Peak color doesn't happen all at once. It starts in the far north and works its way down, roughly a few hundred miles a week, which means the window in any one place is about two weeks long and easy to miss.
Here's the rough timing if you're planning a trip to see this year's fall colors:
🍁 Late September: Northern Maine, the Adirondacks, Upper Michigan, the northern Rockies. The earliest color, and usually the quietest crowds.
🍁 Early to mid October: New England, the Catskills, most of the Great Lakes, Colorado's high country. The classic window, and the busiest.
🍁 Mid to late October: The Blue Ridge and Smokies, the Ozarks, the Hudson Valley, most of the mid-Atlantic. Later, longer, and often the most dramatic.
🍁 Late October into November: The Deep South, Texas Hill Country, coastal California. The last of it.
⛰️ Elevation matters as much as latitude. A mountain road can go from green at the bottom to bare at the top in one afternoon, which is part of why fall trips film so well. You get the whole season in a single drive.
If you're heading out this year, the footage is worth getting. And when you're back, it's worth finishing.
