Take a peek of Peak Fall

By Editor | October 4, 2023 |

By Cory Davenport

With temperatures soaring into the 90s this week, it can be hard for folks to remember the season has officially turned to autumn.

The leaves on the deciduous trees all around the area, however, will still remember to turn colors, though, according to Scott Isringhausen of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). Unfortunately for those who absolutely adore the many hues the diverse trees of this area produce, it will not have the same luster as years previously. Isringhausen said this is due to the fact August in this area was hot and dry.

“We didn’t get the rains we needed for those colors to really shine through like years previous,” he said. “We will still get them, though, but some of them may just turn brown and fall off.”

“Peak Fall,” occurs when the trees are at their absolute prime of fall coloration. A short jaunt down the Great River Road can expose folks to a majestic palette of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns. This year, Isringhausen guessed Peak Fall will occur the weekend just before Halloween on Oct. 27-28.

“We really need those long cool nights and mild sunny days that we usually get for fall,” he said.

Luckily for folks who adore that fall foliage, the weather has much less to do with the changing leaves than the day itself. Chlorophyll, the chemical produced within leaves giving them their traditional green color, is created through the process of photosynthesis. During photosynthesis, plants use sunlight for food. When the amount of sunlight decreases, as days become shorter and nights grow longer toward the slow march to the winter solstice, leaves stop producing chlorophyll. This causes the color change experienced every autumn.

Isringhausen did say weather plays somewhat of a role, potentially moving Peak Fall by a few days or even a few weeks, but emphasized the catalyst for the change is daylight. Because of the weather, however, Peak Fall often comes sooner the farther north one travels and later the farther south.

Following Peak Fall, on Nov. 4, Isringhausen, who specializes in fishing and waterways, said he will be hosting an educational fishing event at Pere Marquette State Park at 5:30 p.m. That event is directed mostly toward young folks in this area. Following that, at 7:30 p.m., he said he will be giving a presentation on the eight different species of owls native to this area. To truly enjoy a good, spooky, and downright informative fall evening, that presentation will be followed by a hike through the forest with Isringhausen attempting to call all eight species of owls to see if they will respond.

“We had about 100 folks do it last month when we had it,” he said. “And, we were pretty successful in getting them to call back.”