Michigan’s multi-colored fall foliage is here — and gone, depending where you are.
A foliage color forecast map available at Explore Fall predicts the Upper Peninsula has mainly reached peak or past peak fall colors, with peak colors expected to spread south in the coming weeks across the Lower Peninsula.
The Smoky Mountains fall foliage prediction map says much of the UP and northern Michigan should be seeing “past peak” colors at this point, with southern Michigan experiencing peak conditions.
Pure Michigan’s color map shows most of the Upper Peninsula is past peak with some peak color in the east (80% to 100% change), as well as in the Keweenaw and Pictured Rocks areas.
In the Lower Peninsula, most areas of at 40% to 60% change at this time.
Some southeast Michigan residents have reported duller fall colors this year as the region saw a warmer, drier start to fall.
Here’s what to know about fall colors.
Is it too late to see fall color in the Upper Peninsula?
The UP is past peak fall colors, with most of the peninsula seeing “past peak” colors by Oct. 14, according to Explore Michigan.
What are fall colors like in northern Michigan?
In the northern Lower Peninsula, fall colors are mostly at moderate color, with high color spreading in some areas, the Explore Fall map shows.
The map forecasts the region will reach peak fall colors by Oct. 20.
What are fall colors like in mid-Michigan?
Mid-Michigan should be filled with moderate fall colors, along with patches of high color and a little bit of peak color emerging, per the map.
Peak fall colors should arrive in the area by Oct. 23, Explore Michigan predicts.
What are fall colors like in southern Michigan?
The majority of the southern Lower Peninsula is likely still seeing low or moderate fall color, Explore Michigan predicts.
Peak fall colors should arrive in the region by Oct. 26, forecasts say.
Look out for upcoming peak colors down south
The Pure Michigan fall foliage color map shows the UP is already past peak, but you’ll still have a chance to glimpse peak fall colors in the Lower Peninsula.
Most of the state’s Lower Peninsula will see 80-100% change, indicating peak fall colors, by Oct. 26, according to the map.
How do colors vary by tree?
Michigan’s diverse tree varieties each have their own color patterns, according to Michigan State University Extension.
In the Upper Peninsula and northern Lower Peninsula, maple trees feature orange and red leaves, while quaking aspen and larch trees have yellow leaves. Sugar maples turn bright red, and red maples change from vivid red to orange to bright yellow.
Red oaks, present across the state, have subtle red leaves, while trees in the white oak group, with several in southern Michigan, feature yellow or dusty red leaves. Sassafras, present in southern Michigan, varies from yellow to deep red in the fall and can have three-lobed or mitten-shaped leaves.
Hickories, common in southern Michigan, can feature yellow leaves in the fall, the most common variety in the state being shagbark hickory. Larch trees feature needles, which turn bright yellow in the fall before shedding. Eastern larch, or tamarack, is a larch variety found in wetter parts of Michigan.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Is it too late to see fall colors ‘up north’? Where Michigan’s foliage is past peak
Reporting by Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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