Saginaw/Bay Area)

We are seeing color change as is typical for this time of year in Saginaw/Bay Area. I was in Owosso a week back and noted what I felt was earlier than usual change with maybe about 5% color in trees, with more along the Shiawassee River.

Thanks for setting this up, Toni. Hopefully we will have this as an annual feature this time of year for us foliage enthusiasts.

Sounds like a great idea, Andy!

Anytime an important topic is posted and you feel it should be a sticky, let me know!

Central Indiana: almost no color change. There's just a hint of it, here and there.

Central Illinois...just the usual teasers here and there. We're several weeks away yet.

Southeastern Indiana no change yet, the trees do have that dusky look of late summer, but I am expecting a beautiful fall last two have been busts with weather problems.

Lots of moisture, cool summer and no big storms could be a banner year, now I can't make up my mind to either go to Smoky's or stay home :)

I just returned from the western UP on a trip from Menomonie, Wisconsin – Hayward – Mellen- Ironwood, Mi (through the Porcupine Mountains) – Houghton – Copper Harbor – Houghton – LAnse – and 28 back to Ironwood. It looks to me like the peak color will be the week of October 11 in most of these areas. The Maples are showing some good red throughout the area. The Aspen and Birch are just starting to turn so they will likely be later. The area from Mellen to Ironwood was just about at peak and the area from LAnse down to the junction with 28 was also just about peak.

One challenge I hadn’t faced before was trying to photograph along the streams running into the lake. The salmon are supposed to be running and every stream had fishermen. No one was catching anything and they all had a different explanation for their failure.

Phil Schwarz
E2311 530th Ave
Menomonie, WI 54751
e-mail: schwarzp@uwstout.edu
web: http://philipschwarz.zenfolio.com/

Phil: Thanks for the update. I was going to go to Marquette this past weekend, but the combination of forecast 3 days of solid rain and a thought that peak was a week or more away made me cancel. 7 hour drive each way for me.

Roscommon County, MI

I played golf in Roscommon today. There is some very nice color showing. I would say that in most cases in that area there is about 30% color. Should come on very nicely during the next 2 weeks.

SW Michigan:

There are pockets of full color here and there, but most areas still have very little change so far.

Western UP Michigan - I thought a visual aid might help folks decide when to go. This is Lake of the Clouds from last night. You can judge for yourself how far along the leaves are along Lake Superior in the western UP. Bond Falls area and the South Boundary Road of the Porcupine Mts Wilderness SP are a bit further along. Peak should be in the next several days. Today is a washout (10/6) with non-stop rain. I gave up and headed to Ironwood to recharge, dry out and process some photos.

Brian: Thanks. I think the visual is a lot better than anything we could say. We probably have many different definitions of "peak." Based on this photo, I am glad I cancelled my trip to Marquette last weekend, given the rain and conditions. Looks like maybe we still have some time.

I'm in Munising at the moment. Colors aren't too far along in my opinion. Near the water, it's mostly green with yellow mixed in (with some of the yellow have orange on the tips of the leaves). Heading through some of the smaller roads inland, there are patches here and there that are nice color (brighter yellows along with red and orange), thought not always in spots that are useful for shooting. I haven't actually made it into pictured rocks yet...just drove up from the lower peninsula today and explored some of the roads to the south and west of Munising. The drive from the bridge was basically the same...patches of color, but mostly green with some yellow. I have no idea how long its going to take for better color to show, but I don't think it will be before I head home on Saturday. Wish I could have waited until next week, but that didn't work with our schedule.

Today (Thursday, 10/8/09) I did a lot of driving around backroads of pictured rocks. Found a few small lakes with some decent color and some of the roads were alright, but mostly undercolored in my opinion. Probably the best color I found was at Ross Lake. Color there was very good and vibrant, though the lighting was terrible this morning. I also managed to puncture a tire in my explorations, which put an end to my backroad explorations. I suspect it happened on the Teal Lake trail (which turned out to be a dud). I didn't get a chance to look around in the lakes to the south of munising (Council, Red Jack, etc..)

Also, Tahquamenon Falls has almost no color at all at the upper, and not a lot at the lower either.

Ross Lake:
http://www.pbase.com/ldkronos/image/118076803

Tahq Upper:
http://www.pbase.com/ldkronos/image/118076805
http://www.pbase.com/ldkronos/image/118076807
http://www.pbase.com/ldkronos/image/118076809

Tahq Lower:
http://www.pbase.com/ldkronos/image/118076811
http://www.pbase.com/ldkronos/image/118076815

I was back in Owosso today and found some nice early color along the Shiawassee River. To as I drove back north toward M-46 and Saginaw, I noticed some pretty nice color developing to the West. I would put it about about 30%. Back in Saginaw, except for the occasional tree, there is almost no color yet.

