National Park·California·77,974 acres
Redwood National Park
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Fremont cottonwood and white alder
bigleaf maple and vine maple, peak Nov 15
Peak color should arrive around Oct 23 for the Fremont cottonwood and white alder, and around Nov 15 for the bigleaf maple and vine maple.
Roadsides and wetland edges turn first, and the woods behind them run a few days later.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Redwood National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Redwood National Park around Oct 26, and the four days to aim for are Oct 25 to 28. bigleaf maple and vine maple peak later, around Nov 15.
That's 7 days later than our model alone would say, because this season's reports from the ground moved it.
| Week | In the park | Elevation at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Starting to turn | |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Nearly peak | |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Peak color | 0 to 500 ft, 500 to 1,000 ft, 1,000 to 1,500 ft, 1,500 to 2,000 ft, 2,000 to 2,500 ft |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Peak color | |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Just past peak |
- 2,000–2,500 ftFadingpeak Oct 2510%
- 1,500–2,000 ftFadingpeak Oct 2122%
- 1,000–1,500 ftFadingpeak Oct 2227%
- 500–1,000 ftFadingpeak Oct 2425%
- 0–500 ftFadingpeak Oct 2516%
Height off 3DEP inside the park’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the park stands in it.
That’s 7 days later than our model alone would say. This season’s reports from the ground moved it, and they outrank us.
The place
The tallest living things on earth grow along 40 miles of Northern California coast, and standing at the base of a 350-foot redwood does something to your sense of scale that never fully resets. These groves hold 45 percent of all remaining old-growth redwood forest. The trees were here before Rome. Some of them are still growing.
Established 1968. About 605K/year visitors.
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.
Sunday, October 25 to Monday, October 26
You’ll find it peak color.
That's the day our forecast puts peak color here.
- 2,000–2,500 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 25
- 1,500–2,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 21
- 1,000–1,500 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 22
- 500–1,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 24
- 0–500 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 25
- What turns
- Fremont cottonwood, white alder, willow, California black oak, bigleaf maple
- Entrance
- No entrance fee
What turns, and when
- Fremont cottonwood28%
- white alder18%
- willow18%
- California black oak13%
- bigleaf maple10%
- blue oak6%
Also named across California, outside what the canopy read measures here: Quaking Aspen.
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 Redwood National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Redwood National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Redwood National Park around Oct 26, and the four days to aim for are Oct 25 to 28. bigleaf maple and vine maple peak later, around Nov 15.
- Where is the best fall color at Redwood National Park right now?
On Nov 10 the park is fading. The last band to peak was 0 to 500 feet, around Oct 25.
- How long does peak last at Redwood National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 25 to 28, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive.
- Is Redwood National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 26, and on Nov 10 it's fading.
- What trees turn color at Redwood National Park?
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.
- Is there an entrance fee at Redwood National Park?
Entrance fee Free.
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
Smith River and Klamath and Shasta-Trinity and Rogue River-Siskiyou are on the map above, with their own date.
- Peak Oct 17 best Oct 16 to 19
- Peak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4