Where To See The Best Fall Foliage In New Jersey

"Though the town below lay leaved with October blood.
O may my heart's truth
Still be sung
On this high hill in a year's turning. - Dylan Thomas "Poem in October"

Want to know where and when to look for the best colors of autumn in New Jersey?

The state Department of Environmental Protection's Parks and Forestry Facebook page will be providing weekly updates so you can follow when the leaves turn in different areas of the state and where the best viewing is.

There's a simple scientific explanation for why leaves turn color. It's primarily about the length of night, according to the federal Department of Agriculture's Forest Services Northeastern Area website.

As the days grow shorter, the amount of chlorophyll - the pigment that keeps leaves green - stored in the leaves begins to drop and produces lots of sugar, which is not used by the tree.

That makes room for the other pigments. Carotenoids produce the fiery yellow, orange and brown hues, and anthocyanins, which are responsible for the brilliant red and purple colors. Most anthocyanins are produced in the autumn, in response to bright light and excess plant sugars within leaf cells

Weather conditions also affect fall foliage conditions, but not as much as the length of night. The ideal conditions for color change are cool, sunny days and cool, crisp nights.

Oak trees generally turn red, brown or russet. Hickory trees turn golden bronze, dogwoods a purplish red. And then there are the spectacular maples. Red maples turn a brilliant scarlet. Sugar maples produce orange-red hues. Black maples glow yellow.

Weather conditions - especially temperature and moisture - that occur before and after the time the chlorophyll dwindles can also affect the brilliance and amount of colors.

"The countless combinations of these two highly variable factors assure that no two autumns can be exactly alike," the state website says.

Soil moisture, which varies from year to year, can also affect leaf colors. A late spring or drought can delay the onset of colors by several weeks.

"A succession of warm, sunny days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to bring about the most spectacular color displays," according to the state website.

Happy leaf peeping!

Photo: Patricia A. Miller

Image: New Jersey State Division of Parks and Forestry