Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
Weather Hard frost Tuesday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Yellowstone National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Yellowstone National Park around 27 Sep, and the four days to aim for are 26 to 29 Sep.
The park runs from about 6,585 to 9,371 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 19 days: the high stands around Sep 9, the low ground around Sep 28. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 24 to Aug 30 | Still green | |
| Aug 31 to Sep 6 | Starting to turn | |
| Sep 7 to Sep 13 | Starting to turn | 9,000 to 10,000 ft |
| Sep 14 to Sep 20 | Nearly peak | 7,000 to 8,000 ft, 8,000 to 9,000 ft |
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Peak color | |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 this week | Peak color | 6,000 to 7,000 ft |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Just past peak |
- 9,000–10,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 912%
- 8,000–9,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 1542%
- 7,000–8,000 ftJust past peakpeak Sep 2035%
- 6,000–7,000 ftPeak colorpeak Sep 2811%
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
The first national park on earth sits on top of one of the largest active supervolcanoes on the planet, which is exactly the kind of decision you would expect from 1872. Over 10,000 geothermal features, hot springs, geysers, fumaroles, and mud pots, all powered by a magma chamber that starts about 5 miles below your feet. Yellowstone is the place where the ground itself is alive and actively reminding you of that fact.
Established 1872. About 4.9 million/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.
Saturday 26 September to Sunday 27 September
You’ll find it fading up high, peak color lower down.
Up at 9,000 feet the stands peak around Sep 9; down at 7,000 feet they hold on until about Sep 28. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 9,000–10,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 9
- 8,000–9,000 ftJust past peakpeak Sep 15
- 7,000–8,000 ftJust past peakpeak Sep 20
- 6,000–7,000 ftPeak colorpeak Sep 28
- Where to drive
- Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WY 296), about 53 miles · Teton Park Road, about 59 miles · Beartooth Highway (US 212), about 63 miles
- What turns
- narrowleaf cottonwood, quaking aspen, willow, water birch, thinleaf alder
- Entrance
- $35
What turns, and when
- narrowleaf cottonwood33%
- quaking aspen26%
- willow22%
- water birch11%
- thinleaf alder8%
Every one of these turns yellow or gold here. The shades only tell the species apart.
Also named across Wyoming, outside what the canopy read measures here: Rocky Mountain Maple.
The Tetons rising above the golden cottonwoods of the Snake River flats is one of the most famous fall landscapes in the American West, and the aspen groves at elevation add hillsides of gold.
Questions people ask about Yellowstone National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Yellowstone National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Yellowstone National Park around 27 Sep, and the four days to aim for are 26 to 29 Sep.
- Where is the best fall color at Yellowstone National Park right now?
On Sep 28 the park is peak color. By elevation, the color is at peak at 6,000 to 7,000 feet.
- How long does peak last at Yellowstone National Park?
About four days at the top, 26 to 29 Sep, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 19 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 23 days.
- Is Yellowstone National Park past peak?
No. It's at peak now, on Sep 28, and the four days to aim for are 26 to 29 Sep.
- What trees turn color at Yellowstone National Park?
Quaking Aspen, Narrowleaf Cottonwood, Rocky Mountain Maple, Water Birch, Willow. The Tetons rising above the golden cottonwoods of the Snake River flats is one of the most famous fall landscapes in the American West, and the aspen groves at elevation add hillsides of gold.
- Is there an entrance fee at Yellowstone National Park?
Entrance fee $35.
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