New York Fall Foliage 2026

Adirondack High Peaks · 4,594 ft · peaks Sep 23

The toll road ends at a stone castle whose terrace looks southwest over Lake Placid and the MacIntyre Range. Color runs in bands down the slope, with bare summit rock and dark spruce framing the maple and birch below.

Central Adirondacks · 2,336 ft · peaks Oct 2

Open rock ledges and a restored steel fire tower sit above the Fulton Chain of Lakes, stacking water and hardwood ridgeline in one frame. The bare ledge supplies foreground rock without hiking above treeline.

Adirondack High Peaks · 2,164 ft · peaks Oct 2

From the north shore the MacIntyre Range fills the water to the south-southwest, with Algonquin and Wright reflected on still mornings. Birch and maple ring the shoreline and hold a warm band against the dark conifer slopes.

Catskills · 1,843 ft · peaks Oct 8

A two-tier drop of 231 feet lands in a hemlock amphitheater, and from the base the full column reads against the wet rock wall. Flat light holds the highlights on the water while the maples above the rim stay saturated.

Letchworth / Genesee Gorge · 1,204 ft · peaks Oct 9

The railing frames Middle and Upper Falls upriver to the southwest, with the Portage rail bridge above them and forested gorge walls on both sides. Late light rakes the west wall, and fog often sits in the river bend on cold mornings.

Shawangunk Ridge · 1,644 ft · peaks Oct 10

White conglomerate cliffs drop straight into a small sky lake, and the carriage road loop gives elevated angles from every side. Pitch pine on the ledges stays green against red maple and blueberry, so the color reads as separated blocks rather than a wash.

Finger Lakes · 731 ft · peaks Oct 11

The rim railing looks southwest into the gorge at a 215-foot plunge backed by a 400-foot amphitheater wall. Hardwoods on the far rim catch first light while the falls stay shaded, which keeps the exposure range manageable.

Finger Lakes · 810 ft · peaks Oct 11

Rainbow Falls spills across the Gorge Trail beneath a stone footbridge, with wet shale walls and hemlock closing the top of the frame. Color enters overhead rather than at eye level, so a vertical composition up the glen works best.

Hudson Valley · 1,299 ft · peaks Oct 12

The stone tower on the summit opens a full circle over the Hudson Highlands, with the river, the Bear Mountain Bridge and Iona Island below. Oak-dominated slopes turn later than the Catskills, so color holds here into late October.

Catskills · 604 ft · peaks Oct 13

The paved dike walkway puts open water between the camera and the Burroughs Range, so Wittenberg and Cornell sit above a clean reflection to the west-northwest. Calm early air gives a mirrored ridgeline with no foreground clutter.