Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information.
Autumn officially began Sept. 22, and in the next few weeks, much of the U.S. will experience peak fall foliage.
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, much of New England and the Pacific Northwest will be at or near peak fall color in early October.
Where and when the foliage will be most colorful depends on each specific destination’s geographic location, altitude and weather. Leaves tend to change color first at high elevations before the tide rolls farther south. Areas in the north — from Washington to Maine — have already started to hit their leaf-peeping peak.
Each fall, various forecast tools aim to predict the arrival of autumn foliage across the U.S. using things like precipitation and temperature statistics, historic trends for peak leaf peeping, local observations, and model outputs from previous years.
Another reliable source to determine peak leaf-peeping season is the Smoky Mountains Fall Foliage Prediction Map. It offers a fairly accurate forecast each year by taking into account tree species specific to each region and using user-submitted photos to further bolster its predictions.
Even so, foretelling fall foliage is tricky as no one can guarantee exactly where and when foliage will peak — especially with unusual weather patterns on the rise. For example, Hurricane Helene’s destruction in the Southeast in late September will place most of the region off-limits this foliage season as it recovers from catastrophic flooding. Many roads in Great Smoky Mountains National Park are currently closed and the National Park Service is encouraging visitors to reschedule trips for their own safety and to reduce traffic in surrounding communities heavily affected by the storm. Western North Carolina, including the city of Asheville, was also heavily hit by flooding, and the full length of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina is closed as storm damage is cleared.
With that in mind, here are other parts of the U.S. where you might be able to plan a last-minute fall foliage trip over the next few weeks.
When and where can we see fall foliage at its peak?
Based on this year’s Almanac report, much of the U.S. will be in the full throes of fall by mid-October. The 2024 report shows the color change’s expected progression via an animated map based on foliage reports from Almanac readers.
“Of course, past results do not necessarily indicate what will happen this year, but it should give you a fairly good idea of how fall leaves typically progress,” an Old Farmer’s Almanac representative said. “In this depiction, yellow marks the beginning of foliage season, orange and red are peak season, and brown is past peak.”
Foliage has already started to change in the northernmost Western states and in the Midwest, and some regions will already be past their prime by Oct. 4. The publication predicts much of New England and the Pacific Northwest will be at or near peak fall color by Oct. 11.
Best places to see fall foliage
New England and upstate New York
For travelers on the East Coast, the foliage in many of New England‘s most popular leaf-peeping states, including Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, has already started to turn and will hit its peak in the second week of October.
However, in coastal regions peak fall foliage will come later, like in Maine’s Acadia National Park, where it’s predicted to fall this year from Oct. 21-27, per local news reports. However, if you don’t get there during that time frame, you can still expect some bright hues to linger among leaves that are turning brown. While you’re there to see the leaves, you could also make time to see the sunrise as it first hits the U.S. from the 1,530-foot summit of Cadillac Mountain.
Vermont and New Hampshire are also great destinations for hiking, leaf peeping, apple picking and snacking on cider doughnuts. Don’t forget about the fall foliage in the Berkshires, a mountainous region in western Massachusetts easily reachable from New York City and Boston. Mid-October is also one of the best times of year to see the fall foliage in the Adirondack Mountains in New York, where visitors can benefit from one of the longest and more predictable leaf-peeping seasons.
Related: A long way from Sandals: My first all-inclusive experience at a super-luxe upstate New York resort
West
Typically, leaves begin to change color in northwest Colorado, Wyoming and Montana in late September, with the cottonwood and aspen trees in Grand Teton National Park turning gold. While fall begins early in this region, it won’t generally peak until October.
This year, Colorado’s fall foliage season will peak by early October in the regions just west of Denver (including Aspen, Vail and Steamboat Springs), and the peak will shift east in the following weeks.
Utah’s national parks — including Arches, Zion and Bryce Canyon — may be best known for their sandstone cliffs and gravity-defying arches. Still, they’re also great places to enjoy the fall foliage of canyon maple, scrub oak, evergreens and other trees by late October to early November. Plus, the autumnal light illuminates the red rocks spectacularly.
On the West Coast, the area surrounding Portland, Oregon, is renowned for its scenery, and Oregon’s wild landscapes explode with bursts of color at every turn. This year, Portland is expected to begin peaking in mid-October. Take a steamboat ride and admire the changing leaves from the river, or get in your car and drive the Columbia River Highway — a stretch of interstate designed specifically for its scenic vistas.
Midwest
Consider Kansas and parts of Missouri, such as Lake of the Ozarks, in your leaf-peeping plans this year, too. The maple, oak, hickory and ash trees along the 1,150 miles of the lake’s shoreline will be a riot of painterly hues by Nov. 1. However, the American smoke tree, which turns an almost electric shade of pink, tends to peak much earlier.
Alternatively, take a scenic drive through the country roads that wind through the rugged forests of the Ozark Mountains for even more awe-inspiring views.
Related: 5 stunning fall foliage road trips in the Midwest
South
Travelers can also head to the southern edges of Arizona and New Mexico for late-season fall foliage, which should peak by mid-November this year. Fall foliage is also possible farther south in Texas.
In the southwestern corner of Texas, Big Bend National Park is home to the nation’s largest protected area of the Chihuahuan Desert. November is a great month to camp, hike and backpack. Check out the Chimneys Trail, which winds through desert grassland, and the Santa Elena Canyon Trail, which snakes along the Rio Grande.
Another great place to see fall foliage in Texas in November is Guadalupe Mountains National Park, where bigtooth maple trees erupt in a panoply of color across the McKittrick and Pine canyons.
Or, if you want to go a little farther south, consider a trip to Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana. The area has more than 600,000 acres of woodland, and most of the state is generally at its peak from mid-to-late November.
Bottom line
Though fall foliage maps and tools can’t make any guarantees, they are useful guides to determine where and when you should plan your fall foliage trips this year. This is especially true for the maps that update based on real-world user data that’s gathered as the season unfolds.
Over the next two weeks into October, it’ll be prime leaf-peeping weeks for areas in the North and high-altitude destinations. By November, much of the country is usually past its peak.
However, pockets of the U.S. still showcase beautiful foliage throughout the season, and travelers can look forward to seeing splashes of color in some destinations later in the year than is typical. See The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the Smoky Mountains fall foliage prediction map for estimated peak dates across the country in 2024.
Remember, any weather changes over the next few weeks could adjust the predicted peak timing for any of these places, so be sure to be as flexible as possible with your plans.
Related reading:
- Top 15 destinations in the world to see beautiful fall foliage without the crowds
- 10 best college towns in America for football, fall foliage and fun
- 9 cool hotels for leaf peeping, from Central Park to the Rocky Mountains
- 10 scenic train rides that are perfect for US leaf peeping
- 13 European cities that are best experienced in the fall
- 10 best fall destinations in Europe perfect for families
