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Fall Photo Guide

Fall foliage forecast · 2026

Never drive four hours to a brown ridge.

Peak color for individual overlooks, with the sunrise angle, wind and fog for the morning you'll be standing there.

See what's peaking now Best places to shoot

Color starts in 36 days

Interior Alaska turns first, then high Colorado aspen and Minnesota's Arrowhead in late September. Peak windows barely move year to year, so this is the time to plan.

Turning next

The national picture

Tap a state for elevation bands and light times.

Foliage stages

  1. No change 0–10%
  2. First color 10–25%
  3. Approaching peak 25–60%
  4. Peak 60–90%
  5. Past peak 40–70%, dropping
  6. Bare <20%
Fall foliage conditions across the United States A map of the lower 48 states shaded by typical foliage stage. Each state links to its own forecast page. Every state is also listed as text, with its stage and typical peak date, on the foliage map page. Alabama — No change, typically peaks Oct 28 Arizona — No change, typically peaks Oct 2 Arkansas — No change, typically peaks Oct 24 California — No change, typically peaks Sep 27 Colorado — No change, typically peaks Sep 20 Connecticut — No change, typically peaks Oct 13 Delaware — No change, typically peaks Oct 21 District of Columbia Florida — No change, typically peaks Nov 12 Georgia — No change, typically peaks Oct 23 Idaho — No change, typically peaks Sep 18 Illinois — No change, typically peaks Oct 15 Indiana — No change, typically peaks Oct 19 Iowa — No change, typically peaks Oct 10 Kansas — No change, typically peaks Oct 19 Kentucky — No change, typically peaks Oct 21 Louisiana — No change, typically peaks Nov 7 Maine — No change, typically peaks Oct 4 Maryland — No change, typically peaks Oct 13 Massachusetts — No change, typically peaks Oct 11 Michigan — No change, typically peaks Sep 30 Minnesota — No change, typically peaks Sep 26 Mississippi — No change, typically peaks Nov 1 Missouri — No change, typically peaks Oct 23 Montana — No change, typically peaks Sep 15 Nebraska — No change, typically peaks Oct 12 Nevada — No change, typically peaks Sep 24 New Hampshire — No change, typically peaks Oct 3 New Jersey — No change, typically peaks Oct 14 New Mexico — No change, typically peaks Sep 29 New York — No change, typically peaks Oct 4 North Carolina — No change, typically peaks Oct 17 North Dakota — No change, typically peaks Sep 24 Ohio — No change, typically peaks Oct 18 Oklahoma — No change, typically peaks Oct 27 Oregon — No change, typically peaks Oct 1 Pennsylvania — No change, typically peaks Oct 11 Rhode Island — No change, typically peaks Oct 15 South Carolina — No change, typically peaks Oct 26 South Dakota — No change, typically peaks Sep 21 Tennessee — No change, typically peaks Oct 19 Texas — No change, typically peaks Nov 8 Utah — No change, typically peaks Sep 23 Vermont — No change, typically peaks Oct 5 Virginia — No change, typically peaks Oct 13 Washington — No change, typically peaks Sep 17 West Virginia — No change, typically peaks Oct 12 Wisconsin — No change, typically peaks Sep 30 Wyoming — No change, typically peaks Sep 16
Typical conditions for August 2, modeled from latitude and elevation. The map covers the lower 48; Alaska and Hawaii have their own pages.

From people who were there

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What other foliage maps skip

Every one of these is a decision someone standing in the cold has to make.

How the forecast works · 147 locations researched

  1. Overlooks, not counties

    Newfound Gap and Cades Cove share a county and peak two weeks apart. A shaded county is wrong at both ends.

  2. Sun angle for your date

    Sunrise drifts more than 8° across a four-week peak window, which decides whether a ridge is backlit or flat when you arrive.

  3. Wind and fog

    Whether the lake goes glassy at 6:40am, and whether Saturday gusts will strip the canopy before you get there.

  4. Honest confidence

    Long-range numbers are labeled estimates. When the models disagree, the page says so instead of picking one.