Peak color lands around Oct 26 in most of Illinois, but it moves 16 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Illinois fall foliage map, week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in Illinois in 2026?
Most of Illinois peaks between Oct 21 and Nov 1: the north first, around Oct 22, and the south last, around Oct 31. The first county to peak is McHenry County, around Oct 18, and the last is Alexander County, around Nov 3.
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 6 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
| Week | Where it peaks | Most of the state |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge and 2 counties | Nearly peak |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge and 42 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge, Great River National Wildlife Refuge, Clarence Cannon National Wildlife Refuge and 48 counties | Peak color |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Shawnee National Forest, Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge and 10 counties | 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 13 long-running forest monitoring sites in this part of the country and publish what it got wrong.
4 of 102 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 25 reports 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.
Early-to-mid October in the north, late October in the Shawnee is how Illinois is usually described.
Illinois’s season, place by place
Every place we forecast in Illinois, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 9.
First: Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, Oct 17. Last: Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Nov 3.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Nov 2. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Illinois
The destinations we cover in Illinois, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish RefugePast peakPeak Oct 17 best Oct 16 to 19
- Hackmatack National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 17, oak Oct 21 best Oct 16 to 19
- Chautauqua National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26
- Emiquon National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 26 best Oct 25 to 28
- Meredosia National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 27 best Oct 26 to 29
- Great River National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 28 best Oct 27 to 30
- Clarence Cannon National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 29 best Oct 28 to 31
- Two Rivers National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 30 best Oct 29 to Nov 1
- Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Nov 1 best Oct 31 to Nov 3
- Panther Den WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 1 best Oct 31 to Nov 3
- Past peakPeak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4
- Crab Orchard National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4
- Lusk Creek WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4
- Bald Knob WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4
- Clear Springs WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4
- Crab Orchard WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4
- Garden of the Gods WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4
- Burden Falls WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4
- Bay Creek WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4
- La Rue-Pine Hills Scenic AreaPast peakPeak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4
- Cypress Creek National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Nov 3 best Nov 2 to 5
Questions people ask about Illinois fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in Illinois?
Most of Illinois peaks between Oct 21 and Nov 1: the north first, around Oct 22, and the south last, around Oct 31. The first county to peak is McHenry County, around Oct 18, and the last is Alexander County, around Nov 3. This fall is running 6 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall foliage in Illinois right now?
Nothing we cover in Illinois is at peak yet on Nov 9, but Shawnee National Forest, Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, Lusk Creek Wilderness and eight more are within a week of it.
- How long does peak last in Illinois?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Illinois as a whole, peak moves 16 days from McHenry County to Alexander County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 20 days.
- Is Illinois past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 9, every one of Illinois's 102 counties is past peak by our forecast. Alexander County was the last, around Nov 3.
- How far along is Illinois's fall foliage today?
On Nov 9, no county in Illinois is at peak yet: 102 of Illinois's 102 counties (100 percent) are past peak. The county map above paints each one, and the live map lets you scrub the day.
- When do the leaves change in Illinois?
The first color shows in McHenry County around Sep 27 and peaks there around Oct 18. Alexander County is the last of Illinois's 102 counties, peaking around Nov 3. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 26.
- What's the best time to visit Illinois for fall foliage?
The week of Oct 26 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 25 to 28. That's the leaf peeping window for Illinois as a whole. For McHenry County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 18; for Alexander County and its neighbors, the week of Nov 3.
What actually turns
The Shawnee Hills of southern Illinois produce surprisingly intense color, with sugar maples blazing orange above sandstone bluffs and oaks turning deep burgundy across the ridges.
- Sugar Maple
- Red Oak
- White Oak
- Hickory
- Sweetgum
Starved Rock State Park along the Illinois River is the most popular fall destination, but the Garden of the Gods area in the Shawnee National Forest is more spectacular.
Every county, by peak week
Boone, DeKalb, DuPage observed, Jo Daviess, Kendall, Lake, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson
Adams, Brown, Bureau, Carroll, Cass, Champaign, Christian, Clark, Coles, Cook observed, De Witt, Douglas, Edgar, Ford, Fulton, Grundy, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Kane observed, Kankakee, Knox, LaSalle, Livingston, Logan, Macon, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McLean, Menard, Mercer, Morgan, Moultrie, Peoria, Piatt, Pike, Putnam, Rock Island, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Tazewell, Vermilion, Warren, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago observed, Woodford
Alexander, Bond, Calhoun, Clay, Clinton, Crawford, Cumberland, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Gallatin, Greene, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Johnson, Lawrence, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Massac, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, Saline, St. Clair, Union, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, Williamson
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.