Planning a leaf-peeping trip to coincide perfectly with peak fall colors is a difficult task. If you go too early, you’ll see more green than orange and red. Too late? You risk being greeted by a forest full of brown leaves.
To help avoid these disappointing scenarios, SmokyMountains.com just released its 2024 fall foliage prediction map, which uses historical data and forecast information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to predict the timing of peak fall foliage for the continental United States each year.
The National Weather Service is forecasting above-average temperatures this fall from coast to coast, potentially delaying foliage season across the country, so it will be especially important to plan ahead if you want to catch the changing colors.
While no weather prediction tool can be 100 percent accurate, this interactive fall color map shows you the best opportunities for when and where leaves will be near peak, at peak, and past peak in 2024, as you move the slider at the bottom of the map between weeks throughout the season. So go ahead and use this online tool to schedule your fall road trip, whether you plan on seeing the sugar maples turn red in Tennessee or the aspens go for gold in Colorado.
When will fall foliage peak this year?
Late September is when leaves begin to hit peak colors in some states.
Courtesy of SmokyMountains.com
By September 30, 2024, the map shows that parts of Colorado, Utah, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Washington, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula will be at peak fall foliage, which is about the same as last year’s peak timing in those parts of the country.
By October 7, much of the rest of Michigan, New York, and Connecticut, along with all of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, will peak. But by October 14, the leaves in many parts of those prime leaf-peeping states will be past their peak—a reminder that timing is everything.
Much of New England will be at or near peak fall color by early October 2024.
Courtesy of SmokyMountains.com
If you’re looking for the best time to grab your weekender bag and see peak fall foliage in New York’s Hudson River Valley or Catskill Mountains, you’ll want to schedule your trip upstate for the week of October 14, when the map says the lower half of the state will reach its peak fall color. Check out the Eastwind, Oliverea Valley in the Catskills and Wildflower Farms Resort in the Hudson Valley for unique stays with rooms that have great views for leaf-peeping. For those hoping to rent a Blue Ridge Mountains cabin during the peak foliage window in western North Carolina and Virginia, it looks like the weeks of October 14 and 21 are your best bet, according to the map.
Going leaf-peeping in California wine country? The week of October 28 is when the fall colors should be at or near peak in Sonoma County, timed perfectly to the fall harvest season. And some of the best hotels in the area, including Montage Healdsburg, the Lodge at Sonoma, and Harmon Guest House, still have availability that week.
To see when the fall foliage near you (or your favorite autumn destination) will change this year, visit the map at SmokyMountains.com.
This article originally appeared online in 2018; it was most recently updated on September 4, 2024, to include current information.
