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I have to disagree with you here. Boston proper in the fall is breathetaking. Christopher Colombus Park, the Commons, Back Bay, Franklin Park, Charles River Park, etc..
Not to mention, the leafy suburbs like Wellesley, Canton, Sudbury, Stow, etc... all have an immense amount of foliage that is just gorgeous. The Blue Hills cast yellow, orange and red colors during October that really give the city a different dimension in the distance.
Id give foliage in/around Boston a solid 10/10
Im talking about actually here people live, not a few select parks. Personally i find the foliage in Boston to be the same foliage I see all the way up and down the east coast until Virginia...definitely weird how New England has somehow figuratively cornered the market on leaves..... But I guess im missing something. *shrug*
Ok, so it must be southern MN that's more deciduous. The best colors I've ever seen in my life were in Bayfield WI. The entire forest was almost glowing orange and red, against the blue backdrop of the lake.
Southern Minnesota is mostly deciduous. Most of Southern MN is more of a plains landscape, too. South of the Twin Cities, the areas of heavy forest mostly run along the Mississippi and extend west for a couple of counties.
Is New England really that much better than the Midwest in this regard?
No. Purely in terms of the foliage and color it isn't. But I think the topography of New England combined with the history (and historic cities/towns/villages) give it an edge.
For me, I think of Vermont as leaf-peeper central. Specifically the rolling hills and mountains with historic churches, farmhouses, and salt box homes and just brilliant colors. The view of Burlington Vermont from the lake during peak foliage is stunning. A lot of times in Northern New England, you get "Snowliage" in the mountains. There's nothing like seeing a snow capped Mt. Washington covered peak foliage at the lower elevations. Boston has fine foliage which looks beautiful on the Common and Public Garden with the city as a backdrop, but most Bostonians head north for leaves. My girlfriend's family lives on a farm in Vermont's Mad River Valley. It's heaven in the fall.
But to answer your question, the Midwest has a climate that's not all that dissimilar so their color and foliage is just as good as New England's. I think New England has the more dramatic scenery (though the Midwest has beautiful scenery as well) and that's why it has the reputation.
Im talking about actually here people live, not a few select parks. Personally i find the foliage in Boston to be the same foliage I see all the way up and down the east coast until Virginia...definitely weird how New England has somehow figuratively cornered the market on leaves..... But I guess im missing something. *shrug*
I honestly think it's mostly because of Northern New England and the mountains/villages up there. I agree with you that the foliage alone is no more remarkable than the Midwest or Mid Atlantic. It's pretty, but not amazing. It's the mountains up North (the Greens, the Whites, etc.) that get the attention (and the tour buses). The way I would differentiate the regions is as follows: Worcester hills could pass for parts of the Midwest or Mid-Atlantic in the fall. Beautiful, colorful, etc. but not nearly as dramatic as Northern New England. There's really nothing in the Midwest or Mid-Atlantic that compares to this or this and that's what gives New England the reputation. But yeah, if you want colorful leaves, there are a lot of places you can go.
I honestly think it's mostly because of Northern New England and the mountains/villages up there. I agree with you that the foliage alone is no more remarkable than the Midwest or Mid Atlantic. It's pretty, but not amazing. It's the mountains up North (the Greens, the Whites, etc.) that get the attention (and the tour buses). The way I would differentiate the regions is as follows: Worcester hills could pass for parts of the Midwest or Mid-Atlantic in the fall. Beautiful, colorful, etc. but not nearly as dramatic as Northern New England. There's really nothing in the Midwest or Mid-Atlantic that compares to this or this and that's what gives New England the reputation. But yeah, if you want colorful leaves, there are a lot of places you can go.
Vermont and Upstate NY are both very impressive in the fall. VT for the mountains and Upstate for the sheer vastness.
No. Purely in terms of the foliage and color it isn't. But I think the topography of New England combined with the history (and historic cities/towns/villages) give it an edge.
For me, I think of Vermont as leaf-peeper central. Specifically the rolling hills and mountains with historic churches, farmhouses, and salt box homes and just brilliant colors. The view of Burlington Vermont from the lake during peak foliage is stunning. A lot of times in Northern New England, you get "Snowliage" in the mountains. There's nothing like seeing a snow capped Mt. Washington covered peak foliage at the lower elevations. Boston has fine foliage which looks beautiful on the Common and Public Garden with the city as a backdrop, but most Bostonians head north for leaves. My girlfriend's family lives on a farm in Vermont's Mad River Valley. It's heaven in the fall.
But to answer your question, the Midwest has a climate that's not all that dissimilar so their color and foliage is just as good as New England's. I think New England has the more dramatic scenery (though the Midwest has beautiful scenery as well) and that's why it has the reputation.
I mean the question was out of these cities. I thinkout of these cities listed Boston has the best foliage, like the picture shown above.
I think it's even between Boston, NY, Pittsburgh, Philly, DC. Chicago and other midwest cities are up there, but a step down imo because they don't have the hilly topography or older towns to go with it. Atlanta is good though too.
Last edited by joeyg2014; 08-12-2019 at 09:28 PM..
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