Each week usually starting in late July or early August through the first or second week of October you can follow the UP Fall Color Report. This year 2023 is the 10th year of the FunintheUP.com Upper Peninsula Fall Color Report online. You'll see some of the best fall color displays in the entire United States as the Upper Peninsula is covered in thick forests of maple, oak, aspen, birch, ironwood, beech, ash, and basswood. Join Yooper Steve on a Fall Colors/Big Views/Waterfalls Tour. More and more people are visiting the Upper Peninsula each year to view the amazing color show along the highways, from scenic overlooks, along small lakes, and rivers, no matter where you go in the UP you'll see some beautiful color. Check back each week on this page because it will be updated with the newest information on the progression of the fall colors across the Upper Peninsula.

Thanks for visiting the page and supporting FunintheUP.com --- Yooper Steve

If you would like to support FunintheUP with a few bucks for gas you can Support here on PayPal
Venmo: funintheup or Cashapp: $funintheup

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Weekly UP Fall Color Drives are available to watch on our Youtube Channel FunintheUP along with other Upper Peninsula content --Yooper Steve


Welcome to week 10 of the 10th Annual UP Fall Color Report. This is the #1 place for information on the changes of fall across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Driving Stats for 2023 UP Fall Color Report
Week 10: Miles driven: 1450 miles - 103gal of gas
Weeks 1-10: Miles driven 8965 miles - 646 gal of gas


Big Color Change
Overall color change across the UP - 50% to past peak
Color is here, peak, past peak, and still some areas with 60-70% color. Warm temps hindered some color change and turned this dull. Leaf loss is now about 25%, higher in those past peak areas. With winds this week expect rapid leaf loss. Along the shorelines of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan color will still be good this week into next week. I am afraid the best colors have been seen, especially if you were looking for the reds, those are now fading and not as bright anymore. The understory in the forests are looking really nice, so those back roads drives are superb right now.

For a more detailed regional report and detailed color progression map check out and subscribefunintheup.substack.com

Videos for last week 9 fall color drives are now live on FunintheUP Youtube channel .

Fall Color Tours - private fall color tours - UpperPeninsulaTours.com
Secret overlooks, waterfalls amidst the fall colors, and beautiful backcountry roads.

Become a paid subscriber to access the following: Detailed UP Fall Color Report below Detailed Weekly updated UP Color Change Map Videos for week 10 driving around the UP. Pictures for week 10 around the UP.

For Full Detailed Regional Reports and Weekly progression color change be sure to Subscribe to the Yooper Report, UP Fall Color Report on Substack - You will also have access to the Daily UP Snowfall Totals and other posts throughout the year.

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Welcome to week 9 of the 10th Annual UP Fall Color Report. This is the #1 place for information on the changes of fall across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Driving Stats for 2023 UP Fall Color Report
Week 9: Miles driven: 1535 miles - 109gal of gas
Weeks 1-9: Miles driven 7515 miles - 543 gal of gas


Big Color Change
Overall color change across the UP - 50% to past peak
Well it is that time of the year, one of the most wonderful and that is when we start hitting peak color. If there is a time to visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan it is when we have peak fall color, it's so pretty. We have had some awesome color change and saw some deep reds this year develop very quickly in the matter of a few days. The issue is that the reds in some places are now fading, while a few are just hitting their stride. There's a lot of green still out there in areas especially off the shores of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. We still have time to hit peak in spots but others are hitting peak. The understory is just starting in many areas but others are still pretty green.The greens mixed in with the reds, oranges, and yellows is often better than the peak color, because once you start hitting peak you get areas with leaf loss and leaf loss can happen fast and sometimes your favorite viewing locations can look dull and dingy with no leaves on the trees. I tell people all the time to spread out your adventure across the UP a little that way you get some peak color and some areas where color is 60%-80% color.

Videos for last week 8 fall color drives are now live on FunintheUP Youtube channel .

Fall Color Tours - private fall color tours - UpperPeninsulaTours.com
Secret overlooks, waterfalls amidst the fall colors, and beautiful backcountry roads.