Thinking about hitting either the U.P. or Smokies next weekend (17th). Any advice on the U.P.? Will color be past peak by then? Thanks!

Ron, Brian...thanks for the updates regarding the UP.

Amy...see the postings above your question...they may be of some help.

Western MI update:
While driving around this weekend, I noticed that closer to Lake MI, there is very little color change at all, but about 1-2 miles away from the lake, there appears to be quite a bit of color coming on. Again, the color is still in pockets here and there. The cooler temps and frost (in some places) should get the show going this week.

Amy, next week will be way too early for the Smokies, assuming the usual Fall color patterns and that being what you are going for. It is an end of October shoot..

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

I'm just back from a week in Southern Ontario (fabulous color!) and haven't had a chance to get out into the park. Based on what I see in my back yard, there is lots of color now, and more to come. We're expecting heavy rain tomorrow (10/15) so the various waterfalls should have good flow this weekend. I plan to shoot this weekend and expect the color will last into next week.

Chuck- I think i may join you in Cuyahoga this weekend (Sat-Mon). Having never been, any advice? love waterfalls and grand scenics, but of course am hunting for great fall color. Thanks!

Amy, There are three good falls in the CVNP. Brandywine, Blue Hen and Bridal Veil. All are picturesque locations. On the map, Brandywine and Blue Hen are both just north of I-271 east and west of Boston. Bridal Veil is in the Bedford Reservation at the north end of the park. There's a list of locations and a map here. There's lots of color here, but some trees have barely started changing.

Thanks Chuck! Perhaps we'll meet up out there. I'll have a silver Ford Contour with a red paw print on the rear quarter. Holler if you see me!

Anybody have reports on southern Illinois in the Shawnee Nat'l Forest? I'm thinking of going there at the end of October. Will I hit color then? Anybody know???!!! Thanks.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Just took a quick trip out to Brandywine and Blue Hen Falls. Brandywine has good flow and lots of color (much more still to come). Blue Hen has less flow than I expected, but lots of red and yellow leaves on the rocks and in the water. The background beeches are still green. Both locations will be busy this and next weekend. BTW, the local police are taking advantage of the increased traffic. I passed 3 speed traps this afternoon in unexpected places.

Thanks for the information, I am planning on driving up tomorrow. It looks like we might have some drizzle but also some wind.

Blue Hen Falls in Cuyahoga Valley NP today. Some very nice color in the park. Will report more tomorrow evening once i get to see the whole park.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Here's a shot from Bridal Veil Falls late yesterday. We're expecting sunny and breezy today and tomorrow. Close to freezing tonight. Sunrise at Sylvan Pond is nice if the breeze hasn't come up.

I spent the weekend in the Upper Peninsula, mainly in the Eastern Hiawatha NF, and between Munising and Marquette. Great color throughout the areas I was in! Here's my best estimate

Marquette - 75% - 80% in the areas to the Northwest, including Presque Isle Park and North to Big Bay. I would say there is another week of color in that area.

Munising - Peak to near Peak (those who are more familiar may correct me, but that was my take).

Hiawatha NF on Forest Road F13: Peak to Near peak the entire length

U.S. 2 between Manistique and Brevort - Peak to Near Peak.

There was a lot of wind today and it appears -- significant leaf drop. Whether there is another week in these areas is questionable.

Northern Lower Michigan from Mackinaw City to Gaylord -60--80%, with more color in elevated areas. South of Gaylord, it is still very early. I did note significant leaf drop back here in Saginaw in the city, in yards and along the roadsides. These areas obviously stress earlier. Don't know what the woods here are like.

here's a shot of The Overlook at Cuyahoga Valley NP from this evening. Plenty of color remaining for this week and perhaps next weekend.

here is my Cuyahoga Valley NP gallery for those of you contemplating a trip. All photos taken 10/18/09. Thanks to all who gave advice on locations (even where NOT to go)!!

http://amylindsey.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Cuyahoga-Valley-National-Park/10014417_g8FWP#685287281_sPkhf

Western Michigan:

Looks like we are at peak or darn close to it. Colors are not as brilliant as I expected this fall, however.

