Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Nov 19 in most of Florida, but it moves 13 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Florida fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in Florida in 2026?
Most of Florida peaks between Nov 17 and Nov 26: the north first, around Nov 18, and the south last, around Nov 25. The first county to peak is Okaloosa County, around Nov 17, and the last is Monroe County, around Nov 30.
Latitude does most of the work here: color moves south at about two days per degree, so the north of the state turns a week or more ahead of the south. This fall is running 1 day late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
| Week | Where it peaks | Most of the state |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 16 to Nov 22 | Apalachicola National Forest, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Ocala National Forest and 46 counties | Peak color |
| Nov 23 to Nov 29 | Everglades National Park, Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness Area, Big Cypress National Preserve and 20 counties | Just past peak |
| Nov 30 to Dec 6 | Monroe County | Just past peak |
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.
1 of 67 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 1 report from official state sources have moved those dates off the model and narrowed their windows. Counties with neither keep the model forecast and say so. Which is which is marked in the table below.
Late November through December in the Panhandle, spotty elsewhere is how Florida is usually described.
Florida’s season place by place
The 24 places closest to their peak in Florida, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Gulf Islands National Seashore, Nov 15. Last: Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, Nov 20.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Nov 18. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Florida
The destinations we cover in Florida, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- PeakPeak Nov 15 best Nov 14 to 17
- Okefenokee National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 17, sweetgum Nov 25 best Nov 16 to 19
- Silver Lake Recreation AreaPeakPeak Nov 17, sweetgum Nov 25 best Nov 16 to 19
- Lost Lake Recreation AreaPeakPeak Nov 17, sweetgum Nov 24 best Nov 16 to 19
- Fort Matanzas National MonumentPeakPeak Nov 17 best Nov 16 to 19
- Trout Pond Recreation AreaPeakPeak Nov 17, sweetgum Nov 24 best Nov 16 to 19
- PeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 17 to 20
- PeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 17 to 20
- St. Marks National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 17 to 20
- Bradwell Bay WildernessPeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 27 best Nov 17 to 20
- St. Marks WildernessPeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 17 to 20
- Timucuan Ecological and Historic PreservePeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 17 to 20
- Big Gum Swamp WildernessPeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 17 to 20
- Mud Swamp/New River WildernessPeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 17 to 20
- Wright Lake Recreation AreaPeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 17 to 20
- Cedar Keys WildernessPeakPeak Nov 18 best Nov 17 to 20
- Morrison Hammock Scenic AreaPeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 17 to 20
- PeakPeak Nov 19, sweetgum Nov 27 best Nov 18 to 21
- Juniper Prairie WildernessPeakPeak Nov 19, sweetgum Nov 27 best Nov 18 to 21
- St. Vincent National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 19, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 18 to 21
- Little Lake George WildernessPeakPeak Nov 19, sweetgum Nov 27 best Nov 18 to 21
- Cedar Keys National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 19 best Nov 18 to 21
- Fort Caroline National MemorialPeakPeak Nov 19, sweetgum Nov 27 best Nov 18 to 21
- Lower Suwannee National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 20, sweetgum Nov 28 best Nov 19 to 22
Also forecast in FloridaBiscayne National ParkCanaveral National SeashoreDry Tortugas National ParkEverglades National ParkEverglades National Park Expansion
Questions people ask about Florida fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in Florida?
Most of Florida peaks between Nov 17 and Nov 26: the north first, around Nov 18, and the south last, around Nov 25. The first county to peak is Okaloosa County, around Nov 17, and the last is Monroe County, around Nov 30. This fall is running 1 day late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall foliage in Florida right now?
Nothing we cover in Florida is at peak yet on Nov 10, but Gulf Islands National Seashore, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Silver Lake Recreation Area and three more are within a week of it. Apalachicola National Forest follows around Nov 18.
- How long does peak last in Florida?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Florida as a whole, peak moves 13 days from Okaloosa County to Monroe County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 17 days.
- Is Florida past peak?
No. As of Nov 10, no county in Florida is past peak. Most of the state peaks between Nov 17 and Nov 26.
- How far along is Florida's fall foliage today?
On Nov 10, no county in Florida is at peak yet: 67 of Florida's 67 counties (100 percent) are turning. The county map above paints each one, and the live map lets you scrub the day.
- When do the leaves change in Florida?
The first color shows in Okaloosa County around Oct 27 and peaks there around Nov 17. Monroe County is the last of Florida's 67 counties, peaking around Nov 30. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Nov 19.
- What's the best time to visit Florida for fall foliage?
The week of Nov 19 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Nov 18 to 21. That's the leaf peeping window for Florida as a whole. For Okaloosa County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Nov 17; for Monroe County and its neighbors, the week of Nov 30.
What actually turns
Bald cypresses turn russet and copper along the rivers, sweetgums provide scattered red and purple, and the maples in the Panhandle produce pockets of real color.
- Sweetgum
- Red Maple
- Bald Cypress
- Hickory
- Dogwood
Torreya State Park in the Panhandle, on the bluffs above the Apalachicola River, is the only place in Florida that feels like a real Appalachian fall.
Every county by peak week
Bay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Madison, Okaloosa, Walton, Washington
Alachua corrected, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Liberty, Marion, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Wakulla
Broward, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Palm Beach, Sarasota
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.