Take a Leaf-Peeping Tour of the White Mountains, by Drone

Peak leaf-peeping season is upon us. Sure, you could venture out in person and observe some of New England’s finest foliage on your own (our carefully curated list of the best spots is a good place to start), and maybe snap a few eye-catching Instagrams. But can you swoop over hills and cliffs, dive under covered bridges, or hover on top of the changing leaves and peep them from above? No, you can’t. But this drone can.

New, high-definition footage from amateur filmmaker and certified UAV pilot Michael Holzwarth, who flew his drone around the White Mountains in New Hampshire last weekend, is quite possibly the best glimpse of our multi-colored environs that you’ll get this season.

“I think it turned out alright,” says Holzwarth, reached by phone. The 35-year-old hospitality consultant, who does some commercial drone work on the side, says he captured the footage on a GoPro when he and another drone enthusiast took a road trip to the mountains and piloted their tiny helicopter-like devices near a scenic highway overlook.

From the aircraft’s vantage point, sometimes the colors look otherworldly, like a bright fungus or a coral reef spread out over the rolling hills. And he doesn’t appear to be nervous about flying his drone near the water’s surface or getting up-close-and-personal with the changing leaves.

“I’ve got some years under my belt,” he says. “So I’m pretty confident with my shots.”

Holzwarth’s videos have made a splash before. A video he posted this summer of beaches in Wellfleet, from the sky and just above the water, has been viewed more than 20,000 times.

For comparison, check out this video he shot of the same area in the White Mountains back in May.

Other videos Holzwarth has produced include an aerial look at the Fort Pickering Lighthouse in Salem and Stone Tower in Lynn.