Photos from New Germany State Park in Garrett County – Photo: Melissa Nash
Welcome to the Maryland Fall Foliage Report for 2025. Fall officially begins on Monday, Sept. 22, but we’re expecting to see color changes in the coming weeks.
Our weekly reports featuring observations from Department of Natural Resources’ foresters, naturalists, and rangers throughout the state will be posted every Thursday into November.
Maryland had a typical spring and early summer. Rainfall amounts were at or just below normal levels, which points to a colorful fall, according to the Maryland Forest Service.
Recently rain has been absent – officially classified as “abnormally dry” on the drought monitor map – and with cool nighttime temperatures and bright sunny days, the trees are preparing for winter.
This year’s forecast suggests late September to early October will be the time head west to see fall foliage in Maryland’s mountains.
“We are seeing some trees turn early in Garrett County, with a combination of the dry weather and leaf spot that has affected many maples,” said Melissa Nash, forester in Allegany and Garrett counties. “With the wet weather earlier this spring, we have seen more prevalence of the fungal disease tar spot on maples, which causes black spots to appear on the leaves. It’s generally cosmetic, but can cause premature leaf drop. So between that and the dry weather throughout August, we are seeing some leaves start to fall early.”
As we get into October and November color will spread east. It’s difficult to predict how that pattern will develop but we generally see northern Maryland’s trees change after Garrett, Allegany, and Washington counties. Frederick, Carroll, Baltimore, Harford, and Cecil counties follow the western most areas of Maryland, mainly due to elevation and temperature. Then things spread south and east. The southern parts of the state generally start to change before the Eastern Shore.
“Throughout Washington County and western Frederick County, higher elevations of rocky mountain ridges are showing color (birch, blackgum, and some red maple), likely as a result of the flash drought we find ourselves in,” said forester Aaron Cook, based at Indian Springs Wildlife Management Area in Clear Spring. “Uniformly everything else is relatively green right now.”
When is Peak Color?
Remember, this is just a prediction, there is no way to “crystal ball” fall foliage colors. There are many factors at play here. One good storm and everything goes out the window. Here we go…
- Peak color in far western Maryland (Garrett and Allegany counties) — The weekend of Oct. 11 for Garrett County, then the following weekend for Allegany starting on Oct. 18. You’ll likely have a beautiful ride out if you’re heading from the eastern part of Maryland.
- Peak color for the Blue Ridge (Washington, Frederick, and Carroll counties) — The weekend of Oct. 25.
- Peak color east of the mountains and west of I-95 (Montgomery, Howard, Baltimore, Harford, Anne Arundel, Prince George’s, and Cecil counties) — The weekend of Nov. 1.
- Peak color east of I-95 and the eastern shore (remaining counties) — Nov. 8.
On the other side, in November it will probably be past peak out west and it will all be wrapped up by Thanksgiving. If you’re planning now, here are some resources to get started.
One of the most engaging ways to see Maryland’s fall colors is by fishing or hunting among the vivid landscape. Make sure to check season dates and have the proper license before you go out. You can find information and purchase a hunting or fishing license on MD Outdoors.
As always, we’d love to see photos of your adventures as well as your reports as you explore the great state of Maryland. We’ll use your photos in our reports and your feedback will help us with our weekly reports. We’ll post updates on Thursdays so you can prepare for the weekend – if you haven’t already, sign up for our Maryland Fall Foliage Report newsletter on the DNR website.
https://mddnr.info/fall
