Its colors
red, russet, brown
When it turns here
first color about Oct 1, 2026, at its best Oct 13, 2026, fading by Oct 15, 2026, bare by Oct 31, 2026 (estimate).
this year, by the model, the forest here peaks about Oct 7, 2026.
Model of Oct 27, 2026.
How long it holds
Long: young trees often keep their brown leaves through the winter, and at Harvard Forest its leaves fall, on average, more than three weeks after red maple's.
Where it grows thickest
The oak and hickory forests of southern New York, southern New England and the valleys and side slopes of Pennsylvania; the most common oak in Ontario; the only native oak reaching Nova Scotia; on Algonquin's dry hilltops.
valleys and side slopes
Natural range, from Little’s atlas. An outline says where it grows, not how much of it there is.
By height
The Silvics chapter gives no northeastern upper limit; in Algonquin it holds the dry hilltops.
From the road
Broad crowns on dry ridges and hilltops that stay green while the maples flame, then turn russet and brown once the maples are bare; bark in long flat-topped ridges like ski tracks.
Its pictures this autumn
Where to see it
pictures of it this autumn from …
- Portsmouth, Durham & the Seacoast, NH · 1 picture, newest Oct 4, 2026
- Scranton, Wilkes-Barre & the Wyoming Valley, PA · 1 picture, newest Oct 3, 2026
The sources’ own words
This large tree is very common in these forests. Its alternate sharply-pointed oak-shaped leaves turn red and then brown from late October to early November. Small trees often retain brown leaves through the winter.
But oaks only put on their colors long after maples have shed their leaves.
Those that produce the best reds include red and sugar maple, red oak, dogwood, and mountain ash (not a true ash).
Peak color was earliest for Prunus serotina, Acer rubrum and Fraxinus americana, and latest for Acer saccharum and the various Quercus spp.
Northern red oak (fig. 1) is the only native oak extending northeast to Nova Scotia.
Native oaks in Ontario include red, white and black oak, red being the most common.
The valleys, lower elevations, and side slopes are covered with the oak-hickory forest type which consists of northern red oak, red maple, black oak, white oak, chestnut oak, hickory, sweet birch, white ash, American beech, and yellow poplar.
Hilltops in Algonquin are often home to trees that can tolerate drier conditions such as Red Pine and Red Oak.
If the burning colors of the northern hardwood type are too much, check out the various reds, bronzes, rich browns, golds, and yellows of the oak-hickory forest, especially prominent in the southern half of the state.
On young stems, smooth; older bark develops wide, flat-topped ridges and shallow furrows. The shallow furrows form a pattern resembling ski tracts.