Peak color lands around Oct 30 in most of Missouri, but it moves 14 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Missouri fall foliage map, week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in Missouri in 2026?
Most of Missouri peaks between Oct 25 and Nov 3: the north first, around Oct 26, and the south last, around Nov 2. The first county to peak is Putnam County, around Oct 23, and the last is Dunklin County, around Nov 6.
Latitude does most of the work here: color moves south at about two days per degree, so the north of the state turns a week or more ahead of the south. This fall is running 6 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
| Week | Where it peaks | Most of the state |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Mercer County, Putnam County, Schuyler County and 15 more | Nearly peak |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Mark Twain National Forest, Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge and 75 counties | Peak color |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Mingo National Wildlife Refuge, Irish Wilderness and 22 counties | 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 13 long-running forest monitoring sites in this part of the country and publish what it got wrong.
1 of 115 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 2 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-to-late October in the Ozarks, early November in the Bootheel is how Missouri is usually described.
Missouri’s season, place by place
Every place we forecast in Missouri, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 9.
First: Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, Oct 26. Last: Mingo Wilderness, Nov 4.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Nov 1. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Missouri
The destinations we cover in Missouri, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Loess Bluffs National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 26 best Oct 25 to 28
- Swan Lake National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 27 best Oct 26 to 29
- Great River National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 28 best Oct 27 to 30
- Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 29 best Oct 28 to 31
- Clarence Cannon National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 29 best Oct 28 to 31
- Bell Mountain WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 31, oak Nov 3 best Oct 30 to Nov 2
- Paddy Creek WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 31, oak Nov 3 best Oct 30 to Nov 2
- Past peakPeak Nov 1, oak Nov 4 best Oct 31 to Nov 3
- Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Nov 1 best Oct 31 to Nov 3
- Wilson's Creek National BattlefieldPast peakPeak Nov 1, oak Nov 4 best Oct 31 to Nov 3
- Past peakPeak Nov 2, oak Nov 5 best Nov 1 to 4
- Piney Creek WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 2, oak Nov 5 best Nov 1 to 4
- Rockpile Mountain WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 2, oak Nov 5 best Nov 1 to 4
- George Washington Carver National MonumentPast peakPeak Nov 2, oak Nov 5 best Nov 1 to 4
- Irish WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 3, oak Nov 6 best Nov 2 to 5
- Past peakPeak Nov 3, oak Nov 6 best Nov 2 to 5
- Devils Backbone WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 3, oak Nov 6 best Nov 2 to 5
- Mingo National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Nov 4 best Nov 3 to 6
- Mingo WildernessPast peakPeak Nov 4 best Nov 3 to 6
Questions people ask about Missouri fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in Missouri?
Most of Missouri peaks between Oct 25 and Nov 3: the north first, around Oct 26, and the south last, around Nov 2. The first county to peak is Putnam County, around Oct 23, and the last is Dunklin County, around Nov 6. This fall is running 6 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall foliage in Missouri right now?
Nothing we cover in Missouri is at peak yet on Nov 9, but Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Piney Creek Wilderness, Rockpile Mountain Wilderness and six more are within a week of it.
- How long does peak last in Missouri?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Missouri as a whole, peak moves 14 days from Putnam County to Dunklin County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 18 days.
- Is Missouri past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 9, every one of Missouri's 115 counties is past peak by our forecast. Dunklin County was the last, around Nov 6.
- How far along is Missouri's fall foliage today?
On Nov 9, no county in Missouri is at peak yet: 115 of Missouri's 115 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 Missouri?
The first color shows in Putnam County around Oct 2 and peaks there around Oct 23. Dunklin County is the last of Missouri's 115 counties, peaking around Nov 6. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 30.
- What's the best time to visit Missouri for fall foliage?
The week of Oct 30 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 29 to Nov 1. That's the leaf peeping window for Missouri as a whole. For Putnam County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 23; for Dunklin County and its neighbors, the week of Nov 6.
What actually turns
The Ozarks produce a warm fall palette dominated by gold and bronze from oaks and hickories, with sugar maples adding scarlet along the creek bottoms and sassafras glowing orange on the hillsides.
- Sugar Maple
- Red Oak
- White Oak
- Hickory
- Sassafras
Route 19 through the Ozark National Scenic Riverways along the Current and Jacks Fork rivers is Missouri's finest fall drive, with warm-toned hardwoods lining the spring-fed waterways.
Every county, by peak week
Adair, Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Caldwell, Carroll, Clark, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Grundy, Harrison, Holt, Knox, Lewis, Linn, Livingston, Macon, Marion, Mercer, Monroe, Nodaway, Platte, Putnam, Ralls, Randolph, Schuyler, Scotland, Shelby, Sullivan, Worth
Audrain, Barry, Barton, Bates, Benton, Bollinger, Boone, Callaway, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Cass, Cedar, Chariton, Christian, Clay, Cole, Cooper, Crawford, Dade, Dallas, Dent, Douglas, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene observed, Henry, Hickory, Howard, Howell, Iron, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Laclede, Lafayette, Lawrence, Lincoln, Madison, Maries, McDonald, Miller, Moniteau, Montgomery, Morgan, Newton, Oregon, Osage, Ozark, Perry, Pettis, Phelps, Pike, Polk, Pulaski, Ray, Reynolds, Saline, Scott, Shannon, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, St. Louis, St. Louis city, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Taney, Texas, Vernon, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wright
Butler, Dunklin, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Ripley, Stoddard
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.