Mary on the 7th tee at Green Mountain National Golf Course with the leave starting to turn on the trees.

Mary on the 7th tee at Green Mountain National Golf Course with the leave starting to turn on the trees.

The telephone calls have started.... "When will fall foliage be at it's peak?" "What will the color look like?" "When is the best time to come to Vermont to view the fall colors?" .... it is, of course, an annual rite of passage for an innkeeper in Vermont as the fall season approaches. And if anyone thinks this is a rant, they could not be further from the truth. Helping people get the most out of their hard earned dollars to enjoy some time in Vermont is basically what we do.

The fall foliage season in Vermont is right around the corner. Each year has it's own character as the forests of the Green Mountains go about their annual color changing ritual. But there are some constants which do apply most years.

In particular:

When will fall foliage be at it's peak? - not to be coy but it depends. In the Killington region, fall colors generally are at their peak in a 10 day period between October 4 and October 14th. But Killington is pretty unique. It is the second highest peak in Vermont, and the major viewing areas from roads in the region are looking at north and east facing mountainsides. The combination of altitude and sun shadow from the mountain, cause the Killington basin area to change quicker than some nearby areas, notably Rutland and Woodstock.

What will the color look like? There is only one answer....Awesome! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there is always the annual conversation about how brilliant the colors are... but the simple answer is Awesome!. The mix of trees in the Green Mountains of Vermont provide an ever changing melange of colors throughout the fall season. From the reds of the maples, the yellow's of the birches and poplars, to the burnt orange of the oaks, and the backdrop of green from evergreens, the color palette in the Green Mountains is always rich and brilliant.

When is the best time to come to Vermont to view the fall colors? That is pretty straight forward... When you look at the state of Vermont in general, fall color changes from North to South, and East to West starting at the end of September through the end of October. The Northeast Kingdom around Lake Memphremagog on the Canadian border in Newport VT sees significant color shift starting at the end of September. As a corollary, Bennington, near the Massachusetts border at the top of the Berkshire Mountains, or the base of the Green Mountains, take your pick, sees significant color in the later weeks of October.

Fall visitors to Killington can have the best of all situations when it comes to viewing fall foliage. Being almost geographically in the center of Vermont, and at the junction of the major north/south fall foliage route (Route 100) and the major east/west fall foliage route (Route 4), Killington visitors can easily travel the state looking for peak. It the color is running late, Killington visitors can have scenic drives to the north and east. If it is early, then there are scenic drives to the south and west. And if it is on time, then everything is right in front of your eyes here in Killington with either a Gondola ride to Killington Peak or a walk through the woods on any one of the many hiking trails through the Green Mountain National Forest that surround Killington.

Birch Ridge Inn on Labor Day Weekend 2013

OK... so what about this year? Here it goes and it is an out and out guess... This summer in the Green Mountain saw a significant amount of moisture, heat and humidity in June and July followed by a cool down in August. The tree canopy around the inn, due to the copious moisture the forest received in the early summer, is very full. The cooler temperatures in August, while probably slowing the growth of the tree canopy, also eliminated any significant heat stress on the forests which can occur during hot dry Augusts. Assuming the current moist cool weather pattern persists, and barring any catastrophic events like a major hurricane and wind damage to the area, fall foliage will probably peak in Killington during its normal time frame. Assuming we do not have a sharp spike of cold weather, I would bet that fall colors will peak in Killington on the later end of the time range, probably some time after October 10. Last year saw fall colors peak at Killington around October 6th... but the 2 prior years saw fall colors peak right around Columbus Day.

Of course, if we have an early frost followed by and extended period of cold weather, then the timing of peak at Killington will pull in a little closer to the beginning of October. But right now that does not seem in the cards.

The easiest way to keep track of the fall colors at Killington is to check in regularly with the blog. From now until the leaves drop, I will be posting a fall foliage picture every day of the forest canopy behind the Birch Ridge Inn. You can look at this years pictures and compare them to the same dates for the last 6 years back to 2007.

It is always interesting to see how natures fireworks progress,.. And if anyone asks you what will this years fall colors look like... remember there is only one answer.... Awesome!

Where ever you may be, hit them straight and keep the ball in the fairway.