Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Oct 19 in most of Massachusetts, but it moves 17 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Massachusetts fall foliage map, week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in Massachusetts in 2026?
Most of Massachusetts peaks between Oct 15 and Oct 24: the high country first, around Oct 18, and the low ground last, around Oct 24. The first county to peak is Berkshire County, around Oct 12, and the last is Suffolk County, around Oct 29.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, Massasoit National Wildlife Refuge, Tyringham Cobble and 5 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, Cape Cod National Seashore, Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge and 8 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Suffolk 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 27 long-running forest monitoring sites in this part of the country and publish what it got wrong.
6 of 14 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 570 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.
Early October in the Berkshires, mid-to-late October in central and eastern Massachusetts is how Massachusetts is usually described.
Massachusetts’s season, place by place
Every place we forecast in Massachusetts, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 9.
First: Tyringham Cobble, Oct 13. Last: Minute Man National Historical Park, Oct 24.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 22. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Massachusetts
The destinations we cover in Massachusetts, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Tyringham CobblePast peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Parker River National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
- Massasoit National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
- Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 19 best Oct 18 to 21
- Oxbow National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 19 best Oct 18 to 21
- Past peakPeak Oct 21 best Oct 20 to 23
- Past peakPeak Oct 22 best Oct 21 to 24
- Nomans Land Island National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 22 best Oct 21 to 24
- Monomoy Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Mashpee National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Great Meadows National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26
- Assabet River National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26
- Minute Man National Historical ParkPast peakPeak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26
Questions people ask about Massachusetts fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in Massachusetts?
Most of Massachusetts peaks between Oct 15 and Oct 24: the high country first, around Oct 18, and the low ground last, around Oct 24. The first county to peak is Berkshire County, around Oct 12, and the last is Suffolk County, around Oct 29.
- Where is the best fall foliage in Massachusetts right now?
Peak has passed in the places we cover in Massachusetts as of Nov 9. Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and 12 more was the last, around Oct 24. The live map still shows where russet and late gold are holding.
- How long does peak last in Massachusetts?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Massachusetts as a whole, peak moves 17 days from Berkshire County to Suffolk County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 21 days.
- Is Massachusetts past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 9, every one of Massachusetts's 14 counties is past peak by our forecast. Suffolk County was the last, around Oct 29.
- How far along is Massachusetts's fall foliage today?
On Nov 9, no county in Massachusetts is at peak yet: 14 of Massachusetts's 14 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 Massachusetts?
The first color shows in Berkshire County around Sep 21 and peaks there around Oct 12. Suffolk County is the last of Massachusetts's 14 counties, peaking around Oct 29. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 19.
- What's the best time to visit Massachusetts for fall foliage?
The week of Oct 19 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 18 to 21. That's the leaf peeping window for Massachusetts as a whole. For Berkshire County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 12; for Suffolk County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 29.
What actually turns
The Berkshires produce classic New England color with sugar maples blazing orange and scarlet, birches going gold, and red oaks anchoring the ridges in deep burgundy.
- Sugar Maple
- Red Maple
- Red Oak
- White Birch
- American Beech
The Mohawk Trail (Route 2) through the Berkshires is the original American scenic highway, and the Hairpin Turn overlook at Florida, MA offers a 60-mile view of color.
Worth the drive
Berkshire County in western Massachusetts is New England fall at its most refined. The combination of rolling mountain terrain, historic villages, cultural institutions, and dense hardwood forest makes the Berkshires the place where fall foliage becomes an entire experience rather than just a drive. The Mohawk Trail crosses the northern part of the county, and the views from Mount Greylock extend into five states on a clear day.
Every county, by peak week
Berkshire regional
Bristol, Essex regional, Franklin regional, Hampden observed, Hampshire observed, Norfolk regional, Plymouth, Worcester observed
Barnstable observed, Dukes, Middlesex observed, Nantucket regional
Suffolk 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
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.