National Forest·California·1,679,907 acres
Modoc National Forest
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
Weather Hard frost Saturday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Modoc National Forest in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Modoc National Forest around Oct 10, and the four days to aim for are Oct 9 to 12.
The forest runs from about 4,193 to 7,007 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 20 days: the high stands around Sep 27, the low ground around Oct 17.
| Week | In the forest | Elevation at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 7 to Sep 13 | Still green | |
| Sep 14 to Sep 20 | Starting to turn | |
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Starting to turn | 7,000 to 8,000 ft |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Nearly peak | |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Peak color | 6,000 to 7,000 ft |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Peak color | 4,000 to 5,000 ft, 5,000 to 6,000 ft |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Just past peak | |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Fading |
- 7,000–8,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 275%
- 6,000–7,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 512%
- 5,000–6,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1236%
- 4,000–5,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1748%
Height off 3DEP inside the forest’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the forest stands in it.
If you can only come on certain days
Set the days you can be here. Everything under them answers for those days, not for peak.
Friday, October 9 to Saturday, October 10
You’ll find it just past peak up high, nearly peak lower down.
Up at 6,000 feet the stands peak around Oct 5; down at 5,000 feet they hold on until about Oct 17. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 6,000–7,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 5
- 5,000–6,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 12
- 4,000–5,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 17
- What turns
- black cottonwood, bigleaf maple, red alder, willow, quaking aspen
What turns, and when
- black cottonwood23%
- bigleaf maple22%
- red alder17%
- willow12%
- quaking aspen11%
- vine maple10%
Also named across California, outside what the canopy read measures here: Black Oak, Fremont Cottonwood, White Alder.
Eastern Sierra aspens turn brilliant gold against granite walls, black oaks in Yosemite Valley go bronze and russet, and cottonwoods line the desert creeks in pale yellow.
Questions people ask about Modoc National Forest
- When is peak fall foliage at Modoc National Forest?
Our forecast puts peak color at Modoc National Forest around Oct 10, and the four days to aim for are Oct 9 to 12.
- Where is the best fall color at Modoc National Forest right now?
On Nov 10 the forest is leaves down. The last band to peak was 4,000 to 5,000 feet, around Oct 17.
- How long does peak last at Modoc National Forest?
About four days at the top, Oct 9 to 12, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the forest's elevations the color moves over about 20 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 24 days.
- Is Modoc National Forest past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 10, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.
- What trees turn color at Modoc National Forest?
Quaking Aspen, Black Oak, Bigleaf Maple, Fremont Cottonwood, White Alder. Eastern Sierra aspens turn brilliant gold against granite walls, black oaks in Yosemite Valley go bronze and russet, and cottonwoods line the desert creeks in pale yellow.
This forecast is built from the species that stand here, their elevation and this September’s weather, and corrected in season by cameras, foresters and our own crew. Out here we score it against NASA's satellite record of when the canopy shuts down, read inside each unit’s own boundary: two dates in three land within 12 days of it. How this map is made
Nearby, and when they turn
Fremont-Winema and Whiskeytown Shasta-Trinity and Shasta-Trinity and Klamath are on the map above, with their own date.
- Peak Oct 20 best Oct 19 to 22
- Peak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14