Fall in New England is all about leaf spotting or leaf peeping as the pastime is called locally.

In this first of a series of short articles on leaf identification on this blog, I thought I’d cover the most striking and prominent leaves you’ll see while rambling in mountain and lake areas of New England.

And what are they? Well, they be the Maples.

The Sugar Maple leaf coloring can take on yellow, orange, and sometimes a red. It’s the largest American Maple reaching over 100 feet tall. The sap of the Sugar Maple makes superb Maple Syrup.

The Red Maple leaf can be bright red with yellow and orange. The leaf is easy to distinguish from other maples because it has irregular toothed lobes. The Red Maple is also known as the Swamp Maple and grows normally to a around 60-80 feet.

The Striped Maple Leaf is large and bright yellow during its peak foliage season. This is a small tree growing from 16-40 feet tall, and preferring to play second fiddle as an understory tree in the shade of taller relatives.

And so where are the best spots in New England to see all these gorgeous Maples?

In New Hampshire the White Mountains put on a pretty good Maple show. For scenic drives in New Hampshire try the Kancamagus Highway.

Vermont offers many good viewing spots for Maples in vibrant fall foliage display. Any of the Green Mountain areas are great, with my personal favorite being Central Vermont. For scenic drives in Vermont try this tour.

In Massachusetts the Berkshires and Pioneer Valley areas offer some of the best Maple viewing. For one of the most popular scenic drives in Massachusetts you can’t beat the Mohawk Trail.

Maine wilderness areas such as Moosehead Lake and Kennebec River in the central region are perfect for Maple spotting. The Lakes and Leaves tour takes you through this area in this scenic drive in Maine.

Connecticut’s Route 169 area with its farms and rolling hills provides a great backdrop for a plentiful array of Maple sightings. You can discover a scenic drive in Connecticut along Route 169 here.

The villages and towns of coastal Rhode Island are swamped in Maples. Check out Newport for a dazzling show along Bellevue Avenue where many of the Newport Mansions are located. For a scenic drive in Rhode Island and Newport try this ramble.

Okay signing off for the weekend now. Gonna find me some Maples.

Have a great weekend,

Cliff Calderwood
Executive Director
New England Vacation Online Guide

Related posts:

1. Fall Foliage Scenic Drive – Lakes and Leaves Maine
2. Fall Foliage Scenic Drives in New England – How to Get Your FREE copy…
3. Connecticut Route 169 Fall Foliage Scenic Drive
4. The Fall Foliage Train is Leaving New England…
5. Fall Foliage Networks in New England…