Become a paid subscriber to access the following: Detailed UP Fall Color Report below Detailed Weekly updated UP Color Change Map Videos for week 9 driving around the UP. Pictures for week 9 around the UP.

For Full Detailed Regional Reports and Weekly progression color change be sure to Subscribe to the Yooper Report, UP Fall Color Report on Substack - You will also have access to the Daily UP Snowfall Totals and other posts throughout the year.

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Welcome to week 8 of the 10th Annual UP Fall Color Report. This is the #1 place for information on the changes of fall across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Driving Stats for 2023 UP Fall Color Report
Week 8: Miles driven: 1025 miles - 73gal of gas
Weeks 1-8: Miles driven 5980mi - 434 gal of gas
Wow just shy of 6k miles in 8 weeks driving around the UP for this report, most previously was last year at 4600 miles. I think it is safe to say by the last report for this fall might reach 8k miles driven. I really need to find a gas sipping vehicle.

Big Color Change
Overall color change across the UP - 30%-65%
We continue to see some areas really progressing quickly while others are still in their usual slower progression. We are still ahead of last season and prior season in progression of color. I was able to get some key views from many overlooks along with aerial images in Ontonagon, Keweenaw, Baraga, Houghton, and Marquette county in addition to the weekly drives along the highways and back roads to get a real good idea of peak, less than 7 days in a few areas.

I was pleasantly surprised this week in the Keweenaw and in the Huron mountains especially with the amount of color already, I would say about 10% more color than I was expecting when I was out this week gathering data. And as I type this I am sure many areas already another 10-15% more in the last 3 days with the mild days and real cool nights in the upper 30s and mid 40s. This is exactly what we want to see when it comes to color progression. I wouldn't expect those areas which haven't reached at least 50% color to progress to quickly this week with the warmer days and slightly warmer nights. Those areas that have reached into the 60+ percent I don't think will be slowing down much on their progression and color should move along into peak soon.

I did see some real nice reds this week, not surprising with the cool week we had, I was afraid we wouldn’t see those bright reds we really love seeing. Granted there are still areas which the reds are still dingy looking and color has just a dull and muted look. Get out your warm clothes, but don't forget your shorts, there's still some warmer days this week, but may also be cool enough for a sweatshirt depending on when you are here, the joys of fall weather in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Videos for last week 7 fall color drives are now live on FunintheUP Youtube channel if you want to watch them, videos for this week 8 are available to view on Youtube for paid subscribers on the FunintheUP substack.

Fall Color Tours - private fall color tours - UpperPeninsulaTours.com
Secret overlooks, waterfalls amidst the fall colors, and beautiful backcountry roads.

Become a paid subscriber to access the following: Detailed UP Fall Color Report below Detailed Weekly updated UP Color Change Map Videos for week 8 driving around the UP. Pictures for week 8 around the UP.

For Full Detailed Regional Reports and Weekly progression color change be sure to Subscribe to the Yooper Report, UP Fall Color Report on Substack - You will also have access to the Daily UP Snowfall Totals and other posts throughout the year.

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After driving 1200 miles last week for the week 6 report I had to take it easy on the vehicle and save some gas for when the color starts getting good soon. Progression has been going slow the last 5-7 days, after the hot weather, I think the trees got so stressed they couldn't get more stressed than they were and it wasn't until this weekend when we started seeing those evening temps drop. Expect some good movement this week on color and into next week. We will probably see a good extended color season as a result now. I have a bit more to say in the Basic Report on the substack page so feel free to check it out and read more. Also if you really want the more detailed report you will find that as well, love to have you as a member.

For Full Detailed Regional Report and Weekly progression color change be sure to Subscribe to the Yooper Report, UP Fall Color Report on Substack - You will also have access to the Daily UP Snowfall Totals and other posts throughout the year.


