New Jersey Fall Foliage Reports, maps and resources to help plan fall foliage hikes and scenic drives.
Ready to enjoy fall in New Jersey? Check out the New Jersey and the Northeast Foliage Resources below.
For our fall hike recommendations see Best Fall Foliage Hikes in New Jersey and check out the Top 10 Hikes in New Jersey.
Need even more hike ideas? Try our interactive Hike Finder map – now with a 🍁foliage map overlay🍁 during the season in order to choose hikes with the best chance of fall color, updated weekly in season.
Also check out the books Best Day Hikes in New Jersey and Hiking New Jersey (2023) for a nice selection of day hikes.
Peak Foliage in NJ for 2025
*Average New Jersey peak fall color is October 19 through 29*
While there are average times for color change, it really depends on several variables like temperature and rainfall.
Trees at higher elevations turn color before ones at lower elevations. Leaves change first along water so head to areas with lakes, ponds, or rivers.
Leaves usually change color starting from Maine and higher elevations of New England and then work their way south.
New Jersey fall foliage generally starts in the northwest corner at High Point and in the Highlands region in north central, progresses to the central part of the state, and finally to the south and the coastal regions.
This means that leaves could be past peak in North Jersey but still barely changed in South Jersey.
Use the info here to get in as much color as you can, it doesn’t last long!
** Follow @njhiking on socials for more photos weekly. Foliage Resources are below the report section **
** 2025 Foliage Reports start in late September **
9/12/24 – The “early” fall color you might have noticed appearing around New Jersey is probably more due to late-season drought stress than the leaves actually starting to change early. This happened in 2024 too.
That’s likely also why some leaves are plopping onto the lawn or there is a little blush of color here and there.
However… We were surprised at the amount of lot of leaves on the ground way back on August 30th when hiking the Lake Sonoma Loop in Norvin Green State Forest (Passaic County). And based on reports and forecasts we’re seeing for the East Coast, it is looking like the season overall might be running just a smidge ahead.
Think that means we can start hitting up the cider donuts sooner…
| Previous years foliage report archive | See how the color usually progresses through various hiking areas in New Jersey. Archive of njHiking.com reports from 2010 to date. |
About the NJ Hiking Fall Foliage Report
Since 2010, njHiking.com has been providing New Jersey with suggested foliage locations and hikes, updated weekly in season.
The report is created by reviewing multiple state and regional reports, incorporating map data from The Foliage Report and Explore Fall, combined with our own observations on hikes and drives each week. The result lets Jersey and metro area residents quickly find the best color locally as well as plan east coast road trips.
Resources for tracking fall color in and near New Jersey
Sites that contain forecasts or foliage maps for NJ and the surrounding region such as the Adirondacks or the Catskills in New York or the Poconos in Pennsylvania.
| New Jersey Div. of Parks and Forestry | Facebook updates for NJ during the season |
| New York State Fall Foliage | Foliage report and map |
| PA – Pocono Mountains | Foliage maps and reports for the Poconos, plus webcams. |
| PA – DCNR Fall Foliage Reports | Weekly Fall Foliage Map and Reports. |
Resources for tracking fall color in the Northeast
These can be used to help plan trips to the New England region that change well before New Jersey, such as Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.
Savvy planners can hit foliage in several spots as it works it’s way down.
| The Foliage Report | Weekly foliage map and report for The United States. Detailed and accurate for current conditions. |
| ExploreFall | Foliage maps for the United States, including historical map data. |
| MaineFoliage.com | Weekly report and map for Maine. |
| Vermont.com | Current conditions map for Vermont. |
| VisitNH.gov | Foliage reports for New Hampshire. |
| ctvisit.com | Connecticut’s Foliage Finder; based on historical data. |
| Fall Foliage Prediction Map | Interactive U.S. map, slide date for color prediction, from SmokyMountains.com. **Note** This popular map is often used in news articles but is a forecast based on prior year data and is not the current status. It also tends to predict the color moving along much earlier than reality for New Jersey. |
| The Weather Channel | Regional color report maps. |
| New England Today | Northeast usual color map. |
General info about fall foliage in New Jersey
The best fall foliage displays start with healthy green trees. Then September needs warm sunny days and cold but not freezing nights.
If it remains too warm it can delay the change and dull the colors. A cloudy fall also can mute the colors.
Rainfall is also a big factor. Too much before the season is bad for color, while drought conditions can bring on an early change and leaf drop.
Overall it can be very hard to predict the quality of fall foliage every year because it’s a delicate balance between many variables.