Acadia in October

My husband and I (avid photographers) are trying to plan a trip in October and I thought Acadia National Park might be a good choice. Our primary goal is for photography and we would love to catch the fall foliage. Due to work schedules our earliest departure would be around October 11th. We would have about 6 or 7 days to explore. My plan would be to fly into Portland and then drive up to Bar Harbor with stops along the scenic routes along the way. I checked the Maine Foliage website and it looks like last year the peak foliage for the Bar Harbor area was around October 11th and in 2005 it was October 19th but in the past it was even as as early as the 8th and as late as the 22nd. I know that noone can predict when the peak will occur but can anyone tell me if they think I will be able to capture beautiful fall foliage in Acadia around Oct 11th - 17th? I know that timeframe is good for Vermont and Massachusetts but I am aware that Maine may be very different. Is 6 days too much or too little? I am trying to decide if we should go elsewhere....but Acadia looks so beautiful. Any advice would be appreciated.

Acadia in October

Subject to the usual caveats, that should be a good time. The late date for 2005 is a bit of an aberration. We had a cool, extremely wet September in this area and the autumn color never really developed to anything close to the peaks I%26#39;ve seen other years.

Usually, our color season lasts for a while. There are a couple of photo albums at %26lt;http://tinyurl.com/2w873s%26gt; that demonstrate this: the Jordan Stream trail shots were taken on 9 Oct. last year; the Aunt Betty%26#39;s Pond stuff on the 19th.

Acadia in October

Your pictures are beautiful. You are right....looks like there was alot of color in early and late October last year. Those are the kinds of pictures I would love to shoot. Has there been alot of rain there this summer?

Thank you. Autumn and winter are my two favorite photography seasons here.

I haven%26#39;t checked the data, but it seems that it has been a fairly typical spring and summer---wet April and May, fairly wet in early June, and drier since then. We are just over 2 inches for July, which is slightly more than average. A lot of the large rainstorms in the northeast have stayed either to the west or south of us.

If you are interested in what the weather might be for your visit, check out:

%26lt;Http://www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp%26gt;

then enter either Bar Harbor or the zip (04609) and the range of dates.

Thanks for the great info. You live in a beautiful area. I%26#39;m sure you really enjoy it.

I am convinced that it is the world%26#39;s greatest back yard.

Hi Dox!

A word about the timing of the color changes: It is not at all variable or weather-dependant. It happens each year like clockwork, at the times predicted.

I%26#39;m in Nova Scotia, and our schedule is about the same as in Acadia National Park. So are the myths about the leaves changing. Each year in July, some people go around saying that ';drought'; or unseasonable weather may push up or move back the dates of color change. And then, in September and October of each year, everything happens at exactly the same time.

You can expect the first widespread color changes to occur in the last week of September. In the first two weeks of October the change is in full swing. The red leaves fall by the third week of October, with the yellows and oranges in the fourth week. By November, all the leaves have fallen except for the oaks, which like to wait another week.

The further inland you go, the earlier the change takes place. The maritime climate of Mount Desert Island prolongs the season later than on the mainland.

October is one of the best times to visit. The humidity and fog of early summer are gone, and the majority of days are crisp and clear, and still mild (60 degrees by day with only a chance of frost by night later in the month). Sunset is still reasonably late (6 p.m.). The hordes of summer tourists have left and, while some of the seasonal businesses have have closed, there will be no better time to appreciate the natural scenery.

Happy travels, and let me know if I can help further!

David

capetien10@gmail.com