Where is the best fall foliage in Maryland right now?

Nothing we cover in Maryland is at peak yet on Nov 9, but Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, Assateague Island National Seashore, George Washington Memorial Parkway and three more are within a week of it.

How long does peak last in Maryland?

In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Maryland as a whole, peak moves 19 days from Garrett County to Frederick County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 23 days.

Is Maryland past peak?

Yes. As of Nov 9, every one of Maryland's 24 counties is past peak by our forecast. Frederick County was the last, around Nov 2.

How far along is Maryland's fall foliage today?

On Nov 9, no county in Maryland is at peak yet: 24 of Maryland's 24 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 Maryland?

The first color shows in Garrett County around Sep 23 and peaks there around Oct 14. Frederick County is the last of Maryland's 24 counties, peaking around Nov 2. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 29.

What's the best time to visit Maryland 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 Maryland as a whole. For Garrett County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 14; for Frederick County and its neighbors, the week of Nov 2.

Back to the map

Maryland Fall Foliage Map 2026

Forecast issued Nov 9, 7:48am ET

Peak color lands around Oct 29 in most of Maryland, but it moves 19 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.

Maryland fall foliage map, week of Nov 9

Maryland, Nov 9 Still green to peak to past peak, the map’s own scale. Open the live map to scrub the day, or save today’s leaf color map below.

When is peak fall foliage in Maryland in 2026?

Most of Maryland peaks between Oct 24 and Nov 1. The first county to peak is Garrett County, around Oct 14, and the last is Frederick County, around Nov 2.

The ocean does a lot of the work here. The coast itself turns 4 days after the woods inland at the same latitude, and the counties along it run a few days behind, because water that soaked up a summer of heat gives it back all fall and holds the first hard frosts off. This fall is running 3 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.

Maryland, fall foliage week by week, 2026
Week	Where it peaks	Most of the state
Oct 12 to Oct 18	Garrett County	Starting to turn
Oct 19 to Oct 25	Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Antietam National Battlefield and 4 counties	Nearly peak
Oct 26 to Nov 1	Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Patuxent Research Refuge, National Capital Parks and 18 counties	Peak color
Nov 2 to Nov 8	Assateague Island National Seashore, Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, George Washington Memorial Parkway and 1 county	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.

4 of 24 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 111 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 western Maryland, late October to early November in the Piedmont and Eastern Shore is how Maryland is usually described.

Maryland’s season, place by place

Every place we forecast in Maryland, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 9.

First: Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Oct 24. Last: Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Nov 4.

The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 29. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.

Where to go in Maryland

The destinations we cover in Maryland, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical ParkDC, Maryland, West Virginia
Past peakPeak Oct 24, oak Oct 28 best Oct 23 to 26
Harpers Ferry National Historical ParkMaryland, Virginia, West Virginia
Past peakPeak Oct 24, oak Oct 27 best Oct 23 to 26
Antietam National BattlefieldMaryland
Past peakPeak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
National Capital ParksDC, Maryland
Past peakPeak Oct 26 best Oct 25 to 28
Greenbelt ParkMaryland
Past peakPeak Oct 26 best Oct 25 to 28
Patuxent Research RefugeMaryland
Past peakPeak Oct 27 best Oct 26 to 29
Piscataway ParkMaryland
Past peakPeak Oct 27 best Oct 26 to 29
Fort Washington ParkMaryland
Past peakPeak Oct 27 best Oct 26 to 29
Lower Potomac River230Maryland
Past peakPeak Oct 28 best Oct 27 to 30
Eastern Neck National Wildlife RefugeMaryland
Past peakPeak Oct 29 best Oct 28 to 31
Blackwater National Wildlife RefugeMaryland
Past peakPeak Oct 30 best Oct 29 to Nov 1
Thomas Stone National Historic SiteMaryland
Past peakPeak Oct 31 best Oct 30 to Nov 2
Catoctin Mountain ParkMaryland
Past peakPeak Nov 1, oak Nov 4 best Oct 31 to Nov 3
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical ParkMaryland
Past peakPeak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4
Assateague Island National SeashoreMaryland, Virginia
Past peakPeak Nov 3 best Nov 2 to 5
George Washington Memorial ParkwayDC, Maryland, Virginia
Past peakPeak Nov 3 best Nov 2 to 5
Martin National Wildlife RefugeMaryland, Virginia
Past peakPeak Nov 3 best Nov 2 to 5
Monocacy National BattlefieldMaryland
Past peakPeak Nov 3, oak Nov 7 best Nov 2 to 5
Chincoteague National Wildlife RefugeMaryland, Virginia
Past peakPeak Nov 4 best Nov 3 to 6

Questions people ask about Maryland fall foliage

When is peak fall foliage in Maryland?: Most of Maryland peaks between Oct 24 and Nov 1. The first county to peak is Garrett County, around Oct 14, and the last is Frederick County, around Nov 2. This fall is running 3 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
Where is the best fall foliage in Maryland right now?: Nothing we cover in Maryland is at peak yet on Nov 9, but Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, Assateague Island National Seashore, George Washington Memorial Parkway and three more are within a week of it.
How long does peak last in Maryland?: In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Maryland as a whole, peak moves 19 days from Garrett County to Frederick County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 23 days.
Is Maryland past peak?: Yes. As of Nov 9, every one of Maryland's 24 counties is past peak by our forecast. Frederick County was the last, around Nov 2.
How far along is Maryland's fall foliage today?: On Nov 9, no county in Maryland is at peak yet: 24 of Maryland's 24 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 Maryland?: The first color shows in Garrett County around Sep 23 and peaks there around Oct 14. Frederick County is the last of Maryland's 24 counties, peaking around Nov 2. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 29.
What's the best time to visit Maryland 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 Maryland as a whole. For Garrett County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 14; for Frederick County and its neighbors, the week of Nov 2.

What actually turns

Western Maryland's Allegheny ridges turn gold and russet with oaks and hickories while sweetgums in the Piedmont produce vivid purple and red.

Red Maple
Tulip Poplar
White Oak
Hickory
Sweetgum

Savage River State Forest in Garrett County is the wildest fall landscape in Maryland, with hardwood-covered ridges stretching to the horizon.

Every county, by peak week

Oct 14 to Oct 19

Allegany, Garrett regional

Oct 24 to Oct 27

Baltimore regional, Carroll regional, Howard, Prince George's observed, Washington regional

Oct 28 to Nov 2

Anne Arundel, Baltimore city, Calvert, Caroline, Cecil regional, Charles, Dorchester regional, Frederick corrected, Harford regional, Kent, Montgomery corrected, Queen Anne's, Somerset regional, St. Mary's, Talbot, Wicomico observed, Worcester regional

Next door, todayDelaware just past peakPennsylvania leaves downVirginia just past peakWest Virginia fading

How this map is madeThe trees, the elevation, this September’s weather and reports from the ground, scored against 68 forest cameras. Median error 6 days.

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.