A bit burned out this week from all the driving and the heat. I put on about 1200 miles this week to bring you this weeks report and over 4200 miles so far in the first 6 weeks with another 3-5 weeks of driving to go. This year will be the most miles I’ve driven for the UP Fall Color Report in the 10 years that I have been doing this report. About to do another oil change and this next week and suspension has to have some work done and I need a good car wash from all the bugs and dust. Have to keep the wheels turning to bring you UP Fall Color Report. Who else is going to do the UP Fall Color Report if I can’t? May have to switch to mountain bike, e-bike, or perhaps rollerblades, it’s been awhile since I have strapped on a set of rollerblades so that might not be a wise idea.

This week I saw the best reds I have seen yet in Marquette county and Alger county. If you didn’t catch the short video I did of the drive on Co Rd 510 in Marquette county you can watch it here. These areas have seen a bit more rain in fact a little more than normal so the trees are moving along nicely into fall and showing some bright colors, the colors we expect from a beautiful UP Fall. Now across the Western UP it has been drought conditions for much of the summer with precipitation totals behind normal, but as I type this out some severe thunderstorms are moving across the Western UP and into the Copper Country and also cool weather that is arriving this weekend should help kick in color progression even faster now. After a week of mid to upper 80s, and some places reaching into the mid 90s this cool weather and rain are nice to see.

This week is key, we really need that cool weather to arrive like forecasted. We need overcast skies during the day, a week of warm days in the mid 60s and overnight temps dropping into the upper 30s to mid 40s would really set those colors off. If we see 7-10 straight days of that weather we should be seeing some awesome color as early as the 20-25th with peak reaching areas soon after. Remember peak color is not the same across the entire UP, you will want to pay close attention to the detailed fall color map and regional report from this point on.

For Full Detailed Regional Report and Weekly progression color change be sure to Subscribe to the Yooper Report, UP Fall Color Report on Substack - You will also have access to the Daily UP Snowfall Totals and other posts throughout the year.

Week 5 - Aug 21-27th - Overall Color Change: 8-30%
The basic report along with the detailed week 5 report can be read right now on funintheup.substack.com
Get a more detailed weekly report by subscribing to the Yooper Report, UP Fall Color Report on Substack

Week 4 - Aug 13th-20th - Overall Color Change: 5-20%
The basic report along with the detailed week 4 report can be read right now on funintheup.substack.com I won't update here on the website until probably Thursday. We are about 10 days ahead of last years color change, so things are moving pretty fast, dry weather is to blame for the dull color and the progression we see. Not a good senario if you're looking for bright colors this season, there will be some but not as much as in previous years most likely it is looking like.
Get a more detailed weekly report by subscribing to the Yooper Report, UP Fall Color Report on Substack

Week 3 - Aug 6th-12th - Overall Color Change: 2-8%
Are you ready for the fall color season across the Upper Peninsula? I sure am, I love this time of the year, it is my favorite for photography and video, but I also do love winter, as many of you know if you have been following FunintheUP over the years. Fall has arrived, not like I want it to but how the weather has dicated it arrive, that's crispy and dry, and it is certainly jump started a shut down of chlorphyll production in many trees. Stress and more stress from the heat and lack of rain. Anyway, color is now seen across most highways and backroads around the Upper Peninsula. You'll find some surprising areas of change, a bit more than previous years if you're paying attention. Western UP and the Copper Country areas are always ahead, and usually some areas of the central UP are right there with them. We are running about 7-10 days ahead of last year and that isn't a good thing, what that means is that color won't be very bright this season, yes there will be plenty of bright areas, but the color tones will be muted in many areas, except those moist areas along rivers, lakes, and low land, shadded areas of the forests. Look for a big change this next week, with the heat here for the next 3-5 days things will get a bit more crispy. Get a more detailed weekly report by subscribing to the Yooper Report, UP Fall Color Report on Substack

Week 2 - Color Change is happening, but things are really dry, you are starting to see some trees with color popping up along most roads, lot of yellow hues everywhere. We need some rain and some darker days to get this party started, usually the first few weeks people don't see much happening, and by week 5 we can really start seeing the changes happening. I am noticing more color than normal this time of the year, but it is a result of the dry ground, warmer summer, and lots of sunshine. Most color being seen across the Western UP. Read the full detailed report on funintheup.substack.com

Week 1 - No basic report, detailed report for week 1 on funintheup.substack.com