Peak color lands around Oct 23 in most of Indiana, but it moves 14 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Indiana fall foliage map, week of Nov 2
When is peak fall foliage in Indiana in 2026?
Most of Indiana peaks between Oct 20 and Oct 30: the north first, around Oct 21, and the south last, around Oct 28. The first county to peak is Marion County, around Oct 17, and the last is Spencer County, around Oct 31.
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 5 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 | Marion County | Nearly peak |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Charles C. Deam Wilderness, Indiana Dunes National Park and 58 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Hoosier National Forest, Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge, Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge and 33 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.
9 of 92 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 56 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.
Mid-October in the north, late October in Brown County and southern Indiana is how Indiana is usually described.
Indiana’s season, place by place
Every place we forecast in Indiana, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 4.
First: Charles C. Deam Wilderness, Oct 21. Last: Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Oct 31.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 29. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Indiana
The destinations we cover in Indiana, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Lincoln Boyhood National MemorialNear peakPeak Oct 31 best Oct 30 to Nov 2
- Past peakPeak Oct 21 best Oct 20 to 23
- Past peakPeak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
- Muscatatuck National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 27 best Oct 26 to 29
- Past peakPeak Oct 29 best Oct 28 to 31
- Patoka River National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 30 best Oct 29 to Nov 1
Questions people ask about Indiana fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in Indiana?
Most of Indiana peaks between Oct 20 and Oct 30: the north first, around Oct 21, and the south last, around Oct 28. The first county to peak is Marion County, around Oct 17, and the last is Spencer County, around Oct 31. This fall is running 5 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall foliage in Indiana right now?
As of Nov 4, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is at peak, with Hoosier National Forest and Patoka River National Wildlife Refuge within a week of it.
- How long does peak last in Indiana?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Indiana as a whole, peak moves 14 days from Marion County to Spencer County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 18 days.
- Is Indiana past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 4, every one of Indiana's 92 counties is past peak by our forecast. Spencer County was the last, around Oct 31.
- How far along is Indiana's fall foliage today?
On Nov 4, no county in Indiana is at peak yet: 92 of Indiana's 92 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 Indiana?
The first color shows in Marion County around Sep 26 and peaks there around Oct 17. Spencer County is the last of Indiana's 92 counties, peaking around Oct 31. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 23.
- What's the best time to visit Indiana for fall foliage?
The week of Oct 23 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 22 to 25. That's the leaf peeping window for Indiana as a whole. For Marion County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 17; for Spencer County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 31.
What actually turns
Brown County's rolling hills of sugar maples turn vivid orange and scarlet, with sassafras adding electric orange and tulip poplars fading to clear gold in the hollows.
- Sugar Maple
- Tulip Poplar
- Red Oak
- Hickory
- Sassafras
Brown County State Park is the undisputed champion, called the Little Smokies for its layers of ridgeline color, and it peaks in the last two weeks of October.
Worth the drive
Brown County, Indiana, the Little Smokies, produces fall color that shocks people who think of the Midwest as flat. The unglaciated hills here are covered in dense hardwood forest, and the rolling terrain creates layers of ridgeline color that recall the southern Appalachians. Nashville, the county seat, is an artist colony surrounded by the state park, and the combination of galleries, food, and color makes this a complete fall experience.
Every county, by peak week
DeKalb, Elkhart, LaGrange, LaPorte, Marion observed, Marshall, Noble, St. Joseph, Starke, Steuben, Tippecanoe observed
Adams, Allen, Bartholomew regional, Benton regional, Blackford, Boone regional, Brown regional, Carroll regional, Cass regional, Clay regional, Clinton regional, Dearborn regional, Decatur, Delaware corrected, Fayette regional, Fountain regional, Franklin, Fulton, Grant, Greene regional, Hamilton corrected, Hancock observed, Hendricks regional, Henry regional, Howard regional, Huntington, Jackson observed, Jasper, Jay regional, Jefferson, Jennings, Kosciusko, Lake, Lawrence regional, Madison regional, Miami, Monroe observed, Montgomery regional, Morgan regional, Newton, Ohio, Owen regional, Parke, Porter, Pulaski, Putnam regional, Randolph regional, Ripley, Rush regional, Shelby regional, Switzerland, Tipton regional, Union, Vermillion, Vigo, Wabash, Warren regional, Wayne corrected, Wells, White regional, Whitley
Clark, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Floyd, Gibson, Harrison, Johnson corrected, Knox, Martin regional, Orange regional, Perry, Pike, Posey, Scott, Spencer, Sullivan, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Washington regional
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