Seasonal & Holidays

Fall Foliage Update: Where Leaf Colors Are Peaking In Virginia

Here's where to find Virginia's peak fall colors this weekend, plus a tool to help you plan your leaf-peeping drives.

Deb Belt's profile picture
Deb Belt, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge

VIRGINIA — Crisp autumn nights have arrived in Virginia, brining peak leaf color to mountain areas below 3,000 feet this weekend, including much of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Shenandoah Valley, says the Virginia Department of Foresty. The highest mountain areas are turning brown and losing their leaves, in part because of recent rains. Exactly when trees will put on their autumnal show in the Commonwealth and DC varies each year, but there's a tool to help you plan excursions around the dates when fall foliage should be at its most fabulous.

The Fall Foliage Report for the weekend of Nov. 11 by the VDOF says, "Autumn took its time arriving this year, but there’s no doubt of the season now. The Piedmont offers colorful viewing this weekend. Red and sugar maples are waving bright flags of orange, pink and red, while hickories have melted into clear golden yellows. Interspersed with the green of pines, these trees create blocks of color that rival a crazy quilt. Don’t forget, oaks tend to color later, and their best hues are still to come."

The VDOF-recommended fall foliage driving toursdesigned by local foresters include:

Find out what's happening in Fredericksburgfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

How To Check On Foliage

Our state offers some stunning vistas, including several in state parks suggested by the Virginia Department of Forestry:

Find out what's happening in Fredericksburgfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

And Visit Fairfax offers these suggestions for nearby foliage:

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here. And like Patch on Facebook!)

If you're planning a trip somewhere else, the Fall Foliage Prediction Map can help you pinpoint the best dates for a visit. The map, found on the Smoky Mountain National Park website, includes predictions not just for the Smokies, which rise above the Tennessee-North Carolina border, but for all 50 states.

And The Foliage Network posts regular updates on when leaves start to drop and the colors start to turn.

You probably remember from science class that the color change all starts with photosynthesis. Leaves constantly churn out chlorophyll — a key component in a plant's ability to turn sunlight into the glucose it needs to stay healthy — from spring through early fall. Those cells saturate the leaves, making them appear green to the human eye.

But leaves aren't green at all. Autumn is the time for leaves' big reveal: their true color, unveiled as chlorophyll production grinds to a halt. The colors in fall's breathtaking tapestry are influenced by other compounds, according to the national park's website.

For example, beta-carotenes reflect the yellow and red light from the sun and give leaves an orange hue. The production of anthocyanin, which gives leaves their vivid red color, ramps up in the fall, protecting and prolonging the leaf's life on a tree throughout autumn.

And those yellows that make you feel as if you're walking in a ray of sunshine?

They're produced by flavonol, which is part of the flavonoid protein family. It's always present in leaves, but doesn't show itself until chlorophyll production begins to slow.

Photo by Patch Editor Beth Dalbey

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Fredericksburg