The First Red Leaves
Where autumn shows itself first in the Finger Lakes
AUTUMN WATCH | 11 LAKES MAGAZINE
You probably won’t notice them while driving 55 miles an hour.
The hills are still green. Cornfields still look like summer. Boats are still crossing the lakes, and on a warm afternoon there may be little reason to think about October.
But pull onto a quiet country road. Walk along the edge of a wetland. Look closely at the trees beside a creek.
There it is.
One red leaf.
Then another.
A small branch of crimson surrounded by a thousand shades of green.
These are the first red leaves of the Finger Lakes — tiny signals that one of the most beautiful transformations of the year has already begun.
Don’t Look at the Hills Yet
When people come to the Finger Lakes for autumn color, they tend to look toward the hills.
In October, that’s exactly where the show will be.
Entire slopes surrounding the lakes will eventually become mosaics of red, orange, yellow and evergreen. Scenic overlooks will fill with visitors. Cameras will point toward valleys and vineyards.
But that’s not where you necessarily notice autumn first.
In late August and early September, look closer.
The earliest hints of color often appear along roadsides, wetlands, forest edges and other places where individual trees are exposed to different combinations of sunlight, moisture and temperature.
A branch may change while the rest of the tree remains green.
A single tree may turn while everything around it looks untouched.
Autumn doesn’t sweep across the Finger Lakes like someone flipping a switch.
It arrives tree by tree.
The Red Maple Gives Us a Clue
One tree deserves particular attention during these early weeks: the red maple.
Red maples are widespread across New York and can produce some of autumn’s most striking colors, ranging from yellow and orange to brilliant scarlet.
They’re also common around wet areas.
That makes the edges of marshes, ponds, streams and low-lying areas particularly interesting places to watch as summer begins giving way to fall.
You might find a tree with only a handful of red leaves.
Come back a week later and an entire section may have changed.
Another week, and the transformation can be unmistakable.
It’s autumn happening in slow motion.
Why Does One Tree Change Before Another?
Look across a September landscape and you’ll sometimes see something curious.
Two trees standing relatively close together can look as though they’re living in different seasons.
One remains deep green.
The other is already showing red.
There isn’t one simple calendar telling every tree when to change.
Shortening daylight is one of the major seasonal signals. As days grow shorter, trees begin preparing for winter. Chlorophyll — the pigment responsible for the green appearance of leaves — declines, allowing other pigments to become visible.
But local conditions matter too.
Temperature, sunlight, moisture, elevation, tree species and even the health of an individual tree can influence when and how color develops.
That’s why early autumn is so unpredictable — and so interesting.
You aren’t simply watching a season arrive.
You’re watching thousands of individual responses to it.
Follow the Water
If you’re looking for the first signs of fall, water is a good companion.
Try an early morning walk beside a creek.
Visit the edge of a marsh.
Follow a country road through one of the Finger Lakes valleys.
Walk a trail where forest meets wetland.
These transition areas can reveal details that disappear when we look only at the larger landscape.
And the Finger Lakes offer plenty of opportunities.
From the wetlands and streams surrounding the lakes to countless small ponds, glens and wooded valleys, water runs through much of the landscape.
On a cool morning, you might get something even better.
Mist.
A few red leaves reflected against quiet water with morning fog drifting through the trees can feel more like October than August or early September.
Then the sun rises higher.
The mist disappears.
The temperature climbs.
And suddenly it’s summer again.
A Different Kind of Leaf-Peeping
There’s an advantage to looking for autumn now.
There are no foliage forecasts to chase.
No need to determine whether a particular weekend will be “peak.”
No pressure to find the perfect overlook.
Early-season leaf-peeping is more like a scavenger hunt.
Find the first red maple.
Spot the first yellow branch.
Notice the first leaves collecting beside a trail.
Watch the same hillside every few days.
Take a photograph from the same location each week.
What initially seems unchanged will eventually reveal just how quickly the season is moving.
For families, it can even become a simple autumn tradition: Who can find the first red leaf?
The Roads Begin to Change Too
The landscape isn’t the only thing changing.
Drive through Finger Lakes farm country now and you’ll see the seasonal transition happening everywhere.
Farm stands that featured strawberries, sweet corn and tomatoes begin making room for apples and squash.
Orchard signs reappear.
Vineyard crews prepare for harvest.
Fields take on a more golden tone.
Roadside goldenrod reaches its late-summer brilliance.
And every few miles, another tree seems to have gotten the message.
Fall is coming.
Don’t Pick the Perfect Leaf
There’s a temptation when you find that first beautiful red leaf to take it home.
Maybe this year, leave it.
Take a photograph instead.
Then come back.
Because the most interesting part isn’t the leaf itself.
It’s what happens next.
Within days, another branch may turn. Soon several trees will join it. The green hills will develop scattered patches of yellow and orange.
Eventually you’ll drive the same road and realize that autumn is no longer something you have to search for.
It will be everywhere.
Our Autumn Watch Continues
A few weeks ago, 11 Lakes Magazine’s Autumn Watch began with a simple observation:
Autumn begins in August.
Not the autumn of brilliant October hillsides.
The quieter autumn.
Cool mornings. Shorter evenings. Mist over the lakes. Ripening apples. Changing fields.
And one red leaf.
Today, there may only be a few.
Soon we’ll stop counting them.
As September moves across the Finger Lakes, Autumn Watch will continue following the transformation — from the first changing trees to apple orchards and grape harvest, scenic drives and eventually the spectacular foliage that defines October.
But don’t wait for peak color to start looking.
Take the slower road home.
Walk beside the water.
Look toward the edge of the woods.
And when you find that first brilliant red leaf surrounded by summer green, stop for a moment.
You’ve just found autumn.
— 11 Lakes Magazine | Autumn Watch | Stories from the Finger Lakes