Central Park’s Fall Colors Are Almost Here. Here’s Where They’ll Appear First

CENTRAL PARK, NY — Big news for leaf-peepers: the trees are about to start turning their beautiful autumnal hues in Central Park.

The first signs of autumn foliage in Central Park are less than a week away, K Satterthwaite, the Tree Care Manager for the Central Park Conservancy, told Patch.

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During the last week of September, the Central Park Conservancy will begin to publish regular updates on an online foliage tracker, so that park-goers know about every move the park's thousands of trees make.

The tracker will update in real time several times a week and will show which varieties of trees are changing colors, and where autumn-heads can go to find them.

"I'm out in the park every day with my team of arborists, and we look at what is changing colors, what is approaching peak, what is peak, and then we coordinate with our communications team, and they update the tracker in real time," Satterthwaite said.

This year, the Conservancy is tracking eight different locations, including the North Woods, the Great Hill, the Pool, the North Meadow, the Reservoir, the Ramble, the Mall, and the Hallett Nature Sanctuary Walk.

The Mall is known for golden-yellow elm foliage, while the Great Lawn is especially notable for red maples, Satterthwaite said. The North Woods offers the greatest variety, but the sugar maples at North Meadow are showing the earliest signs of color.

"We have over 100 species of trees in the park, and in terms of fall colors, there are a dozen or so stunners that we really look out for," Satterthwaite said.

But for foliage lovers who can't get to the park in the next two weeks, don't worry — different varieties of trees change color at different times, and peak foliage isn't expected until mid-to-late October through early November, Satterthwaite said.

"Fall is just like a really special time to connect with nature, and see the change and feel like we're a part of the cycles of the seasons," Satterthwaite said. "We have a great fall here, and you really, you really see it in the leaves."

Keep track of Central Park's autumn transformation here.

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.