Now that it’s officially autumn, Boston, it’s time to start planning a day trip or two so that you can start digesting the increasingly apparent fall foliage. This seasonal New England trademark ought to be well known to all of you, but if it’s not, allow me to do you a favor.
The map embedded above isn’t just a chart chock full of suggestions as to where to view the best horticultural colors. It’s riddled with actual, specified, photographed areas throughout our corner of the country where leaves have just begun, or are already well on their way, to turn.
Compiled by Yankee Publishing, which produces Yankee magazine, the map is an aggregation of photos by people traversing the roads of the northeast, broken down by county and further by stage of foliage using a color-coded system: green, turning, moderate, peak, fading and gone.
As you’ll see by playing around with it, by clicking on the camera icons you can view the most recently uploaded snapshot.
The idea behind the map, of course, is to help nudge you out the door so that you can enjoy the seasonal beauty firsthand. Many people have their own notions of best spectator spots and backroads optimal for viewing, but they mean nothing if a user views them solely online and not in person.
After all, apps are being created to help people detox from their mobile devices and urge them to wander through and wonder about the wilderness.
As for my favorite locale to take in the classic New England foliage? If you’ve got access to a car, take a ride down Route 2 and once you get outside of I-495 it’s nothing but a scenic ride, as if Mother Nature were riding shotgun, the feisty gal.
Map via Yankee Publishing; featured image via Shutterstock/DonLand
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