National Park·Indiana·10,617 acres
Indiana Dunes National Park
Forecast issued Nov 12, 5:26pm ET
Roadsides and wetland edges turn first, and the woods behind them run a few days later.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Indiana Dunes National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Indiana Dunes National Park around Oct 25, and the four days to aim for are Oct 24 to 27.
That's 3 days later than our model alone would say, because this September has been running warm.
| Week | In the park |
|---|---|
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Starting to turn |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Nearly peak |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Peak color |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Peak color |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Just past peak |
That’s 3 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
The place
Fifteen miles of Lake Michigan shoreline less than 50 miles from downtown Chicago, and it took until 2019 for anyone to call it a national park. Indiana Dunes packs over 1,100 flowering plant species into its beaches, bogs, and oak savannas. The biodiversity per acre rivals almost anywhere in the system.
Established 2019. About 2.7 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.
Friday, November 13 to Saturday, November 14
You’ll find it fading.
Peak color was 20 days before you arrive, around Oct 25.
- What turns
- northern red oak, white oak, red maple, shagbark hickory, silver maple
- Entrance
- $25
What turns, and when
- northern red oak20%
- white oak20%
- red maple17%
- shagbark hickory10%
- silver maple9%
- sugar maple6%
Also named across Indiana, outside what the canopy read measures here: Tulip Poplar, Sassafras.
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.
Across Indiana as a whole: Mid-October in the north, late October in Brown County and southern Indiana.
Questions people ask about Indiana Dunes National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Indiana Dunes National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Indiana Dunes National Park around Oct 25, and the four days to aim for are Oct 24 to 27.
- Where is the best fall color at Indiana Dunes National Park right now?
On Nov 13 the park is fading.
- How long does peak last at Indiana Dunes National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 24 to 27, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive.
- Is Indiana Dunes National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 25, and on Nov 13 it's fading.
- What trees turn color at Indiana Dunes National Park?
Northern red oak is 20 percent of the trees that turn here, then white oak (20 percent), red maple (17), shagbark hickory (10), silver maple (9) and sugar maple (6). Northern red oak, red maple and sugar maple turn red; white oak turns russet; shagbark hickory and silver maple turn yellow or gold. What turns, and when
- Is there an entrance fee at Indiana Dunes National Park?
Entrance fee $25.
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. We score it here against 13 long-running forest cameras: two dates in three land within 9 days of the camera’s own peak. How this map is made
Fall color roads near Indiana Dunes National Park
Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the park, so allow more by road.
- Illinois River Road (Route 29)
Runs along the Illinois River bluffs through Starved Rock country. Best in the third week of October.