Northern Illinois

I was at Matthiessen State Park in north-central Illinois with Tom Robbins on Sunday morning and evaluated the color situation in the greater Chicago area until I left on Tuesday evening. I'd say the NE Illinois area will peak this weekend into next week; ditto north-central Illinois.

Central Indiana

Peaking RIGHT NOW, as I type this note. I was at Turkey Run S.P. in east-Central Indiana yesterday and at Fort Harrison S.P. in central-central ( ) Indiana this morning. Both areas are at full peak. Rain is expected tonight and much of tomorrow. Hopefully it won't knock down what's on the trees (though my fall color shooting is likely done for the season--I have to head to Florida for several days beginning Saturday morning). Maybe, if things hang on, I'll head down to Brown County S.P. (about an hour south of Indianapolis) late next week after I get back.

Darn...that means I'll miss the color in IN when I go to Cinci next weekend.
On the bright side...guess I won't have to make very many stops! LOL

Cuyahoga Valley NP

Peaking this weekend. We're having rain and wind tomorrow, so hopefully there still will be some leaves on the trees on Saturday.

Toni, the color might still be holding on in southern Indiana by next weekend--it probably depends on the weather. A cold front is supposed to blow through here after the rain stops tomorrow night.

BTW, if you're going to Cincinnati via I-69/I-465/I-74, you may want to look into an alternative. A tanker truck on the ramp from southbound I-69 to southbound I-465 blew up this morning (I actually heard the explosion when I was at Ft. Harrison today--I was miles away...no serious casualties, remarkably). The ramp is closed indefinitely and so is part of 465. No way it's going to be open by next weekend. I'm sure they'll have a detour set up, but it's highly unlikely to be efficient.

Rain and wind here today too...my large maple tree out back is losing leaves rapidly, even as it just approached peak color.

Kerry...thanks for the heads up on the road. I go straight down US 31 from here down to Indy, then hop on I-465 from there (Meridian?) and to I-74. I'm guessing maybe I should take Meridian farther down towards town before getting on I-465 then?
After my last trip home from Cinci on I-74, my biggest concern is large amounts of rain, which caused big time flooding on the highway in the Batesville area. Yep...I had to drive though it!

Toni, as of today you can't go eastbound on I-465 from Meridian Street (US 31)--in fact, all eastbound I-465 traffic is being routed off on Meridian. I have no idea if they've set up a formal detour or not at this point. I think--don't quote me--that the next spot you could get on 465 is 56th Street, which is a bit of a hike through a variety of convoluted surface streets.

Now, it's possible that--by next weekend--the situation will be normal--or at least more normal than it currently is (there are some serious concerns about the integrity of some of the overpasses around the I-69/I-465 interchange; one of the columns on an overpass was destroyed during the accident). I'm heading out of town tomorrow morning and won't be back until late Wednesday night so I'll be relatively out of the loop during that time, but if you want to e-mail me next Thursday I should be back up to speed as to what's going on.

Thanks, Kerry. In looking on Mapquest...seems E. 38th St. would be the best way to go as it stands right now. At least that looks to be a fairly straight shot, although time consuming, to I-465.
I've bookmarked the INDOT site to keep an eye on the situation, but will email you Thursday for confirmation...Thanks!!!!

Hi All....Central Illinois is at peak right now. Many dreary rainy days and lots of wind. Very furstrating. Anyone from southern Illinois? I'm looking at doing Shawnee National Forest the first week of November. Perhaps I should try next week instead? Not sure so please let me know if any have been there for fall shots. Thanks. It's been a "not very prosperous fall shoot" this year due to the rainy, windy days. Some years are just better than others!

This past week was peak here in SW Ohio near Cincy, and it was the BEST color I've senn in a half decade. I grabbed this shot coming back from lunch on Tuesday (10/20), this is just the trees/pond in front of the offices at my mfg facility (OK, I did apply Darwin Wigget's Orton Effect action and boosted saturation ). But after yesterday's rain, leaves are coming down fairly rapidly and the "fire" is leaving much of the leaves now. Still colorful, just muted and getting bare.

Toni_ This should help in planning your trip. I-465 is open on all sides. I-69 SB at 465 is still closed. If you're taking 31 down (i live right at 31 and 465 on the north side), you can hit 465 east and then on to 74 east. i'm taking that route this Friday to head to SE Indiana (headin' for my hometown-Lawrenceburg). Safe travels!

http://www.in.gov/indot/2351.htm

Yay! Thanks very much, Amy!! It will certainly make things easier than having to drive through town. Now let's just hope there won't be any more downpours to flood I-74!

You have a safe trip too!