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Fall colors 2024: When leaves change and best places in Michigan to see them

Orange leaves in trees by a lake
Michigan’s trees begin to change colors in late September and early October, a clear sign that fall is coming. (Bridge photo by Jonathan Oosting)
  • Michigan trees start to change colors between late September and mid-October. 
  • Trees in the Upper Peninsula tend to change colors earlier than those in the Lower Peninsula. 
  • State parks, especially along the Great Lakes, are some of the best places to watch the trees.

One clear sign that fall is approaching is not just the change in weather — prompting some people to retire their summer sandals and trade them in for sneakers — but the change in leaves too. Michigan trees start to change colors between late September and mid-October.

Michigan is home to over 14 billion trees which make up over half of the state’s land, and the state parks are some of the best places to see acres fall colors during color-changing season. 

Generally, the color-changing season peaks in mid-October and runs through the month, depending on where you are in the state.

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Leaves in the Upper Peninsula and the northwestern U.P. near the rugged region around Tahquamenon Falls will change first, followed by leaves on the east side of the state, along Lake Huron, according to a map from SmokyMountains.com. Leaves in West Michigan are the last to change. 

Related:

Leaves in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula are estimated for now to reach peak colors between Sept. 23 and Sept. 30, according to the  SmokyMountains.com map.  Leaves in east Michigan are expected to peak between Sept. 30 and Oct. 7,  while leaves in west Michigan could peak between Oct. 7 and Oct. 14.

Trees are always ‘fall colors,’ we just can’t see them 

Shorter days and colder nights help break down the enzymes in the leaves, which function at a certain temperature. Those enzymes signal the plant to start producing less chlorophyll, which is responsible for the green pigment of the plant. That is when red, yellow, orange and brown burst like fireworks across Michigan forests. 

“The oranges and the yellow, those are there. We don’t see them because of the chlorophyll,”  said Bert Cregg, a horticulture professor at Michigan State University. 

“The breakdown of chlorophyll … hides everything else and so when that breaks down then we see these other compounds,” he said. 

Trees on the outskirts of a forest or line to the side of major roads and highways tend to change colors first and be redder since they are exposed to more heat and sunlight, Cregg added. 

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Best places to see fall colors

State parks, especially along the Great Lakes, are some of the best places to watch the trees. One of the best times of the year in Michigan. 

Trees along Lake Superior at Tahquamenon Falls State Park and Porcupine Mountains have started to change color but will peak in the coming weeks. 

The Tunnel of Trees is 22 miles of colorful trees along M-119, a state trunkline highway in northern Michigan. 

Ocqueoc Falls in northern Michigan is surrounded by hardwood forests filled with trees of various hues. It is the largest waterfall in the Lower Peninsula. 

Holland State Park overlooks Lake Macatawa where leaves will start to turn color between early and mid-October.

The color change sequence in the U.S. as forecast by Explorefall.com. The sequence goes from green, indicating little to no color, to black, meaning past peak color. (Photos courtesy of Explorefall.com)

A map that shows all green
Sept. 10
A map of America that shows yellow on top
Sept. 17
A little more yellow in the map
Sept. 24
There is more yellow throughout the country. The upper part of the country have more orange and red
Sept. 30
The map has more orange and red. Most of the country is yellow
Oct. 2
More of the mountain area is red
Oct. 9
Much of the country is red and orange
Oct. 16
Black on top of the USA map
Oct. 23
Much of the country has black, but there's still some color in the southern part of the country
Oct. 30

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