Update 10/5/08

Wisconsin from Superior to Bayfield to Ashland is getting more colorful and peak color could come during this week . . . . Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula is at or a little past peak color along Highways 26 and 41. Brockway Mountain Drive should hit peak color later this week. Ditto for the Porkies which were not quite peak color last week. Color should still be good from Marquette to Sault Ste. Marie . . . . Minnesota North Shore color is at peak in the Lutsen-Grand Marais-Grand Portage region, and beginning to show elsewhere. Color change of Aspen and Birch are usually one to two weeks behind Maples . . . . Ontario color should be at or beyond Peak, with the yellows of Birch and Aspen now predominating over the Maples.

Report from 9/27/08

Wisconsin Travel Dept reports peak color change from Ashland to Hurley is about 30% and less than 25% from Bayfield to Superior. Peak color would be two to three weeks away. Color around Mellen and Potato Falls should be nice the last week in September, pencil in October for elsewhere along the lake . . . . Trina at Michigan's Keweenaw Chamber office reports color change at 15% and the Keweenaw travel bureau reports color change as high as 30% in some locales. Michigan.org reports color near Ishpeming and Marquette approaching 25%. So expect to begin seeing good color from the Porkies to Marquette the week of Sept 28th, but Peak Color in the Keweenaw may not occur until the following week or two. Color change in the UP is coming a little slower than last year, but do to recent rains it may last longer. . . . . Minnesota DNR reports that color change between 25 - 50% in the Lutsen-Grand Marais-Grand Portage region, but only about 10% change elsewhere along Lake Superior. Lutsen and Oberg mountains are said to be approaching full color as their forests contain good stands of Maple. Color change of Aspen and Birch are usually one to two weeks behind Maples . . . . Bruce at Ontario's North of Superior Tourism reports good fall color and expects beautiful colors the next two weeks. So the next two weeks would be a good time for that Fall Color trip along the northern shore. Tara at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario reports color change at about 30% and expects full color by the end of the month, first week in October. Wayne at the Mystic Isle Motel near Wawa reports a hard frost and color change beginning.

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Report from 9/25/07 (for historical comparison)

Color is out in Ontario, North of Superior, and also in Wawa, according to the Mystic Isle Motel. The Sault Ste. Marie visitor center reports color change at 75%. The Wedgewood Motel near Grand Marais, Minnesota reports Maples are "flaming" and birch and popple turning. The Minnesota DNR reports 30% - 80% along the North Shore. The Keweenaw Michigan UP Chamber of Commerce reports color at 65% of peak as does Superior Shores Resort near Ontonagon. Ironwood is at 75%. The Wisconsin Travel Division reports Bayfield & Ashland Counties and Superior, WI at 50 - 75% Color. ***

So it looks like right now, this coming weekend and the following week is the time to catch the color at its best. Get out there folks and enjoy the great weather while it lasts.

*** Our first-hand report from Bayfield Peninsula and Duluth, Minnesota 10/4/2007. We discovered the Wisconsin Dept of Tourism Report was inaccurate for the Bayfield Peninsula to Duluth-Superior. In our opinion peak color is about a week away. Many Popples have turned, less than 50% of the birch, and some maples have fallen while others are just starting to turn along Lake Superior. So that is good news for people wanting to see color this coming weekend and probably for at least a week after that.

Have a color report to pass along or a question - write me

Ross Reinhold - roscoetrails@gmail.com