Fall into the Season's Best Foliage

Submit your best Central Park fall foliage pictures and locations on our Facebook wall or @CentralParkNYC on Twitter with the hashtag #FallFoliage.

Fall foliage time is here! For the next few weeks, Central Park's more than 20,000 trees will turn stunning shades of red, gold, orange and brown. To help you find the best of the season's colors, we've asked members of our staff to share their favorite spots for viewing fall foliage. With over 50 years of combined experience, they’ve picked some of the best spots to fall into the season’s foliage.

Download our fall foliage map as a PDF.

Share your fall foliage picks and pics!

Submit your best Central Park fall foliage pictures and locations on our Facebook wall and @CentralParkNYC on Twitter, with the hashtag #FallFoliage.

Why do leaves change color?

Did you know the color leaves turn during the autumn have been there all year? The pigments are masked during warmer seasons by the green chlorophyll that enables photosynthesis. As the fall begins and the days get shorter, there's dwindling sunlight for trees to convert to food. The loss of nutrients stops production of chlorophyll and, as their underlying pigments emerge, the trees begin to store energy for the winter. Once leaves fall for the winter, the Conservancy's Tree Crew takes advantage of the newly exposed trees to inspect previously hidden areas for pruning and maintenance needs.

The variety of colors displayed by different trees are produced by differing chemical make-ups within the leaves. Anthocyanins produce red and purple colors seen in red maples and sumacs. Carotenoids give leaves yellow and orange pigments, such as in Norway maples and ash trees. And tannins are responsible for the brown visible in leaves of many oak trees. Whatever color they turn, the Conservancy's staff and volunteers will be out in the Park raking them up to make way for winter walkers.