NC Fall Leaf Color: Report for 10/7/12

October 7 -  Saturday was beautiful with lots of fall colors in the High Country,  Sunday turned cloudy, rainy and cool. Monday is predicted to be partially dreary also, but the weather reports look very promising for a sunny end to the week and cool, clear days on the weekend  from the Smokies to the Virginia border.

fall color in Cashiers

The colors in the Highlands/Cashiers and Boone areas should be  peaking by mid-week, with the intense colors continuing through the weekend. So, for the higher elevations, the upcoming week and weekend should offer a terrific display of colors.

The birches have really come on this past week, providing a yellow highlight to the forests and the tulip poplars are starting to yellow up also, but usually lag behind the birches. Beeches have also started yellowing, but they soon turn to brown, as do the magnolias and chestnut sprouts. Sugar Maples continue their progression toward orange and yellow, turning first on the outside of the crown, with the colors then working their way inward with time. 

Red maples, red oaks, sourwoods, dogwoods, Virginia Creeper and blueberries are all giving the forests the red accents which add the dimension  for a great fall color season. If the maples and oaks do well this year, there should be an exceptional fall color season. 

Colors have peaked at highest elevations, such as Grandfather Mountain, Mt. Mitchell and Roan Mountain, and the quality looks  good. Around Blowing Rock at Bass and Price Lakes, colors are also very vibrant now, and perhaps among the best along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Craggy Gardens, Mt. Pisgah, and Graveyard Fields are reported to be at their peak color, and should be excellent viewing for the upcoming week. 

Linn Cove Viaduct

The southern end of the Parkway though, has not yet peaked, so a trip to that area would be better for later in the month..  This is the week to take in the foliage at high elevations, so try a scenic drives such as:

- The Cherohala Skyway in Robbinsville is a good bet

- The Blue Ridge Parkway, from Cherokee, past Maggie Valley, and then on to Graveyard Fields at milepost 418
- Craggy Gardens is a favorite spot between Asheville and Little Switzerland

- The Linn Cove Viaduct just north of Grandfather Mountain

-  Doughton Park at milepost 340 should be looking good this week and is a great place for hikes as is Mt. Mitchell State Park.

This Leaf Color information is provided by Howie Neufeld, Ph.D., Professor of Plant Physiology at Appalachian State University in Boone NC. Dr. Neufeld writes a first-hand Leaf Report throughout the NC fall color season, as well as a Facebook Page, Fall Color Guy. Get links for both on the NC Mountain News Guide.