Most people think of the Sugar Maple tree in the spring when the sap starts running and people make maple syrup.

But the fall is really the time to go looking for these beauties. 

The sugar maple has a gorgeous shape – much like a rounded tear drop.   It makes a great shade tree and doesn’t kill plants growing under its branches like the black walnut.

There are two reasons to look for them now.  First, if you do make maple syrup, you’ll want to be able to find and identify the trees when they have no leaves.   Look for a typical maple leaf but with rounded curves between the points.

But the real reason to look for them in the fall is because the leaves turn the prettiest pinkish orange and are one of the most beautiful trees when it comes to viewing fall foliage.  There’s nothing else like it.