National Park·Colorado·53,445 acres
Mesa Verde National Park
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Photograph: More Than Just Parks
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.
When is peak fall foliage at Mesa Verde National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Mesa Verde National Park around Oct 21, and the four days to aim for are Oct 20 to 23.
The park runs from about 6,404 to 8,067 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 12 days: the high stands around Oct 8, the low ground around Oct 20. That's 3 days later than our model alone would say, because this September has been running warm.
| Week | In the park | Elevation at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Still green | |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Starting to turn | |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Starting to turn | 7,500 to 8,000 ft, 8,000 to 8,500 ft |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Nearly peak | 6,500 to 7,000 ft, 7,000 to 7,500 ft |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Peak color | 6,000 to 6,500 ft |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Just past peak |
- 8,000–8,500 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 87%
- 7,500–8,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1026%
- 7,000–7,500 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1332%
- 6,500–7,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1627%
- 6,000–6,500 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 207%
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 3 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
The place
Mesa Verde was the first national park created to protect human achievement rather than natural scenery. Ancestral Puebloans built over 600 cliff dwellings into the sandstone alcoves here between 600 and 1300 AD, then left. The park preserves more than 5,000 archaeological sites across 52,485 acres of southwestern Colorado mesa top.
Established 1906. About 540,000/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.
Tuesday, October 20 to Wednesday, October 21
You’ll find it peak color.
That's the day our forecast puts peak color here.
- 7,500–8,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 10
- 7,000–7,500 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 13
- 6,500–7,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 16
- Where to drive
- Last Dollar Road, about 61 miles · Million Dollar Highway (US 550), about 62 miles · Dallas Divide (CO 62), about 67 miles
- What turns
- Gambel oak, bigtooth maple, serviceberry, quaking aspen
- Entrance
- $30
What turns, and when
- Gambel oak57%
- bigtooth maple19%
- serviceberry19%
- quaking aspen4%
Also named across Colorado, outside what the canopy read measures here: Narrowleaf Cottonwood, 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 Mesa Verde National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Mesa Verde National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Mesa Verde National Park around Oct 21, and the four days to aim for are Oct 20 to 23.
- Where is the best fall color at Mesa Verde National Park right now?
On Nov 10 the park is fading. The last band to peak was 6,000 to 6,500 feet, around Oct 20.
- How long does peak last at Mesa Verde National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 20 to 23, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 12 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 16 days.
- Is Mesa Verde National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 21, and on Nov 10 it's fading.
- What trees turn color at Mesa Verde National Park?
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.
- Is there an entrance fee at Mesa Verde National Park?
Entrance fee $30.
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
San Juan and Weminuche Wilderness are on the map above, with their own date.
- Peak Sep 29 best Sep 28 to Oct 1
- Peak Oct 3 best Oct 2 to 5
- Peak Sep 29 best Sep 28 to Oct 1
- Peak Sep 21 best Sep 20 to 23
Fall color roads near Mesa Verde National Park
Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the park, so allow more by road.
- Last Dollar Road
Telluride to Ridgway on gravel through the aspen under the Sneffels Range.
- Million Dollar Highway (US 550)
Between Silverton and Ouray. The aspen-covered slopes above the road at Red Mountain Pass are among the most photographed fall scenes in America.
- Dallas Divide (CO 62)
Ridgway to Placerville. The Sneffels Range over a hillside of aspen at the divide, the most photographed fall view in Colorado.
- Owl Creek Pass
Ridgway to Silver Jack Reservoir on gravel, aspen under Chimney Rock and Courthouse Mountain.
- Wolf Creek Pass (US 160)
South Fork to Pagosa Springs, aspen on the west side of the pass.
- Cumbres and La Manga passes (CO 17)
Antonito to Chama through the Conejos aspen, with the narrow-gauge train doing the same route.