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Wilderness Area·Colorado·66,128 acres

Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area

Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET

Peak colorOct 13Aim for Oct 12 to 15
In the wilderness today, Nov 10Leaves down
SepOctNov

Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.

No new reports from the ground here this week.

I-70US 6Orchard MesaMontroseOrchard CityPalisadeOlatheCedaredgeLomaPaoniaGunnison Gorge National Conservation Areapeak Oct 24Black Canyon of the Gunnisonpeak Oct 17Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnisonpeak Oct 4West Elk Wildernesspeak Oct 3Archespeak Oct 30Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area
I-70US 6Orchard MesaOlatheLomaGrand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnisonpeak Oct 4Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area
Still greenStartingNearly peakPeakPast peakNo fall canopy we forecastInside the line, each band of elevation is painted on its own date.
Around Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area Mesa County holds most of the wilderness and is leaves down today. Delta County, to the northeast, is 1 day ahead.
Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area fall foliage map 2026: the place and the counties around it painted by how far along their color is on Nov 10. Peak forecast around Oct 13, best Oct 12 to 15.
Save or share this mapToday’s Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area fall foliage map as a picture, redrawn every morning. Free to reuse with credit to More Than Just Parks and a link back; the terms.Save the mapPin itFacebookXEmail

When is peak fall foliage at Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area in 2026?

Our forecast puts peak color at Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area around Oct 13, and the four days to aim for are Oct 12 to 15.

The wilderness runs from about 4,958 to 7,685 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 17 days: the high stands around Oct 4, the low ground around Oct 21. That's 2 days earlier than our model alone would say, because this season's reports from the ground moved it.

Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area, fall color week by week, 2026
WeekIn the wildernessElevation at peak
Sep 14 to Sep 20Still green
Sep 21 to Sep 27Starting to turn
Sep 28 to Oct 4Starting to turn7,000 to 8,000 ft
Oct 5 to Oct 11Nearly peak6,000 to 7,000 ft
Oct 12 to Oct 18Peak color5,000 to 6,000 ft
Oct 19 to Oct 25Just past peak4,000 to 5,000 ft
Oct 26 to Nov 1Fading
By elevation The wilderness runs from about 4,958 to 7,685 feet. That’s 17 days of season between the top and the bottom: the high stands peak around Oct 4, the low ground holds until about Oct 21, and the color comes downhill in between. The date at the top of this page is the 5,000 to 6,000 foot band.
  1. 7,000–8,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 421%
  2. 6,000–7,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1042%
  3. 5,000–6,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1631%
  4. 4,000–5,000 ftFadingpeak Oct 216%

Height off 3DEP inside the wilderness’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the wilderness stands in it.

That’s 2 days earlier than our model alone would say. This season’s reports from the ground moved it, and they outrank us.

Plan this trip

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.

Monday, October 12 to Tuesday, October 13

You’ll find it just past peak up high, nearly peak lower down.

Up at 7,000 feet the stands peak around Oct 4; down at 6,000 feet they hold on until about Oct 16. Pick your elevation for the day you come.

  • 7,000–8,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 4
  • 6,000–7,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 10
  • 5,000–6,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 16
Where to drive
Grand Mesa Scenic Byway (CO 65), about 28 miles · Dallas Divide (CO 62), about 53 miles · Last Dollar Road, about 59 miles
What turns
Gambel oak, quaking aspen, bigtooth maple, serviceberry, narrowleaf cottonwood

What turns, and when

Also named across Colorado, outside what the canopy read measures here: Rocky Mountain Maple, Alder.

Colorado aspens are the main event, turning entire mountainsides gold and amber while Gambel oaks add russet and orange at lower elevations and cottonwoods line the rivers in yellow.

Questions people ask about Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area

When is peak fall foliage at Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area?

Our forecast puts peak color at Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area around Oct 13, and the four days to aim for are Oct 12 to 15.

Where is the best fall color at Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area right now?

On Nov 10 the wilderness is leaves down. The last band to peak was 4,000 to 5,000 feet, around Oct 21.

How long does peak last at Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area?

About four days at the top, Oct 12 to 15, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the wilderness's elevations the color moves over about 17 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 21 days.

Is Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area past peak?

Yes. Peak was around Oct 13, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.

What trees turn color at Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area?

Quaking Aspen, Narrowleaf Cottonwood, Gambel Oak, Rocky Mountain Maple, Alder. Colorado aspens are the main event, turning entire mountainsides gold and amber while Gambel oaks add russet and orange at lower elevations and cottonwoods line the rivers in 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

All of Colorado

Nearby, and when they turn

Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area and Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison and West Elk Wilderness are on the map above, with their own date.

  1. Curecanti National Recreation AreaCO · about 54 miles
    Peak Oct 8 best Oct 7 to 10
  2. Mount Sneffels WildernessCO · about 59 miles
    Peak Sep 29 best Sep 28 to Oct 1

Fall color roads near Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area

Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the wilderness, so allow more by road.

  • Grand Mesa Scenic Byway (CO 65) · about 28 miles, CO · 55 miles of road

    Cedaredge up and over Grand Mesa, aspen around the lakes on top.

  • Dallas Divide (CO 62) · about 53 miles, CO · 24 miles of road

    Ridgway to Placerville. The Sneffels Range over a hillside of aspen at the divide, the most photographed fall view in Colorado.

  • Last Dollar Road · about 59 miles, CO · 18 miles of road

    Telluride to Ridgway on gravel through the aspen under the Sneffels Range.

  • Owl Creek Pass · about 60 miles, CO · 25 miles of road

    Ridgway to Silver Jack Reservoir on gravel, aspen under Chimney Rock and Courthouse Mountain.

  • McClure Pass (CO 133) · about 65 miles, CO · 37 miles of road

    Carbondale to Paonia through the Crystal River aspen, with Chair Mountain over the pass.

  • Million Dollar Highway (US 550) · about 70 miles, CO · 25 miles of road

    Between Silverton and Ouray. The aspen-covered slopes above the road at Red Mountain Pass are among the most photographed fall scenes in America.