Leaf guide › Maples
Sugar maple
Acer saccharum
The tree behind New England’s famous orange hillsides, and the source of maple syrup.
- Fall color
- OrangeYellowRed
- Turns
- Mid-season
- Leaves
- Opposite (in pairs)
- Size
- 3–6 in. across
- Found in
- New England & New York, Great Lakes & North Woods, Appalachians, Midwest
How to recognize it
- Five lobes with smooth, rounded U-shaped notches between them.
- Edges are smooth except for a few large, pointed teeth on each lobe.
- Leaves grow in pairs directly across from each other on the twig.
- One tree often shows yellow, orange, and red at the same time.
Where to find it
Look for it in rich, well-drained hardwood forests, in sugarbushes tapped for syrup, and lining old country roads and town greens.
Where you’ll see it this fall
Sugar maple is one of the main trees in the fall color at these destinations. Dates are the typical peak.
Connecticut: Litchfield (Oct 18), Hartford (Oct 23)
Illinois: Galena (Oct 16), Chicago (Oct 22)
Indiana: Indianapolis (Oct 27), Nashville (Oct 28)
Iowa: Decorah (Oct 11), Des Moines (Oct 19)
Kentucky: Lexington (Oct 28), Louisville (Oct 30)
Maine: Rangeley (Oct 1), Greenville (Oct 1), Millinocket (Oct 3), Bethel (Oct 8), Camden (Oct 16), Bar Harbor (Oct 16), Portland (Oct 19)
Maryland: Deep Creek Lake (Oct 20)
Massachusetts: Lenox (Oct 14), Williamstown (Oct 15), Shelburne Falls (Oct 17), Worcester (Oct 19), Natick (Oct 22), Wellesley (Oct 22), Milton (Oct 24), Boston (Oct 24)
Michigan: Copper Harbor (Sep 26), Marquette (Oct 1), Mackinac Island (Oct 4), Traverse City (Oct 8), Detroit (Oct 17)
Minnesota: Ely (Sep 18), Grand Marais (Sep 26), Duluth (Sep 28), Minneapolis (Oct 4)
Missouri: Kansas City (Oct 27), St. Louis (Oct 30)
New Hampshire: Franconia Notch (Oct 3), Jackson (Oct 8), Lincoln (Oct 9), North Conway (Oct 10), Hanover (Oct 11), Keene (Oct 15), Portsmouth (Oct 21)
New Jersey: Delaware Water Gap (Oct 24)
New York: Lake Placid (Oct 2), Old Forge (Oct 6), Cooperstown (Oct 12), Hunter (Oct 13), Lake George (Oct 13), Letchworth State Park (Oct 14), Saratoga Springs (Oct 15), Ithaca (Oct 16), Watkins Glen (Oct 17), Albany (Oct 17), Buffalo (Oct 18), Woodstock (Oct 18)
North Carolina: Mount Mitchell (Oct 7)
Ohio: Cleveland (Oct 24), Columbus (Oct 27), Hocking Hills (Oct 27), Cincinnati (Oct 29)
Pennsylvania: Wellsboro (Oct 16), State College (Oct 21), Pittsburgh (Oct 24), Jim Thorpe (Oct 24), Ohiopyle (Oct 25)
Rhode Island: Providence (Oct 24)
Tennessee: Kuwohi (Oct 8)
Vermont: Smugglers' Notch (Sep 30), Jay Peak (Oct 1), Killington (Oct 6), Stowe (Oct 7), Montpelier (Oct 9), Burlington (Oct 9), Woodstock (Oct 11), Manchester (Oct 12), Bennington (Oct 14), Brattleboro (Oct 16)
West Virginia: Snowshoe (Oct 10), Davis (Oct 17)
Wisconsin: Minocqua (Sep 27), Sturgeon Bay (Oct 9), Madison (Oct 12), Milwaukee (Oct 17)
Easy to confuse with
Worth knowing
It takes about 40 gallons of sugar maple sap to boil down one gallon of syrup. It’s the state tree of Vermont, New York, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.
Common questions
What color does sugar maple turn in fall?
Sugar maple is famous for its orange, but it also turns yellow and red, and one tree can show all three at once.
When does sugar maple change color?
Around the middle of the local season. In New England and New York, sugar maples largely decide when a hillside reaches peak.
How can you tell sugar maple from red maple?
Red maple: Notches between lobes are sharp V shapes, and the edges are lined with many small teeth. Sugar maple: Five lobes with smooth, rounded U-shaped notches between them.
Where does sugar maple grow?
In the lower 48, look for it in New England & New York, the Great Lakes & North Woods, the Appalachians, and the Midwest.
See where the color is peaking today.
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