Parts of Maine and New Hampshire Are Slow to Reach Peak Foliage [PHOTOS]
Peak Foliage
Mid-October in New England means that fall is 100% underway, and when fall is fully underway, attention turns to one of the things New England is most known for -- unreal and unmatched foliage.
New Hampshire Foliage
Both Maine and New Hampshire are a bit of a mixed bag right now as far as foliage season goes, as some parts of both states are already at peak, while others are slowly approaching. There's also cases where some areas aren't even close.
Of the two states, according to VisitNH.gov, New Hampshire is definitely the most further along overall, which basically the northern half of the state already at peak -- something that I can personally attest to having driven through the White Mountains yesterday and having quite possibly one of the most visually beautiful (and therefore distracting) drives of my life.
Honestly, there's something next-level amazing and beautiful that just screams "God's Country" when you're driving through Franconia Notch surrounded by the most bright and vibrant colors everywhere. EVERYWHERE. The bottom half of New Hampshire, while not fully at peak, seems to have surpassed the moderate stage and is quite high, approaching peak probably within the next week or so.
Maine Foliage
Maine, on the other hand, is lacking behind a bit when it comes to peak foliage. That's not to say that some areas aren't experiencing it right now as you read this, because they 100% in fact are. But unlike New Hampshire, Maine isn't as advanced in foliage season as a whole as New Hampshire is.
According to Maine.gov, both the northern and northwestern parts of Vacationland are at peak right now, but below that is a bit of a huge drop-off outside of eastern central Maine, which is at the high stage and should be turning peak within the next week or so.
However, essentially the entire bottom half of the state is either only at the moderate stage or even low, which means you're still playing the long game if you're in Southern Maine waiting for peak foliage. According to MassLive, parts of both states (and the rest of New England) are behind schedule with normal peak season due to the record rain we received over the summer. All that water is causing a delay in the leaves being able to dry out and give us a more vibrant and lengthy peak.
Long story short, if you're antsy to put your leaf-peeping hat on, either drive north or wait a bit longer and soak it in as much as possible, because it's sounding like it won't last long.