CARBON COUNTY, Pa. — It is still early in the fall foliage season; we are just starting to see some change in Carbon County. But there's quite a bit more color along Sand Spring Lake at Hickory Run State Park.
"It is definitely starting. It is beautiful out here; it is not quite peak yet, but we are getting there," said Jake Smith, Hickory Run State Park.
Areas along bodies of water tend to see changing colors first because of the colder temperatures. That's why Austin Noguera brought us there. He is a forester with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Bureau of Forestry. His district covers seven counties, including Carbon County.
Foresters from each of the 20 districts in the state go out and gather information and report back to Harrisburg for DCNR's weekly fall foliage report.
"Usually, it's your early changing species such as your red maple, black gum, aspen, and birch. Then, once you start seeing the later changing species like your oak and your beech, you know you're getting towards that peak time of year," Noguera explained.
The weather in the fall impacts the changing leaves, but it actually starts even earlier than that. For the best color, it should be a wet summer, too, and Noguera thinks we had just the right amount of rain this year.
"That's a good indicator that fall foliage is going to be a bit better. Now, in the fall, you're looking for these bright sunny days, dry weather, and cold nights," he said.
A new report is released every Thursday until the end of the foliage season. And now that the leaves are changing, park officials at Hickory Run State Park say people are planning their trips.
"We call them the leaf peepers. Our campground is actually full this weekend because there are a lot of people coming to see the beautiful colors of fall," Smith said.
According to the DCNR, Pennsylvania has one of the longest and most varied foliage seasons of any other place in the world.
"Either it's too tropical or a lot of conifer species that don't really change color. We're really unique and special in this area here, and in the Poconos in particular, we have a lot of forests. We have a lot of protected ... open forested land for people to enjoy," Noguera said.
You can find DCNR's weekly fall foliage reports by clicking here.