Veterans Day weekend weather could be perfect for seeing Long Island fall foliage

As what's been an abbreviated fall leaf-watching season nears its inevitable end, die-hard fans can still find pretty pockets of colorful foliage in areas across Nassau and most of western Suffolk.

Though the I Love New York Fall Foliage report is showing most of the state is past peak for autumn leaves, it said much of Long Island still has some wondrous life left in its trees and leaves — with a number of Long Island State Parks high on the list of must-sees.

"In some areas, we're a little past peak," New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Long Island Regional Director George Gorman said Thursday. "But in some parks, such as our arboretums and the preserves, we still have some spectacular fall foliage — with plenty of color in that foliage.

"And, in the rest of the parks, people can still visit, go on walks, and enjoy the parks, even if the foliage is past its peak."

The two state arboretums on Long Island are Planting Fields in Oyster Bay and the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River.

Among the 33 state parks on Long Island, key trails and walks include Bethpage, Heckscher, Belmont Lake and Wildwood.

The I Love New York site also highlighted many other leaf-watching locations in Nassau and Suffolk, including Old Westbury Gardens, Clark Garden in Albertson, Bailey Arboretum in Locust Valley, Mill Pond Park in Wantagh and locations such as The Nature Conservancy at Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island.

But time is running out.

That's due to a summer that proved one of the warmest on record, seemingly endless late-summer and fall weekends dampened by rain. However, the National Weather Service is forecasting a near perfect mid-autumn Veterans Day weekend, tailor-made for what figures to be Long Island's leaf-peeping finale. 

Though rain is possible across Long Island Thursday, the weather service predicts clearing skies Friday. Thursday's temperatures are expected in the 60s with winds up to 11 mph, forecasters said.

Both Saturday, Veterans Day, and Sunday are expected to be mostly clear, with a high temperature of 53 on Saturday and a high of 48 on Sunday, forecasters said.

The nights will be seasonably chilly, the service says, near the freezing mark that brings potential frost.

The state's Division of Tourism, which uses spotters to monitor the progression of the colors, said parkways in Nassau and Suffolk remain great spots to take in the foliage, with a weekend drive — traffic aside — another possible way to enjoy colorful leaves. About 80-90% of trees feature some degree of foliage change, "including many of the major roadways and parks — with colorful yellow, orange, red and purple leaves, plus some green, rust and brown," according to the state.

The Northern State Parkway between Lake Success and Hauppauge is among the more colorful options but Long Island's other parkways, including the Southern State, Wantagh, Meadowbrook, Bethpage and Sunken Meadow, are solid choices, the state recommends. Other options include the service roads of the Long Island Expressway and any part of State Route 25A from Great Neck to Port Jefferson.

The state has more suggestions at its fall foliage website.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”