Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Oct 29 in most of Kentucky, but it moves 12 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Kentucky fall foliage map, week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in Kentucky in 2026?
Most of Kentucky peaks between Oct 27 and Nov 3: the north first, around Oct 27, and the south last, around Nov 2. The first county to peak is Boyle County, around Oct 24, and the last is Hickman County, around Nov 5.
Latitude does most of the work here: color moves south at about two days per degree, so the north of the state turns 4 days 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 19 to Oct 25 | George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge and 3 counties | Nearly peak |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Daniel Boone National Forest, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Mammoth Cave National Park and 91 counties | Peak color |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge, Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge and 26 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 7 long-running forest monitoring sites in this part of the country and publish what it got wrong.
2 of 120 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 198 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 eastern mountains, late October to early November in the Bluegrass is how Kentucky is usually described.
Kentucky’s season, place by place
Every place we forecast in Kentucky, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 9.
First: Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Oct 23. Last: Fort Donelson National Battlefield, Nov 5.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 31. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Kentucky
The destinations we cover in Kentucky, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Ohio River Islands National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Past peakPeak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
- Cumberland Gap National Historical ParkPast peakPeak Oct 27, oak Oct 30 best Oct 26 to 29
- Past peakPeak Oct 28 best Oct 27 to 30
- Clifty WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 28 best Oct 27 to 30
- Camp Nelson National MonumentPast peakPeak Oct 30 best Oct 29 to Nov 1
- Past peakPeak Oct 31 best Oct 30 to Nov 2
- Beaver Creek WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 31 best Oct 30 to Nov 2
- Green River National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Partnership AreaPast peakPeak Oct 31 best Oct 30 to Nov 2
- Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical ParkPast peakPeak Oct 31 best Oct 30 to Nov 2
- Past peakPeak Nov 1 best Oct 31 to Nov 3
- Past peakPeak Nov 4, oak Nov 7 best Nov 3 to 6
- Clarks River National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Nov 4 best Nov 3 to 6
- Reelfoot National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Nov 5 best Nov 4 to 7
- Fort Donelson National BattlefieldPast peakPeak Nov 5, oak Nov 8 best Nov 4 to 7
Questions people ask about Kentucky fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in Kentucky?
Most of Kentucky peaks between Oct 27 and Nov 3: the north first, around Oct 27, and the south last, around Nov 2. The first county to peak is Boyle County, around Oct 24, and the last is Hickman County, around Nov 5. 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 Kentucky right now?
As of Nov 9, Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge and Fort Donelson National Battlefield are at peak, with Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area and Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge within a week of it.
- How long does peak last in Kentucky?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Kentucky as a whole, peak moves 12 days from Boyle County to Hickman County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 16 days.
- Is Kentucky past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 9, every one of Kentucky's 120 counties is past peak by our forecast. Hickman County was the last, around Nov 5.
- How far along is Kentucky's fall foliage today?
On Nov 9, no county in Kentucky is at peak yet: 120 of Kentucky's 120 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 Kentucky?
The first color shows in Boyle County around Oct 3 and peaks there around Oct 24. Hickman County is the last of Kentucky's 120 counties, peaking around Nov 5. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 29.
- What's the best time to visit Kentucky for fall foliage?
The week of Oct 29 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 28 to 31. That's the leaf peeping window for Kentucky as a whole. For Boyle County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 24; for Hickman County and its neighbors, the week of Nov 5.
What actually turns
The Cumberland Plateau and Daniel Boone National Forest produce a warm palette of gold tulip poplars, bronze hickories, and deep red sugar maples against sandstone cliffs.
- Sugar Maple
- Tulip Poplar
- Red Oak
- Hickory
- Sweetgum
Red River Gorge in Daniel Boone National Forest stages some of the most dramatic fall color in the Southeast, with natural arches framed by maples and hemlocks.
Worth the drive
Pike County in eastern Kentucky is deep in the heart of the Appalachian coal country, but the surrounding mountains of the Pine Mountain range produce excellent fall color that is almost completely undiscovered by the tourist economy. The ridgelines of oaks, hickories, and maples turn warm gold and scarlet in late October, and Breaks Interstate Park on the Virginia border contains the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi.
Every county, by peak week
Boone regional, Bourbon regional, Boyd, Boyle observed, Bracken, Campbell regional, Carroll, Carter, Elliott, Fayette observed, Fleming, Gallatin, Grant, Greenup, Harlan, Harrison regional, Jessamine regional, Kenton regional, Lawrence, Lewis, Mason, Menifee, Montgomery regional, Nicholas regional, Owen, Pendleton, Robertson, Rowan, Scott regional, Trimble
Adair regional, Allen, Anderson regional, Barren, Bath, Bell, Breathitt, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Butler, Caldwell, Casey regional, Christian, Clark regional, Clay, Clinton, Crittenden, Cumberland, Daviess, Edmonson, Estill regional, Floyd, Franklin regional, Garrard regional, Grayson, Green regional, Hancock, Hardin, Hart, Henderson, Henry, Hopkins, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Larue regional, Laurel, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lincoln regional, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Madison regional, Magoffin, Marion regional, Martin, McCracken, McCreary, McLean, Meade, Mercer regional, Metcalfe, Monroe, Morgan, Muhlenberg, Nelson regional, Ohio, Oldham, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Powell, Pulaski regional, Rockcastle regional, Russell regional, Shelby, Simpson, Spencer regional, Taylor regional, Todd, Union, Warren, Washington regional, Wayne, Webster, Whitley, Wolfe, Woodford regional
Ballard, Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton, Graves, Hickman, Marshall, Trigg
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.