Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Oct 13 in most of Maine, but it moves 16 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Maine fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in Maine in 2026?
Most of Maine peaks between Oct 4 and Oct 15: the high country first, around Oct 4, and the low ground last, around Oct 14. The first county to peak is Somerset County, around Sep 30, and the last is Lincoln County, around Oct 16.
Elevation does most of the work here. Color runs down a mountain at roughly a day per 100 meters, so a ridge and the valley below it can be a week or two apart in the same county. On the coast the water adds its own delay, the shoreline itself 4 days behind the same trees inland.
| Week | Where it peaks | Most of the state |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge and 4 counties | Starting to turn |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness and 4 counties | Nearly peak |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | White Mountain National Forest, Acadia National Park, Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge and 8 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 27 long-running forest monitoring sites in this part of the country and publish what it got wrong.
13 of 16 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 114 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 September in the north woods, early-to-mid October downeast, late October on the coast is how Maine is usually described.
Maine’s season place by place
Every place we forecast in Maine, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Aroostook National Wildlife Refuge, Oct 4. Last: White Mountain National Forest, Oct 18.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 14. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Maine
The destinations we cover in Maine, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Aroostook National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 4 best Oct 3 to 6
- Katahdin Woods and Waters National MonumentPast peakPeak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
- Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
- Past peakPeak Oct 10 best Oct 9 to 12
- Seal Island National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Past peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Moosehorn National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Past peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Baring Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Edmunds Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Cross Island National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 14, silver maple Oct 21 best Oct 13 to 16
- Umbagog National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 15 best Oct 14 to 17
- Past peakPeak Oct 15 best Oct 14 to 17
- Past peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
Questions people ask about Maine fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in Maine?
Most of Maine peaks between Oct 4 and Oct 15: the high country first, around Oct 4, and the low ground last, around Oct 14. The first county to peak is Somerset County, around Sep 30, and the last is Lincoln County, around Oct 16.
- Where is the best fall foliage in Maine right now?
Peak has passed in the places we cover in Maine as of Nov 10. White Mountain National Forest and 13 more was the last, around Oct 18. The live map still shows where russet and late gold are holding.
- How long does peak last in Maine?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Maine as a whole, peak moves 16 days from Somerset County to Lincoln County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 20 days.
- Is Maine past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 10, every one of Maine's 16 counties is past peak by our forecast. Lincoln County was the last, around Oct 16.
- How far along is Maine's fall foliage today?
On Nov 10, no county in Maine is at peak yet: 16 of Maine's 16 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 Maine?
The first color shows in Somerset County around Sep 9 and peaks there around Sep 30. Lincoln County is the last of Maine's 16 counties, peaking around Oct 16. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 13.
- What's the best time to visit Maine for fall foliage?
The week of Oct 13 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 12 to 15. That's the leaf peeping window for Maine as a whole. For Somerset County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Sep 30; for Lincoln County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 16.
What actually turns
Maine's fall is defined by the contrast of scarlet maples and golden birches against dark spruce, with the rocky coast adding a blue backdrop that makes every color more vivid.
- Sugar Maple
- Red Maple
- White Birch
- American Beech
- Red Oak
Acadia National Park peaks in the second week of October, and the view from Cadillac Mountain of color stretching to the ocean is one of the great fall sights in America.
Worth the drive
Hancock County on the Maine coast contains Acadia National Park, where the combination of ocean, granite, and hardwood color creates a fall experience unlike anywhere else in New England. The park's carriage roads offer car-free access to some of the best foliage, and Cadillac Mountain provides a 360-degree panorama of color stretching from the coast to the interior mountains.
Every county by peak week
Aroostook observed, Franklin observed, Piscataquis observed, Somerset observed
Androscoggin, Hancock observed, Oxford observed, Penobscot observed, Waldo
Cumberland observed, Kennebec observed, Knox observed, Lincoln observed, Sagadahoc regional, Washington observed, York observed
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
The official Maine report
Maine publishes its own foliage report through the season, from Maine Forest Service. That's a state forestry agency, which means foresters reporting conditions rather than a tourism office. Once the season starts it will be more current than any forecast, including ours.
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.