PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) -- It's leaf-peeping season in Pennsylvania.
“I think this year is going to be a fantastic year for fall foliage viewing,” said Ryan Reed, Pennsylvania’s leading expert on fall foliage.
Reed heads a team of state forestry personnel who work for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and put together a weekly forecast of the best places to see the fall leaves.
“We’re seeing evidence of a great season all across the state, and I think for many areas the best is yet to come,” he said.
He says that could mean some economic relief for communities who rely on the changing of the leaves for tourism.
“Our fall foliage brings in millions of dollars in tourism revenue every year to the state,” Reed said. “Think of the small towns that get a real boost to their economy because of this type of tourism.”
For those living in the Philadelphia region, where the leaves are slower to change, Reed suggested hopping in the car this weekend and heading north.
“Like Carbon County, over to the west from there would be Schuylkill County, some really nice color there,” he said. “Even down into Berks County on some of the higher elevations we’re receiving reports of some very nice color there as well.”
And if you’re looking for more, Reed has some other suggestions.
“You can’t go wrong with the southern Pocono region right now, over into, say, Pinchot State Forest, or directly north along the border of New Jersey in the Delaware Water Gap region,” he said.
Reed said a stretch of near-freezing and freezing temperatures at night at the end of September and early October -- and just the right amount of rainfall this year -- helped the trees produce a bumper crop of red, yellow and orange leaves.
“This year we’re seeing fantastic color across the state,” he said. “The only places that aren’t really showing fantastic color right now are towards the south, where typically that’s much later in the month, so it just hasn’t gotten there yet.”
He advised don’t wait too long to check out the leaves, because the northern peak viewing is forecast to last another week to 10 days.
“Don’t miss your opportunity to see a great show, because this year is already quite vivid, a very wide pallet of colors out there,” Reed said.
ANd for those living in the Philadelphia region who can’t get away, Reed advises patience: The leaf change is on the way.
“As the month progresses, now we’re starting to involve the south and southeastern portions of Pennsylvania,” Reed explained. “I’m expecting anywhere from the third to fourth weekend of October when those areas will also be gorgeous.”