Peak color lands around Nov 8 in most of Arkansas, but it moves 11 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Arkansas fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in Arkansas in 2026?
Most of Arkansas peaks between Nov 4 and Nov 13: the high country first, around Nov 5, and the low ground last, around Nov 12. The first county to peak is Washington County, around Nov 3, and the last is Union County, around Nov 14.
Elevation does most of the work here. Color runs down a mountain at roughly a day per 100 meters, so a ridge and the valley below it can be a week or two apart in the same county. This fall is running 6 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
| Week | Where it peaks | Most of the state |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Ouachita National Forest, Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge and 38 counties | Peak color |
| Nov 9 to Nov 15 this week | Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge, Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, Cache River National Wildlife Refuge and 37 counties | Peak color |
Each date is the middle of the four days we’d aim a trip at, and each place page names them. We score the model against 7 long-running forest monitoring sites in this part of the country and publish what it got wrong.
Mid-October through early November, with the Boston Mountains coloring first is how Arkansas is usually described.
Arkansas’s season place by place
The 24 places closest to their peak in Arkansas, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Upper Buffalo Wilderness, Nov 2. Last: Overflow National Wildlife Refuge, Nov 14.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Nov 7. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
From the ground in Arkansas
What readers standing under the trees sent in, read by the desk before it was shown. The map calls the color; people settle it.
First color at Crawford County, seen Nov 9
Standing in Arkansas? Open the map, tap your county and tell us what the trees are doing.
Where to go in Arkansas
The destinations we cover in Arkansas, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 11 best Nov 10 to 13
- Pond Creek National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 11 best Nov 10 to 13
- Arkansas Post National MemorialPeakPeak Nov 12 best Nov 11 to 14
- Felsenthal National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 14 best Nov 13 to 16
- Overflow National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 14 best Nov 13 to 16
- Ouachita National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Caney Creek WildernessNear peakPeak Nov 7, oak Nov 9 best Nov 6 to 9
- Poteau Mountain WildernessNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Big Lake National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Flatside WildernessNear peakPeak Nov 7, oak Nov 10 best Nov 6 to 9
- Big Lake WildernessNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Near peakPeak Nov 8 best Nov 7 to 10
- Wapanocca National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 8 best Nov 7 to 10
- Cache River National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 9 best Nov 8 to 11
- Bald Knob National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 9 best Nov 8 to 11
- Holla Bend National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 9 best Nov 8 to 11
- Near peakPeak Nov 9, oak Nov 11 best Nov 8 to 11
- Past peakPeak Nov 2, oak Nov 5 best Nov 1 to 4
- Pea Ridge National Military ParkPast peakPeak Nov 2, oak Nov 5 best Nov 1 to 4
- Past peakPeak Nov 3, oak Nov 6 best Nov 2 to 5
- Past peakPeak Nov 4, oak Nov 7 best Nov 3 to 6
- Past peakPeak Nov 4, oak Nov 7 best Nov 3 to 6
- Buffalo National River Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Nov 4, oak Nov 7 best Nov 3 to 6
- Leatherwood WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 4, oak Nov 7 best Nov 3 to 6
Also forecast in ArkansasBlack Fork Mountain WildernessEast Fork WildernessHurricane Creek Wilderness
Questions people ask about Arkansas fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in Arkansas?
Most of Arkansas peaks between Nov 4 and Nov 13: the high country first, around Nov 5, and the low ground last, around Nov 12. The first county to peak is Washington County, around Nov 3, and the last is Union County, around Nov 14. This fall is running 6 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall foliage in Arkansas right now?
As of Nov 10, Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge, Pond Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Arkansas Post National Memorial and 14 more are at peak, with Richland Creek Wilderness, Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, Buffalo National River and two more within a week of it.
- How long does peak last in Arkansas?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Arkansas as a whole, peak moves 11 days from Washington County to Union County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 15 days.
- Is Arkansas past peak?
Not yet for most of it. As of Nov 10, 29 of Arkansas's 75 counties are past peak, 32 are at it and 14 are still ahead.
- How far along is Arkansas's fall foliage today?
On Nov 10, 32 of Arkansas's 75 counties (43 percent) are at peak, 14 (19 percent) are turning and 29 (39 percent) are past peak. The county map above paints each one, and the live map lets you scrub the day.
- When do the leaves change in Arkansas?
The first color shows in Washington County around Oct 13 and peaks there around Nov 3. Union County is the last of Arkansas's 75 counties, peaking around Nov 14. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Nov 8.
- What's the best time to visit Arkansas for fall foliage?
The week of Nov 8 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Nov 7 to 10. That's the leaf peeping window for Arkansas as a whole. For Washington County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Nov 3; for Union County and its neighbors, the week of Nov 14.
What actually turns
The Ozark Mountains produce a warm-toned fall of gold oaks, bronze hickories, crimson blackgums, and the occasional sweetgum burning purple and red along the creek bottoms.
- Red Maple
- White Oak
- Hickory
- Sweetgum
- Blackgum
The Pig Trail (Route 23) through the Ozark National Forest is the most thrilling fall drive in the state, with tight switchbacks through dense hardwood canopy.
Worth the drive
Marion County in the heart of the Arkansas Ozarks contains some of the most rugged terrain in the state, including Bull Shoals Lake and the Buffalo National River's upper reaches. The Ozark hardwood forests of oaks, hickories, and maples drape the limestone bluffs and create a warm, golden fall that peaks in late October. The entire region is dramatically less crowded than its eastern counterparts.
Johnson County contains the Ozark Highlands Trail and the Pig Trail Scenic Byway, two of the most immersive fall experiences in Arkansas. The Pig Trail's tight switchbacks through dense hardwood canopy on Route 23 are thrilling in any season, but in late October when the oaks and maples are at peak, it is one of the best drives in Arkansas. This is the wild, uncrowded heart of the Ozarks.
Every county by peak week
Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton, Washington
Baxter, Clay, Cleburne, Conway, Craighead, Crawford, Crittenden, Cross, Faulkner, Franklin, Fulton, Garland, Greene, Hot Spring, Howard, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Johnson, Lawrence, Lee, Logan, Lonoke, Marion, Mississippi, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pike, Poinsett, Polk, Pope, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sevier, Sharp, St. Francis, Stone, Van Buren, White, Woodruff, Yell
Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Calhoun, Chicot, Clark, Cleveland, Columbia, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Grant, Hempstead, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lincoln, Little River, Miller, Nevada, Ouachita, Phillips, Union
Every date on this site is a forecast: a model corrected by ground reports, carrying a measured error, published in full. Check conditions with the land manager before you travel. Last reviewed September 2026. Open the live map
See it on the map
The live map covers every county in the country, with a timeline you can scrub through the season, the nearest forest monitoring camera, and the long-term record where we hold one. If you’re going this weekend, the weekend report names where color is at peak right now, region by region.
Before you drive, it’s worth checking fire and smoke conditions for the same forests. A perfect color week is no good under a smoke plume.