Peak color lands around Oct 19 in most of Iowa, but it moves 11 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Iowa fall color map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall color in Iowa in 2026?
Most of Iowa peaks between Oct 14 and Oct 22: the north first, around Oct 15, and the south last, around Oct 22. The first county to peak is Howard County, around Oct 13, and the last is Lee County, around Oct 24.
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 | Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, Union Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Effigy Mounds National Monument and 45 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Desoto National Wildlife Refuge, Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge and 54 counties | Peak color |
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.
1 of 99 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 12 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 northeast, late October in the south is how Iowa is usually described.
Iowa’s season place by place
Every place we forecast in Iowa, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, Oct 9. Last: Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, Oct 21.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 17. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Iowa
The destinations we cover in Iowa, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 9 best Oct 8 to 11
- Union Slough National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 15 best Oct 14 to 17
- Effigy Mounds National MonumentPast peakPeak Oct 15, oak Oct 20 best Oct 14 to 17
- Driftless Area National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 16, oak Oct 20 best Oct 15 to 18
- Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish RefugePast peakPeak Oct 17 best Oct 16 to 19
- Neal Smith National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 19, oak Oct 22 best Oct 18 to 21
- Desoto National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 20 best Oct 19 to 22
- Port Louisa National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 21 best Oct 20 to 23
- Herbert Hoover National Historic SitePast peakPeak Oct 21, oak Oct 24 best Oct 20 to 23
Questions people ask about Iowa fall colors
- When is peak fall color in Iowa?
Most of Iowa peaks between Oct 14 and Oct 22: the north first, around Oct 15, and the south last, around Oct 22. The first county to peak is Howard County, around Oct 13, and the last is Lee County, around Oct 24. This fall is running 5 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall color in Iowa right now?
Peak has passed in the places we cover in Iowa as of Nov 10. Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge and eight more was the last, around Oct 21. The live map still shows where russet and late gold are holding.
- How long does peak last in Iowa?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Iowa as a whole, peak moves 11 days from Howard County to Lee County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 15 days.
- Is Iowa past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 10, every one of Iowa's 99 counties is past peak by our forecast. Lee County was the last, around Oct 24.
- How far along is Iowa's fall color today?
On Nov 10, no county in Iowa is at peak yet: 99 of Iowa's 99 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 Iowa?
The first color shows in Howard County around Sep 22 and peaks there around Oct 13. Lee County is the last of Iowa's 99 counties, peaking around Oct 24. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 19.
- What's the best time to visit Iowa for fall colors?
The week of Oct 19 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 18 to 21. That's the leaf peeping window for Iowa as a whole. For Howard County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 13; for Lee County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 24.
What actually turns
The Mississippi River bluffs light up with red oaks turning burgundy, sugar maples going orange, and basswoods fading to pale gold against the limestone cliffs.
- Sugar Maple
- Red Oak
- White Oak
- Hickory
- Basswood
The Great River Road along the Mississippi bluffs from Dubuque south to McGregor is Iowa's finest fall landscape, with Pikes Peak State Park offering a 500-foot view over the river.
Every county by peak week
Howard, Mitchell, Osceola, Worth
Adair, Allamakee, Audubon, Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cedar, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clay, Clayton, Crawford, Dallas, Delaware, Dickinson, Dubuque, Emmet, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Humboldt, Ida, Jackson, Jasper corrected, Jones, Kossuth, Linn, Lyon regional, Marshall, Monona, O'Brien regional, Palo Alto, Plymouth regional, Pocahontas, Poweshiek, Sac, Shelby, Sioux regional, Story, Tama, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, Wright
Adams, Appanoose, Clarke, Clinton, Davis, Decatur, Des Moines, Fremont, Henry, Iowa, Jefferson, Johnson, Keokuk, Lee, Louisa, Lucas, Madison, Mahaska, Marion, Mills, Monroe, Montgomery, Muscatine, Page, Polk, Pottawattamie, Ringgold, Scott, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Washington, Wayne
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.