Wisconsin's fall colors are amazing, and Devil's Lake State Park is one of the best…
Time for our second Fall Color report of the 2019 season. This weekend has been predicted as the “peak” weekend here in central Wisconsin, but will it be? Let’s have a look!
Fast Answer…
No. You’ll find some nice colors around this weekend but I’m ready to say that the weekend of Oct. 18, 19, 20th will probably be our best this year.
Detailed Answer
This will be a good weekend to see a lot of fall color in the area (Oct 11-13), but there is still a lot of green out there as well. Certainly not the “peak” color spectacular that some folks are expecting.
This year, colors are a bit muted so far. Not a lot of reds to be had as of yet and the yellows and oranges mostly in the “ruddy” zone, not the eye-watering blaze of glory we like to see.
So, What’s Up With The Colors?
Well, predicting peak fall colors is a bit like palm reading. Sometimes we’re right, sometimes we’re just wrong and sometimes it’s all just, well, BS. We can only look at science and past history, then make our best guess.
So my spin this year is this; We’ve had pretty moderate, warmish temperatures over the last few weeks a good amount of rain. None of this is conducive to amazing colors. According to the US Forest Service and others, “a succession of warm, sunny days and cool, crisp but not freezing nights seems to bring out the most spectacular color displays.” Cool, crisp nights have not been happening in Central Wisconsin yet. So, our colors are coming on slow and a bit muted.
It’ll Get Better Soon!
The good news is that we’ve got lots of things going for us right now! First, it’s mid-October, the leaves HAVE to change, so it can only get better. Second, one person’s “muted & dull” is another person’s “Colorama”. So, if you’ve never really come to see the colors, you may still think it’s great even if we old-timers think it’s dull. Third, there ARE aways great colors here and there no matter how the season plays out. You just have to get outside and explore! Somewhere there are some trees out there putting on their best show right now! But maybe most importantly, we’re going to have some of those crisp nights we’re looking for this weekend, so that will help boost the colors for the following week and weekend!
Judge For Yourself
Because judging fall colors is so subjective, here’s are some more photos from around Devil’s Lake State Park taken in the last 2 days. Devil’s Lake is a pretty good measure of the Baraboo Hills region. You be the judge!
North Shore Enterance Rd. 
N. Shore Parking 
Looking Toward West Bluff 
View From East Bluff 
East Bluff Trail 
Top of East Bluff 
North shore 
Among the Willows, Messenger Creek. 
Steinke Basin
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For nearly 2 decades the Skillet Creek blog has focused on 3 main goals; To inspire you to visit and explore the Devil’s Lake region, to help you get the most your visit by sharing tips, events, and other helpful information. Lastly to advocate for our environment & wildlife and talk about how we can keep our natural areas amazing now and into the future! That last goal can sometimes cause controversy, but it’s the only way we can accomplish the first two. – Derrick Mayoleth, Owner.
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