Peak Week

September 29th through October 5th, 2025

Lake Lucerne
The two major events of last week were the arrival of peak color and the un-exit of the summer heat. The fiery heat was oppresive at times, but the deciduous handled it well as they proceeded in an orderly fashion to full color.
Lake Lucerne
Lucerne was flat all week until the weekend. A strong wind from the south started on Saturday and intensified on Sunday. This made the weekend north to south de-boating trip to the landing a bouncy good time. No one skied during this late tsunami season.
Lake Lucerne
With the lake temperature floating around in the mid 60s°F all week, swimming and diving were not the unspeakable horrors they normally are during peak color. In addition to refreshing, the lake water was clear as crystal.
Lake Lucerne
The weekday lack of any waves of note made Lucerne even more inviting.
Lake Lucerne
As leaves changed from green to not green, eagles were spotted floating above all the color.
Lake Lucerne
One of the eagles at a local golf course was owl shaped.
Lake Lucerne
On Friday, October 3rd the sun was out, lake was glass, and, if you throw out the pines and a few stubborn basswood, the trees peaked.
Lake Lucerne
The color to the east of the lake was impressive.
Lake Lucerne
The color to the west was also magnificent.
Lake Lucerne
If you're planning a fall color trip to the area you missed it, but another round of color is just 52 weeks away.
Lake Lucerne
The pontoon crane guy is scheduled to pull lifts from the lake after the weekend. Many had to brave the rough weekend water to get boats off those lifts and into their winter shelters.
Lake Lucerne
The current water level of Lucerne is great for boat pulling.
Lake Lucerne
Not all the fall color is confined to the canopies. Some late season, chipmonk planted sunflowers are adding bright yellow to the shoreline.
Lake Lucerne
The strong wind and peak leaves has made beach cleaning a Sisyphus-ian task.
Lake Lucerne
Last week was hot and colorful, but the pages of the calendar, low humidity, and the angle of the sun gave it a strong, transient feel. This made the psychological burden of pulling the boats a little easier on the men. No end of the season ennui here, just stabilized gas, soon to be pulled batteries, and convalescence. Huzzah! Going forward, it looks like the Hwy 8 construction will be done in 2 weeks. This should make pumpkin carving and the first snow fluries less traffic-y on the north end of Lucerne.


-Nemo vows more skiing, less traffic next year.