National Recreation Area·Michigan·13,563 acres
Grand Island National Recreation Area
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Roadsides and wetland edges turn first, and the woods behind them run a few days later.
Weather Wind to 25 mph Wednesday. Color may come down before it turns.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Grand Island National Recreation Area in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Grand Island National Recreation Area around Oct 13, and the four days to aim for are Oct 12 to 15.
That's 2 days later than our model alone would say, because this September has been running warm.
| Week | In the recreation area |
|---|---|
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Starting to turn |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Nearly peak |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Peak color |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Just past peak |
That’s 2 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
Plan this tripIf you can only come on certain days
Set the days you can be here. Everything under them answers for those days, not for peak.
Monday, October 12 to Tuesday, October 13
You’ll find it peak color.
That's the day our forecast puts peak color here.
- Where to drive
- Brockway Mountain Drive, about 89 miles · Route 41 through Copper Country, about 93 miles · Tunnel of Trees (M-119), about 102 miles
- What turns
- sugar maple, red maple, paper birch, quaking aspen, yellow birch
What turns, and when
- sugar maple29%
- red maple21%
- paper birch20%
- quaking aspen10%
- yellow birch10%
- American beech10%
Also named across Michigan, outside what the canopy read measures here: Red Oak.
Michigan produces some of the most vivid sugar maple color in America, with the Upper Peninsula's maples turning neon orange and scarlet against birch gold and the dark green of hemlocks.
Across Michigan as a whole: Early October in the inland UP, mid-October on the Lake Superior shore and in the northern Lower Peninsula, late October in the south.
Questions people ask about Grand Island National Recreation Area
- When is peak fall foliage at Grand Island National Recreation Area?
Our forecast puts peak color at Grand Island National Recreation Area around Oct 13, and the four days to aim for are Oct 12 to 15.
- Where is the best fall color at Grand Island National Recreation Area right now?
On Nov 10 the recreation area is leaves down.
- How long does peak last at Grand Island National Recreation Area?
About four days at the top, Oct 12 to 15, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive.
- Is Grand Island National Recreation Area past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 13, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.
- What trees turn color at Grand Island National Recreation Area?
Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Quaking Aspen, Paper Birch, Red Oak. Michigan produces some of the most vivid sugar maple color in America, with the Upper Peninsula's maples turning neon orange and scarlet against birch gold and the dark green of hemlocks.
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 13 long-running forest cameras: two dates in three land within 9 days of the camera’s own peak. How this map is made
Nearby, and when they turn
Hiawatha is on the map above, with its own date.
- Peak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
- Peak Oct 5 best Oct 4 to 7
- Peak Oct 9 best Oct 8 to 11
- Peak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
- Peak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
Fall color roads near Grand Island National Recreation Area
Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the recreation area, so allow more by road.
- Brockway Mountain Drive
The highest above-sea-level road between the Rockies and the Alleghenies. Views of the Keweenaw's color canopy stretching to the lake horizon.
- Route 41 through Copper Country
Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, surrounded by Lake Superior. The lake holds the color back, so the peninsula peaks a week or so after the inland Upper Peninsula, usually around the second week of October.
- Tunnel of Trees (M-119)
A narrow road along Lake Michigan's northern shore between Harbor Springs and Cross Village. The overhanging canopy turns this into a literal tunnel of color.