Beebe Lake, its dam, and the top of Triphammer Falls are seen amid surrounding fall foliage in colors of green, yellow, and orange.

Big Red, Fall Colors: East Hill’s Autumn Beauty, in Photos

With mild temperatures, frequent blue skies, and trees displaying vibrant hues, it has been a visually resplendent season on campus

By Cornellians staff

Photography by Alexandra Bayer, Devin Flores, Sreang Hok, Jason Koski & Ryan Young

You remember them well: those glorious-but-ephemeral fall days on the Hill, when campus trees were aflame with color, skies were a brilliant blue, and you only needed a light jacket after sunset. Autumn 2026 has delivered what feels like a near-record run of them, with foliage veritably glowing in the sun—and the dark winter months feeling much farther away than they actually are.

Over the past few weeks, University photographers have been out capturing this notably gorgeous season. Here’s a sampling:

The top of McGraw Tower with yellow branches of a nearby tree and a bright blue sky.
Bright red trees on either side of Bailey Hall with leaves scattered on the pathway.
A tree branch with bright yellow leaves in front of Uris Hall.
Two students walk with their arms around each other on a campus pathway lined with trees with green, yellow, and orange leaves.
Orange and yellow leaves and flowers on the ground in Minns Garden with the sun shining through the trees in the background.
The moon is seen in a daytime blue sky above McGraw Tower and Uris Library with a red and green tree visible on the side of the building.
A view from above of the fall foliage in shades of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens on North Campus and along Beebe Lake.
the facade of Bailey Hall is seen peeking through bright red foliage in front of the building.
A view from above of the fall foliage in shades of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens along Tower Road and the Arts Quad with Cayuga Lake in the distance.
Students walk across the bridge over Flat Rock at Six Mile Creek.
A view from above of the yellow and green fall foliage on campus, featuring the top McGraw Tower in the distance.
A man and a woman walk across the bridge over Flat Rock at Six Mile Creek and look at the trees.
Yellow and orange fallen leaves on the wooden boards of the bridge over Flat Rock.
The top of McGraw Tower with fall foliage and Cayuga Lake in the background.
The sculpture garden in the Cornell Arboretum with yellow and green foliage in the background.
Two students walk on the Ag Quad surrounded by fall foliage on the trees around the pathway.
Plants, bushes, and tress with McGraw Clocktower in the background behind a blue, cloudy sky.
Fuentes Observatory surrounded yellow and orange fall foliage.
Small orange and yellow flowers with a monarch butterfly perched on one of the flowers.
A tree at Triphammer Falls with green, yellow, and orange leaves.
Students walk on the pathways on the arts quad past trees with orange and green leaves.

Published October 28, 2026

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