National Park·Kentucky·50,624 acres
Mammoth Cave National Park
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Roadsides and wetland edges turn first, and the woods behind them run a few days later.
Weather Hard frost Friday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Mammoth Cave National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Mammoth Cave National Park around Nov 1, and the four days to aim for are Oct 31 to Nov 3.
That's 5 days later than our model alone would say, because this September has been running warm.
| Week | In the park |
|---|---|
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Starting to turn |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Nearly peak |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Peak color |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Peak color |
| Nov 9 to Nov 15 this week | Just past peak |
That’s 5 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
The place
Over 420 miles of surveyed passages and still growing. Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave system on earth by a factor of two, and every expedition pushes that number further. Humans have been walking these passages for at least 5,000 years. The park above ground covers 54,000 acres of Kentucky hardwood forest that most visitors never bother to see.
Established 1941. About 747,000/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.
Saturday, October 31 to Sunday, November 1
You’ll find it peak color.
That's the day our forecast puts peak color here.
- Where to drive
- Route 46 through Brown County, about 139 miles
- What turns
- white oak, northern red oak, red maple, shagbark hickory, sweetgum
- Entrance
- No entrance fee
What turns, and when
- white oak31%
- northern red oak23%
- red maple19%
- shagbark hickory12%
- sweetgum4%
- blackgum4%
Also named across Kentucky, outside what the canopy read measures here: Sugar Maple, Tulip Poplar.
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.
Across Kentucky as a whole: Mid-October in the eastern mountains, late October to early November in the Bluegrass.
Questions people ask about Mammoth Cave National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Mammoth Cave National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Mammoth Cave National Park around Nov 1, and the four days to aim for are Oct 31 to Nov 3.
- Where is the best fall color at Mammoth Cave National Park right now?
On Nov 10 the park is just past peak.
- How long does peak last at Mammoth Cave National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 31 to Nov 3, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive.
- Is Mammoth Cave National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Nov 1, and on Nov 10 it's just past peak.
- What trees turn color at Mammoth Cave National Park?
Sugar Maple, Tulip Poplar, Red Oak, Hickory, Sweetgum. 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.
- Is there an entrance fee at Mammoth Cave National Park?
Entrance fee Free.
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 7 long-running forest cameras: two dates in three land within 13 days of the camera’s own peak. How this map is made
Nearby, and when they turn
- Peak Oct 31 best Oct 30 to Nov 2
- Peak Oct 29 best Oct 28 to 31
- Peak Nov 1 best Oct 31 to Nov 3
- Peak Nov 4 best Nov 3 to 6
- Peak Oct 28 best Oct 27 to 30
- Peak Oct 21 best Oct 20 to 23
Fall color roads near Mammoth Cave National Park
Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the park, so allow more by road.
- Route 46 through Brown County
The heart of Indiana's Little Smokies. Brown County State Park and the artist colony of Nashville are the anchors. Peak is usually the last two weeks of October.