Connecticut's Foliage Finder: Week-by-Week Guide

The northernmost corners of the state are the first to feel that cool touch of fall in the air. Towns like Woodstock and Norfolk, not far from the Massachusetts border, are starting to turn yellow and orange. In the eastern region, not far from Shenipsit State Forest in Ellington, you’ll find color on the higher rolling hills. In  the western Litchfield hills, the dense green trees of Peoples State Forest in Barkhamsted are the first to turn. To see the best of early fall, try the Litchfield Hills Ramble, one of Connecticut’s best fall foliage driving tours.

Orange should be in full force in parts of the state now, with leaves turning in the eastern and western regions. In the west, Macedonia State Park in Kent is getting richer with color, while Talcott Mountain in Simsbury, not far from Hartford, offers soaring views of color as fall overtakes the Farmington River Valley. On a clear day you can even see all the way to New Hampshire! Now's a great time to try Exploring the Quiet Corner, one of Connecticut’s best fall foliage driving tours.

October kicks off with Connecticut divided roughly across the center. North of Hartford, foliage should be changing, even going as far south as Danbury and Waterbury. Meanwhile, in the southern part of the state along the shoreline, towns from Norwich to Greenwich still enjoy the last rich greens of summer. As for a great driving tour, our Litchfield Hills Ramble will be in fine color about now. Pair it with the northern part of our Scenic Fairfield County tour for even more foliage fun.

While the northernmost eastern and western corners of the state reach peak, the central region is slowly being overtaken by color, a trend which will speed up in the coming weeks. Towns like Storrs, home of University of Connecticut’s campus, and Litchfield, begin to look picture-perfect. This may be the ideal week for Exploring the Quiet Corner, one of Connecticut’s best fall foliage driving tours.

By now, fall is putting on a show in much of the northern two thirds of Connecticut. All around Hartford and approaching the Connecticut River Valley, the leaves will be at low or moderate levels of color. The shoreline is the last to turn, but towns like New London in the Eastern region should be getting color by now. See for yourself on our Mystic Country & the Coast driving tour!

Fall foliage is in full force at this time. Going into the third week of October, there isn’t a place in the state that isn’t touched by beautiful color. Our Hartford West driving tour is a great way to see the foliage throughout the state’s capital region. In fact, now’s a great time for almost all of our driving tours! Be sure to visit the shoreline, too. This time of year, the beach grass will be turning pale and looking dramatic against the darkening blue of Long Island Sound. 

The extreme northern-most corners of the state are going past peak now, as is most of New England north of us. But the rest of Connecticut is rich with color just in time for Halloween festivities. Want a different view of the show? Take a cruise down the Connecticut River or out onto Long Island Sound. Check out foliage throughout the state on our Connecticut River Color or our New Haven & Neighborhood driving tours!

After Halloween and into November, the color is still at its most dramatic for most of the state. While most other New England states are already past peak color by the end of October, much of Connecticut can expect another week or so, especially in the pretty towns of Fairfield County and along the shoreline. If you still haven’t tried one of our foliage driving tours, you can find them here.

The fall foliage color is expected to be past peak in most of the state by the second week in November. In fact most trees may be bare of leaves by now. But there are still some spots along the shoreline, from Branford and Guilford to New Haven down to Stamford, where there’s still some peak color to enjoy.