Plant Hardiness Zones. Plant hardiness zones help gardeners understand which plants will most likely survive at a location. It is important that your plants can thrive year-round, surviving extreme temperatures. Note: Zone maps do have shortfalls; if the information is inaccurate, you may live in a microclimate.
In normal years, colors peak in the first week of October on the U.P., the second week of October in northern Lower Michigan and the last two weeks of October in southern Lower Michigan. When the colors do peak, here are some of the best bets for fall foliage viewing from Pure Michigan:
Yes, the lakes still have their beautiful colour in August and September, because they are glacial lakes and the colour comes from rock flour suspended in the water and reflecting light. They are thawed by mid-June though. This year was a late year, and the ice cleared off Lake Louise on June 9th.