Autumn leaves: when and where to see fall colors

Fall color depends on cold nights. Once nights drop below about 10°C, maples and birches start to turn, so the color moves from high ground and the north down to the coasts and cities over six to eight weeks. In the Southern Hemisphere the same thing happens in April and May. Peak at any one spot lasts one to two weeks.

Japan

Japan's koyo season runs the other way from its cherry blossom, starting in the north and the mountains:

• Hokkaido: Daisetsuzan's high slopes turn in mid to late September, the first in the country. The rest of the island follows through October.
• The Japan Alps and Kamikochi: early to mid October.
• Mount Fuji and Hakone: early to mid November. The maple corridor at Lake Kawaguchi is the best-known stretch.
• Kanazawa: early to mid November.
• Kyoto: mid November to early December. Eikan-do, Tofuku-ji and Arashiyama are the famous maples, and several temples light their gardens at night.
• Tokyo: late November to early December. The ginkgo avenue at Meiji Jingu Gaien turns gold around the same time.

Korea and China

In Korea, Seoraksan, the mountain in the northeast, colors first, in early to mid October. Seoul follows in late October and early November, and Naejangsan in the southwest is at its best in early November.

China has a long season because of its size:

• Kanas in northern Xinjiang: mid to late September, birch and larch around the lake.
• Daocheng Yading: late September to mid October, gold larch under snow peaks.
• Jiuzhaigou: mid to late October, when the forests around the lakes are at their most colorful.
• Beijing: late October to early November. Fragrant Hills is the classic, and the Great Wall sections at Mutianyu and Huanghuacheng are quieter alternatives.
• Huangshan: late October into November.
• Wuyuan: mid November to early December, when the old maples and ginkgos around the villages turn red and gold.

North America

New England is the reference for fall foliage. Northern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine peak in late September and early October; southern New England follows in mid October. Quebec City and the Laurentians outside Montreal peak around the end of September and first days of October. Algonquin Park in Ontario is a few hours north of Toronto and peaks in late September.

In the West, the color is aspen and larch. Colorado's aspens turn gold from mid to late September, and the larches around Lake Louise in Banff turn in the second half of September. In Yosemite and the Eastern Sierra, aspens peak in October.

Europe

Most of Europe colors in October. Highlights include the beech and birch woods of the Scottish Highlands, the lakes of Plitvice ringed by orange beech, the larch slopes of the Dolomites, the vineyards of Alsace and the parks of Kraków and Prague.

Southern Hemisphere

• Queenstown and nearby Arrowtown in New Zealand: mid to late April, poplars and willows along the rivers. Lake Tekapo colors around the same time.
• Patagonia: the lenga beech forests near El Calafate and Torres del Paine turn red in late March and April.
• Mendoza: the vineyards turn yellow and red in April and May, after the harvest.

How to time it

• Leaf-peeping reports start in September in the US, Canada, Japan and Korea, and they are more useful than any fixed date.
• Go higher or further north if you are early, and lower or further south if you are late.
• A dry, sunny autumn with cool nights gives the strongest reds. A warm autumn or an early storm can cut the season short.