Essential Fall Foliage Apps for Smart Phones

Trees by Cumbie's on Route 63, North Amherst (Photo by S. Vardatira)

As you head out on your annual Columbus Day weekend fall foliage expeditions (and could today be more beautiful for doing just that?), here are a couple of Smart Phone apps that may help you scope out the best colors around:

• Yankee Magazine's Leaf Peepr app for iPhones and Androids helps fall-foliage fans find and report on the best and brightest colors in the United States. Make foliage reports by posting photos, writing comments, and rating foliage status for your location. In addition, the Peak Slider lets you rate foliage as either Green, Turning, Moderate, Peak, Fading, or Gone. And use the Foliage Map to find current foliage rated by hundreds of other leaf peepers. 
• Leafsnap is available only for iPhones, unfortunately for Android users. It is the first in a series of electronic field guides being developed by researchers from Columbia University, the University of Maryland, and the Smithsonian Institution. This free mobile app uses visual recognition software to help identify tree species from photographs of their leaves. With Leafsnap, you are able to snap a photo of a leaf and learn all about the tree from which it came.
• If it's tree identification you're after, Android users may want to check out TreeID. Though not as snazzy as Leafsnap, this is still a solid app that enables users to narrow the species list for any location in North America using the phone's GPS, network signal or any entered address or zip code. Basically the application can become “Woody Plants of Where You Are Standing." Users can further narrow the species list by answering a series of very simple tree attribute questions such as where the plant is growing, leaf shape, leaf arrangement, flower color or fruit type. It even includes a photo guide to how different trees turn color during fall foliage. 
• AllTrails App for Androids and iPhones is the most popular app for finding the trails nearest you, whether you are visiting a national park or looking for a place near home to hike, bike, or run. Even city folk might be surprised by how much nature is around. Includes 50,000 trail guides (United States & Canada) for outdoor activities including everything from hiking and mountain biking to fly-fishing and snowshoeing. You can also read and write trail reviews which in the fall often include comments about fall foliage.
• The Ultimate Drive for iPhones and Androids will help drivers locate the most scenic routes. Unlike a GPS, which will usually direct drivers to highways (not usually the best routes to choose for fall foliage viewing), Ultimate Drive allows you to map your favorite lesser known "road stretches," share advice with other drivers, and seek out scenic byways and backroads.
• New Hampshire Fall Foliage Tracker for Android and iPhone users traveling around New Hampshire. Includes one-touch access to the latest foliage reports across New Hampshire with detailed advice on where leaves are at their best, itinerary suggestions and in-app maps to help you locate attractions along your route, plus an interactive Foliage Timeline map that will help you time your trip based on historic peak data. There's also a Gallery where you can post a photo and caption to help other leaf peepers find gorgeous leaves. 

And come November, when the leaves outside have dropped and fall foliage is just a memory, you can always download Autumn Free to your iPhone or Android and watch an autumn scene unfold on your screen, complete with rustling leaves. Change the background, wind speed, and the spacing between the leaves falling to the ground.