Vermont Fall Foliage 2026
The Northeast Kingdom typically shows color a week ahead of southern valleys, with ridgelines leading valley floors by ten to fourteen days. Peak window runs October 1–9 statewide, though high elevations above 3,500 feet turn by late September. The thirteen-day elevation spread means you can chase optimal color across multiple zones if you time it right.
When Vermont peaks
Oct 1 – Oct 9
Centered on Oct 5. The Northeast Kingdom turns roughly a week before the southern valleys; ridgelines lead the valley floors by 10–14 days.
low confidence. Long range. Treat as a planning estimate only.
Where peak usually lands. Drought or an early freeze moves it by a few days. Method
What turns here
- sugar maple
- red maple
- white birch
- beech
Yellows show up every year. Reds need sunny days and cool, frost-free nights. A bad year takes those first.
Color progression
Typical peak Oct 5Typical color progression for Vermont. No change from Aug 28 to Sep 14. First color from Sep 14 to Sep 23. Approaching peak from Sep 23 to Oct 1. Peak from Oct 1 to Oct 9. Past peak from Oct 9 to Oct 19. Bare from Oct 19 to Nov 2.
Color starts around Sep 14.
Peak by elevation
13 days between the ridges and the valleys. County maps average this away, which is how you miss peak at the right place.
| Elevation band | Approx. elevation | Typical peak | Today |
|---|---|---|---|
| High ridges & passes | 3,700 ft | Sep 26 | No change |
| Mid elevation | 1,200 ft | Oct 5 | No change |
| Valleys & lowlands | 0 ft | Oct 9 | No change |
Foliage stages
- No change 0–10%
- First color 10–25%
- Approaching peak 25–60%
- Peak 60–90%
- Past peak 40–70%, dropping
- Bare <20%
Light at peak
Vermont on October 5, the day it typically peaks. Knowing when color arrives is one thing. Knowing where the sun will be is another.
| Event | Time |
|---|---|
| First light (blue hour) Sun 6° below horizon | 6:24 AM |
| Sunrise Rises E · 96° | 6:53 AM |
| Morning golden hour ends 39 min of low, warm light | 7:32 AM |
| Solar noon Highest sun, flattest light | 12:39 PM |
| Evening golden hour starts 39 min before sunset | 5:46 PM |
| Sunset Sets W · 264° | 6:25 PM |
| Last light (blue hour) Sun 6° below horizon | 6:54 PM |
Times in America/New York · day length 11h 32m · computed from NOAA solar equations
Which way to point the camera
Sun rises E, sets W.
Aim within 45° of those and the canopy glows translucent. Turn your back to them for flat, accurate color.
Location pages name the light directly.
Where to shoot in Vermont
6 researched locations, earliest peak first.
- Smugglers Notch No change
Mount Mansfield & Stowe · 2,123 ft · peaks Oct 1
VT Route 108 squeezes between the cliffs of Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak, passing car-sized boulders that fell into the roadway. Birch and maple grow straight out of the talus, so color sits directly against wet gray rock.
- Lake Willoughby North Beach No change
Northeast Kingdom · 1,169 ft · peaks Oct 4
From the north beach the lake runs four miles south into the gap between Mount Pisgah and Mount Hor, whose cliffs drop straight into the water. Hardwoods on both walls turn while the spruce above them stays dark, so the ridges read as bands.
- Jenne Farm No change
Woodstock & Reading · 1,427 ft · peaks Oct 6
Red barns and a white farmhouse sit on an open hillside with stone walls running through the pasture in front of them. The maple woods on the slope behind turn before the pasture edge does, which gives the frame two color layers.
- Moss Glen Falls No change
Mount Mansfield & Stowe · 934 ft · peaks Oct 6
Moss Glen Brook drops about 125 feet through a narrow slate gorge with birch and maple leaning over the rim from both sides. The walls stay shaded all day, so leaves read against dark wet rock instead of blown-out sky.
- Stowe Community Church No change
Mount Mansfield & Stowe · 716 ft · peaks Oct 6
The white clapboard steeple closes the north end of Main Street with maples along both sidewalks and wooded hills rising behind the village. Shooting from the sidewalk a block south stacks the spire against colored slope.
- Sleepy Hollow Farm No change
Woodstock & Pomfret · 1,053 ft · peaks Oct 7
A white 1780s farmhouse and red barns sit in a hollow below Cloudland Road, with a curving drive lined by sugar maples dropping toward them. Morning fog pools in the bowl and separates the buildings from the wooded hillside behind.
Recent reports from Vermont
Report what you sawCommon questions
- When do the leaves change in Vermont?
- Vermont typically peaks Oct 1 – Oct 9, centered on Oct 5. The Northeast Kingdom turns roughly a week before the southern valleys; ridgelines lead the valley floors by 10–14 days. These are typical dates from a latitude and elevation model, not a live reading of this year's canopy.
- Does elevation change when fall color peaks in Vermont?
- Yes, by about 13 days. High ground around 3,700 ft peaks near Sep 26, while valleys near 0 ft wait until Oct 9. Peak moves roughly 3.5 days earlier for every 1,000 feet you climb, so if you miss it low you can often drive up and find it.
- Where are the best places to see fall color in Vermont?
- We track 6 verified locations in Vermont, including Smugglers Notch, Lake Willoughby North Beach, Jenne Farm. Smugglers Notch turns first, around Oct 1, and Sleepy Hollow Farm is last, around Oct 7. Each has real coordinates, elevation and sunrise light times.
- What trees turn color in Vermont?
- Mainly sugar maple, red maple, white birch, beech. Yellows and oranges come from carotenoids that are already in the leaf, so they show up every year. Reds are made fresh each autumn and need warm sunny days with cool, frost-free nights, which is why a dry summer or a warm September produces a duller year.