Warmer outlook may shift Northern Michigan’s fall color show
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ALPENA - Leaf-peepers heading up North this autumn may need a little extra patience. National Weather Service meteorologist Sean Christensen said the Climate Prediction Center's latest trends point to a milder start to the season, which can slow the fade of green chlorophyll that hides the yellows, oranges and reds already in the leaves.
"With the latest trends from the Climate Prediction Center, we are forecast to be a little warmer than normal for this time of the year," Christensen said.
Day length still sets the calendar. Weather decides how vivid the show becomes. Christensen said the recipe that produces the brightest hardwood color is simple and specific.
"I can tell you that, weather-wise, the best thing for bright colors is cool overnight lows. Those cold overnight lows start the process and allow that color to break out," he said. "Good conditions for bright fall foliage would be a series of warm, sunny fall days but with cool overnight lows above freezing. When the temperatures fall below freezing, it can mess with the water held in the leaves."
On those sunny days, leftover sugars concentrate in the leaf. Cool nights trap them there. The green chlorophyll breaks down, and the sugars help red anthocyanin pigments stand out. A hard freeze can damage leaf cells and send foliage to the ground before it fully turns. Long stretches of cloudy, wet weather tend to mute the display.
Where to look matters as much as when. Christensen said visitors should skip dense stands of evergreen.
"You want a lot of hardwoods. If you have a lot of coniferous trees, you will not find much color. Look for areas in Northern Michigan heavily covered in maple and oak trees," he said.
One of those vantage points is SkyBridge Michigan at Boyne Mountain Resort in Boyne Falls. According to information published on BoyneMountain.com, the 1,200-foot timber-towered suspension bridge sits about 118 feet above the Boyne Valley. Visitors ride a chairlift to the summit, then walk a swaying span that includes a glass-floor section over the hardwood canopy. Resort officials market the crossing as a fall destination, with seasonal hours typically running into late October.
Other reliable maple-and-oak country includes the Tunnel of Trees on M-119 between Harbor Springs and Cross Village, a narrow Heritage Route that ducks under a closed canopy along Lake Michigan bluffs.
Deadman's Hill Overlook, west of U.S. 131 near the Jordan River Valley, offers a high, open view of mixed hardwoods. Nearby, Avalanche Preserve in Boyne City looks down on Lake Charlevoix. Farther inland, Pigeon River Country State Forest north of Gaylord and Hartwick Pines State Park near Grayling mix big hardwoods with remnant pine, so color is patchier but still striking from overlooks and back roads.
According to explorefall.com, foliage maps and tourism forecasts for 2026 generally put peak color in the northern Lower Peninsula in the second and third weeks of October, later than the Upper Peninsula and earlier than southern Michigan. Great Lakes shorelines often lag inland forests by several days because lake air stays milder. Forecast services such as Explore Fall and the Old Farmer's Almanac describe those windows as estimates. A warm spell, drought stress or an early freeze can move peak color a week in either direction.
Christensen's guidance for planners is to watch overnight lows as much as the seven-day forecast. Warm days help. Nights in the 30s and 40s, staying above a hard freeze, are what turn a green hillside into the display people drive north to see.