Autumn brings brilliant display of Mother Nature's palette to Ohio foliage
As if to offer hope before winter’s big chill, nature performs an annual show — a nearly pyrotechnic display of color, as Ohio’s deciduous forests burst into scarlet and cinnabar, amber and gold, bronze and orange.
The autumn spectacular moves from north to south with falling temperatures, meaning that leaf-peepers usually have about six weeks to find trees somewhere in Ohio sporting lovely and diverse hues — from late September through October, depending on the weather.
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One of the best ways to track nature’s roadshow is at www.fallcolor.ohiodnr.gov, where the Ohio Department of Natural Resources offers updates, predictions, and a list of fall activities around the state.
The website also features video nature guides about seasonal topics such as the state’s native fall-ripening pawpaw fruit and buckeye nuts. (Do you know in which pocket you should carry a lucky buckeye nut? The guide will tell you.)
Peak color usually moves from north to south over about three weeks, said David Parrott, the Division of Forestry Fall Color Forester. In addition to the north-south temperature differential, Ohio’s various soil types and topography also add to the diversity of the autumn color show, Parrott said.
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Ohio’s once-glaciated plains support a different mix of trees than found in the Appalachian foothills of the south and southeast. And with different trees come different colors.
The first trees to shed their leaves, usually after turning a lovely yellow color, are the Buckeye State’s Ohio buckeye trees.
Later come the sugar maples, noted for their bright-orange fall foliage; black gums which often turn a brilliant scarlet red; hickories which can produce a vivid yellow; and oaks, which, depending on their variety and location, have a fall foliage that varies from apple-red to cinnamon to mustard to brown.
This year’s peak colors should arrive earlier than last year, which was marked by above-average fall temperatures, Parrott said.
“We’re setting up pretty good this year,” he said.
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“The forecast is calling for relatively normal precipitation and temperatures. It all comes down to whether we have those cooler fall evenings to help nudge those leaves along toward making the change.”
If the forecast comes through, peak leaf color should arrive in northern Ohio about Oct. 17, with peak colors traveling south through Oct. 31, he said.
City and yard trees often show their colors and drop their leaves earlier than those in the state’s forests, Parrott said.
“That’s primarily because those trees are more stressed,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean your tree is dying, just that it’s more exposed than those that are out in the forest.”
Parrott has plenty of suggestions for following fall color around the state including Maumee State Forest and Mohican State Park in the north; Sycamore, Alum Creek and Great Seal state parks in the middle; and Shawnee and Zaleski state forests in the south.
Shawnee and Zaleski both have backpacking trails for visitors who really want to experience fall in the forest, Parrott noted.
“And of course, there’s the Hocking Hills, or anywhere you go in the Athens area, you’ll find good locations.”
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will also host a Fall Color Tour (https://bit.ly/3RPa3qh) at Hocking State Forest on Oct. 22, just as peak color is expected to begin to show in the area.
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The free event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the state forest headquarters, 19275 Ohio Route 374, Rockbridge. Visitors can take hayrides, see chainsaw demonstrations, learn about wildlife management and tree identification, enjoy hearty refreshments ― and, of course, hike through the colorful woods of the forest and adjacent Conkle’s Hollow State Nature Preserve.
But there’s really no need to hunt for good fall colors, Parrott said.
“Anywhere you go in Ohio, if you look, you can find good spots,” he said.
“And it’s a good excuse to get outside — maybe your last chance to get out there before winter rolls in — whether the color is at its peak or not.”
Steve Stephens is a freelance travel writer and photographer. Email him at sjstephensjr@gmail.com.
At a glance
Here's a look at the colors leaves typically achieve on common trees in Ohio:
⋅ Buckeyes: yellow
⋅ Sugar maples: bright orange
⋅ Black gums: often brilliant scarlet red
⋅ Hickories: vivid yellow
⋅ Oaks: depending on the variety and location, from apple-red to cinnamon to mustard to brown
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Fall color in Ohio: Where and when to enjoy autumn foliage
