National Lakeshore·Michigan·35,962 acres
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Roadsides and wetland edges turn first, and the woods behind them run a few days later.
Weather Wind to 25 mph Thursday. Color may come down before it turns.
Weather Hard frost Friday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore around Oct 11, and the four days to aim for are Oct 10 to 13.
That's 2 days later than our model alone would say, because this September has been running warm.
| Week | In the lakeshore |
|---|---|
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Starting to turn |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Nearly peak |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Peak color |
| 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.
Saturday, October 10 to Sunday, October 11
You’ll find it peak color.
That's the day our forecast puts peak color here.
- Where to drive
- Tunnel of Trees (M-119), about 93 miles · Brockway Mountain Drive, about 98 miles · Route 41 through Copper Country, about 104 miles
- What turns
- sugar maple, red maple, paper birch, quaking aspen, yellow birch
What turns, and when
- sugar maple28%
- red maple21%
- paper birch19%
- quaking aspen10%
- yellow birch9%
- American beech9%
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 Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
- When is peak fall foliage at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore?
Our forecast puts peak color at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore around Oct 11, and the four days to aim for are Oct 10 to 13.
- Where is the best fall color at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore right now?
On Nov 10 the lakeshore is leaves down.
- How long does peak last at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore?
About four days at the top, Oct 10 to 13, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive.
- Is Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 11, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.
- What trees turn color at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore?
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 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Peak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
Fall color roads near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the lakeshore, so allow more by road.
- 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.
- 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.