Category: Travel & Events

Fall Foliage in New York

By aliciak
updated about 1 month ago

I won't make the claim that New York is THE place with the best fall foliage, because we all know that New England and Pennsylvania usually win out in that regard, but if you're saving your vacation days for the upcoming holidays, you will have to enjoy the falling leaves right here in the city. It's not that bad! It's actually quite spectacular.

The Less Dramatic Scientific Answer

From your former Botanical Garden teacher: Chlorophyll, that stuff that makes leaves green, works with sunlight and water to keep them chugging along (er, but at a standstill attached to a tree). The days become shorter beginning in the fall, meaning it’s not light out as long and fewer sunny days make the leaves unable to keep up with their little chlorophyll factories. :(

And thus, photosynthesis slows down and the green stuff wears away. Pretty colors show through! They were actually there the entire time, which is a pretty cool thing when you think about it. Unable to sustain themselves, the leaves fill wall off, but don’t worry, the trees are smart enough to live off stored “food,” so they’ll be full of leaves come spring, as the glorious circle of life begins all over again.

Fall Leaves Saved My Life

Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but they did save my mental state once upon a time. Yes, fall leaves. No, I’m not insane. Back when I was really really sick all the time and mostly housebound/bedridden, a fall foliage drive was out of the question. BUT, during some short-lived healthy weeks, I took a bike ride, one of my first in New York, to Prospect Park. I shouldn’t have been exercising at all, but I couldn’t stand that fact that I would be missing fall…again. I was determined not to ail away the entire autumn for the second year in a row, no matter what.

So I went to the park and came upon two huge trees ablaze in yellow. I got off my bike, walked over to them, and sat among the leaves that had already fallen. I took a few in my hands, I stared at the colors, I put them to my nose and inhaled. For a small amount of time, I felt really happy that at least I could do this much, even if it was something so simple and childlike. I went home and put them in my flower press, trying to preserve them as much as that moment itself. Those leaves sit on my bed night stand to this day.

Where else to see Fall Foliage!

Prospect Park is one of my favorite parks in the city, and living 10 minutes away from it is something I try never to take for granted. But there are, of course, other parks notable for some prime leaf-lookin’ and -crunchin.’ Unlike concerts, work meetings, birthdays or appointments, there is no perfect time set in stone for attempting to see autumn at its peak.

That’s the fun of it, though! You should frequent these parks starting now every day or so. That was one of the benefits of working at a botanical garden: witnessing nature changes every day and really seeing the transitions between seasons.

Central Park

5th Ave & 59th St, Manhattan, NY 10024

Specifically, around the reservoir area and the pond near the west 70’s. The bright red trees are few and far between in New York City (Oh how I miss you Massachusetts), but there ARE a few!

Greenbelt Conservancy Inc

200 Nevada Ave, Staten Island, NY 10306

Tons and tons of woodsy trails to go “crunch crunch crunch” in, and you can walk for miles without bumping into another person, so it’s probably the closest thing go being in middle of nowhere New England you can find around these parts.

Park Riverside

New York, NY 10001

Gone are the days when Riverside Park was full of junkies and prostitutes—now there is just a mere smattering. The stroller brigades and co-eds have swooped in to fill New-York-parks-are-always-crowded quotas, but guess what? That makes it a whole lot easier to appreciate the leaves way out yonder! The New Jersey Palisades and the Hudson River across the way will take your breath away, and that’s better than the crazy inebriated dude hitting you with a bottle and doing the same thing.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

5 Avenue & 82, New York, NY 10001

The Met’s roof is only open another week or so, but it’s a great place to see Central Park’s trees on a sunny day.

Dare I say it? Go to New Jersey!

I’m tired of the look people get when you say “Jersey,” because if you’ve even been to Cape May, North Wildwood or some of the little towns along the way, you’d agree that the state has some impressive sights! I’m not talking about the garbage dumps or sprawling industrial properties or even the old-school diners, but rather, about nature! Forget Newark and Camden and even Jersey City and Hoboken. If those are all you know about the state across the river from Manhattan, you are missing out. So, explore!

Palisades Interstate Park Commission

Us Highway 9 Nw, Alpine, NJ 07620

Palisades Interstate Park lies just across the river from Manhattan. Know where the George Washington Bridge is? Well, that connects New York to this park! As soon as I saw the first picture of past foliage in Palisades Interstate Park, I decided to make a point of biking there some time in the next few weeks. Done and done. Even if my legs fall off in the process…

How to do a Leaf Rubbing

In college, I went hiking in the nearby woods by myself to think. As I walked along, I saw a GIANT leaf, a foot long. It was one of those woodsy plants, rather than a leaf that fell off a tree.

Because I am perpetually thinking of kid stuff and/or crafts, I immediately thought, “giant leaf rubbing!” I grabbed it, took it back to the dorm and made a leaf rubbing with a green crayon and the paper the kitchen used to cover the tables sometimes.

Then I taped it onto my door and loved it forever. I still have it! My friends thought I was silly and I’m sure I forfeited homework for that giant leaf.