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Forecast issued 25 Sep, 5:21pm ET

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Ponderosa at sunset in the Frank Church.

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Idaho Fall Foliage Map 2026

Forecast issued 25 Sep, 5:21pm ET

Photograph: More Than Just Parks

Peak color lands around Oct 2 in most of Idaho, but it moves 29 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.

Idaho’s season, place by place

The 24 places closest to their peak in Idaho, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Sep 25.

First: Salmon-Challis National Forest, Sep 19. Last: Lick Creek Recreation Area, Oct 2.

The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Sep 27. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.

The county map today

Frank Church-River of No Return WildernessYellowstoneKootenaiNez Perce-Clearwater National ForestsSawtoothSawtooth WildernessJim McClure-Jerry Peak Wilderness AreaCecil D. Andrus-White Clouds WildernessGalena Ski Area
Idaho, Sep 25 Still green to peak to past peak, the map’s own scale. Open the live map to scrub the day.

Where to go in Idaho

The destinations we cover in Idaho, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.

  1. Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National ForestIdaho, Utah, Wyoming
    PeakPeak 22 Sep best 21 to 24 Sep
  2. Frank Church-River of No Return WildernessIdaho
    PeakPeak 25 Sep best 24 to 27 Sep
  3. Yellowstone National ParkIdaho, Montana, Wyoming
    PeakPeak 25 Sep best 24 to 27 Sep
  4. Kootenai National Wildlife RefugeIdaho
    PeakPeak 25 Sep best 24 to 27 Sep
  5. Nez Perce-Clearwater National ForestsIdaho
    PeakPeak 26 Sep best 25 to 28 Sep
  6. Sawtooth National Recreation AreaIdaho
    PeakPeak 26 Sep best 25 to 28 Sep
  7. Sawtooth WildernessIdaho
    PeakPeak 27 Sep best 26 to 29 Sep
  8. Jim McClure-Jerry Peak Wilderness AreaIdaho
    PeakPeak 27 Sep best 26 to 29 Sep
  9. Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds WildernessIdaho
    PeakPeak 27 Sep best 26 to 29 Sep
  10. Galena Ski AreaIdaho
    PeakPeak 28 Sep best 27 to 30 Sep
  11. Bitterroot National ForestIdaho, Montana
    PeakPeak 29 Sep best 28 Sep to 1 Oct
  12. Pomerelle Ski AreaIdaho
    PeakPeak 29 Sep best 28 Sep to 1 Oct
  13. Lolo National ForestIdaho, Montana
    PeakPeak 30 Sep best 29 Sep to 2 Oct
  14. Grays Lake National Wildlife RefugeIdaho
    PeakPeak 1 Oct best 30 Sep to 3 Oct
  15. Upper Priest Lake Scenic AreaIdaho
    PeakPeak 1 Oct, larch 15 Oct best 30 Sep to 3 Oct
  16. Salmon-Challis National ForestIdaho, Montana
    Near peakPeak 19 Sep best 18 to 21 Sep
  17. Beaverhead-Deerlodge National ForestIdaho, Montana
    Near peakPeak 19 Sep best 18 to 21 Sep
  18. Jim McClure-Jerry Peak WildernessIdaho
    Near peakPeak 21 Sep best 20 to 23 Sep
  19. Hemingway-Boulders WildernessIdaho
    Near peakPeak 21 Sep best 20 to 23 Sep
  20. Idaho Panhandle National ForestsIdaho, Montana, Washington
    Near peakPeak 2 Oct, larch 16 Oct best 1 to 4 Oct
  21. Caribou-Targhee National ForestIdaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming
    Near peakPeak 2 Oct best 1 to 4 Oct
  22. Gospel-Hump WildernessIdaho
    Near peakPeak 2 Oct best 1 to 4 Oct
  23. Nez Perce National Historical ParkIdaho, Washington
    Near peakPeak 2 Oct, alder 10 Oct best 1 to 4 Oct
  24. Lick Creek Recreation AreaIdaho
    Near peakPeak 2 Oct best 1 to 4 Oct

Also forecast in IdahoBear Lake National Wildlife RefugeBoise National ForestHells Canyon National Recreation AreaKootenai National ForestPayette National ForestSawtooth National ForestWallowa-Whitman National Forest

When to go

Across 44 counties, peak color is forecast to arrive first in Custer County around Sep 24 and last in Gooding County around Oct 23. Most of the state peaks near Oct 2.

Each date is the middle of the four days we’d aim a trip at, and each place page names them. We publish what the model got wrong, region by region.

1 of 44 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 September in the mountains, mid-October in the valleys, late October for larches is how Idaho is usually described.

What actually turns

Aspens turn gold on the mountainsides, cottonwoods line the river corridors in yellow, and western larches in the northern panhandle go deep amber before dropping their needles.

  • Quaking Aspen
  • Black Cottonwood
  • Western Larch
  • Rocky Mountain Maple
  • Water Birch

The Teton Scenic Byway (Route 33) on the west side of the Tetons is less famous than the Wyoming side but produces aspen color that is every bit as good.

Every county, by peak week

Elevation does most of the work here. Color runs down a mountain at roughly a day per 100 meters, so a ridge and the valley below it can be a week or two apart in the same county.

Sep 24 to Sep 29

Bear Lake, Bingham, Blaine, Bonneville, Butte, Camas, Caribou, Cassia, Clark, Custer, Fremont, Idaho, Jefferson, Lemhi, Owyhee, Teton, Valley

Sep 30 to Oct 6

Bannock corrected, Boise, Bonner, Boundary, Elmore, Franklin, Kootenai, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Power, Shoshone, Twin Falls, Washington

Oct 7 to Oct 12

Adams, Benewah, Canyon, Clearwater, Latah, Nez Perce

Oct 14 to Oct 20

Ada, Gem, Lincoln, Minidoka, Payette

Oct 21 to Oct 23

Gooding, Jerome

How this map is madeThe trees, the elevation, this September’s weather and reports from the ground, scored against 68 forest cameras. Median error 6 days.

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