Fall Foliage upstate NY
 

In your opinion, what is the best week to see the fall foliage in upstate NY?

First of all, when you say "upstate New York," how far upstate? I live in the lower Hudson Valley, a mere 30 miles from the city, and that area is often referred to as "upstate New York"!

In addition to the "where" in upstate NY you should also know it fluctuates somewhat from year to year. Here's a general idea
http://nylovesu.co.uk/index.cfm?PID=154136

In New York anything north of the NYC suburbs is considered upstate - and the timing from the Canadian border to the Hudson valley may differ by a couple of weeks. Also - as noted time differs year by year.

What art of NY - or what time - are you thinking of?

If you are talking about Albany area, Taconic/Berkshires, or Catskills then the week leading up to Columbus day is a good bet for long rang planning.

Where is "upstate New York"? There is so much confusion about this location. I live in Buffalo and many people refer to the Buffalo/Rochester area as "upstate New York" but others think of this area of just north of NYC. I've never quite figured this out.

The website that mclaurie referred you to is about as close an estimate of dates as you're likely to find. While no two years are the same, those dates given are a good guideline....and about the best one you're likely to find.

We're doing it in early October this year but traveling from Northern Virginia to Saratoga Springs and then onward through Tupper Lake and then over into very northern Vt for several nights before returning home down Vt Rte 100.

I know from experience that the date range varies considerably although a LOT of people will say that colors peak "around Columbus Day" and they have said that for more than 30 years in my own experience.

What I would advise you to do is start looking at possible accommodations as they often will sell out for early October long before that time period.