Peak color lands around Nov 18 in most of Louisiana, but it moves 33 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Louisiana fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in Louisiana in 2026?
Most of Louisiana peaks between Nov 14 and Nov 21: the north first, around Nov 14, and the south last, around Nov 20. The first county to peak is Ouachita Parish, around Oct 20, and the last is Plaquemines Parish, around Nov 22.
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 4 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 | Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge and 1 county | Still green |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | No county peaks this week | Starting to turn |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | No county peaks this week | Starting to turn |
| Nov 9 to Nov 15 this week | Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge, D 'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge, Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge and 16 counties | Nearly peak |
| Nov 16 to Nov 22 | Kisatchie National Forest, Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge and 47 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 7 long-running forest monitoring sites in this part of the country and publish what it got wrong.
2 of 64 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 5 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.
Late November through mid-December, later than most people expect is how Louisiana is usually described.
Louisiana’s season place by place
The 24 places closest to their peak in Louisiana, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge, Nov 14. Last: Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Nov 21.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Nov 18. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Louisiana
The destinations we cover in Louisiana, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Upper Ouachita National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 14 best Nov 13 to 16
- Handy Brake National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 14 best Nov 13 to 16
- D 'Arbonne National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 15 best Nov 14 to 17
- PeakPeak Nov 16 best Nov 15 to 18
- Tensas River National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 16 best Nov 15 to 18
- Catahoula National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 16 best Nov 15 to 18
- Red Dirt National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 16 best Nov 15 to 18
- Bayou Cocodrie National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 16 best Nov 15 to 18
- Red River National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 16 best Nov 15 to 18
- Kisatchie Hills WildernessPeakPeak Nov 16 best Nov 15 to 18
- Lake Ophelia National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 17 best Nov 16 to 19
- Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 17 to 20
- Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 17 to 20
- Cat Island National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 18, sweetgum Nov 26 best Nov 17 to 20
- Grand Cote National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 18 best Nov 17 to 20
- Atchafalaya National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 19, sweetgum Nov 27 best Nov 18 to 21
- Bogue Chitto National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 20, sweetgum Nov 28 best Nov 19 to 22
- Breton National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 20 best Nov 19 to 22
- Breton WildernessNear peakPeak Nov 20 best Nov 19 to 22
- Sabine National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 21, sweetgum Nov 29 best Nov 20 to 23
- Lacassine National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 21, sweetgum Nov 29 best Nov 20 to 23
- Cameron Prairie National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 21, sweetgum Nov 29 best Nov 20 to 23
- Bayou Teche National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 21, sweetgum Nov 29 best Nov 20 to 23
- Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 21, sweetgum Nov 29 best Nov 20 to 23
Questions people ask about Louisiana fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in Louisiana?
Most of Louisiana peaks between Nov 14 and Nov 21: the north first, around Nov 14, and the south last, around Nov 20. The first county to peak is Ouachita Parish, around Oct 20, and the last is Plaquemines Parish, around Nov 22. This fall is running 4 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall foliage in Louisiana right now?
As of Nov 10, Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge and Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge are at peak, with D 'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge, Kisatchie National Forest, Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge and six more within a week of it. Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge follows around Nov 18.
- How long does peak last in Louisiana?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Louisiana as a whole, peak moves 33 days from Ouachita Parish to Plaquemines Parish, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 37 days.
- Is Louisiana past peak?
Not yet for most of it. As of Nov 10, 1 of Louisiana's 64 counties are past peak, 0 are at it and 63 are still ahead.
- How far along is Louisiana's fall foliage today?
On Nov 10, no county in Louisiana is at peak yet: 63 of Louisiana's 64 counties (98 percent) are turning and 1 (2 percent) is past peak. The county map above paints each one, and the live map lets you scrub the day.
- When do the leaves change in Louisiana?
The first color shows in Ouachita Parish around Sep 29 and peaks there around Oct 20. Plaquemines Parish is the last of Louisiana's 64 counties, peaking around Nov 22. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Nov 18.
- What's the best time to visit Louisiana for fall foliage?
The week of Nov 18 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Nov 17 to 20. That's the leaf peeping window for Louisiana as a whole. For Ouachita Parish and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 20; for Plaquemines Parish and its neighbors, the week of Nov 22.
What actually turns
Bald cypresses turn russet and copper in the swamps while sweetgums and tupelos provide red and purple accents, creating a warm, moody fall in the bayou landscape.
- Bald Cypress
- Sweetgum
- Red Maple
- Hickory
- Tupelo
Chicot State Park in the central piney woods and the Atchafalaya Basin swamps produce the best fall color in Louisiana, especially when the cypresses turn copper in late November.
Every county by peak week
Ouachita observed
Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Catahoula, Claiborne, Concordia, De Soto, East Carroll, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, Winn
Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson regional, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans corrected, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard regional, St. Charles regional, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist regional, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany regional, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Washington, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana
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.