Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Oct 19 in most of Nebraska, but it moves 15 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Nebraska fall foliage map, week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in Nebraska in 2026?
Most of Nebraska peaks between Oct 14 and Oct 23. The first county to peak is Grant County, around Oct 12, and the last is Cheyenne County, around Oct 27.
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. 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 12 to Oct 18 | Samuel R. McKelvie National Forest, Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge and 37 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Desoto National Wildlife Refuge, Soldier Creek Wilderness, Pine Ridge National Recreation Area and 53 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Oglala National Grassland and 3 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 publish what the model got wrong, region by region.
Early-to-mid October in the north, late October along the Platte and Missouri rivers is how Nebraska is usually described.
Nebraska’s season, place by place
Every place we forecast in Nebraska, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 9.
First: Nebraska National Forest, Oct 11. Last: Oglala National Grassland, Oct 26.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 20. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Nebraska
The destinations we cover in Nebraska, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Past peakPeak Oct 11 best Oct 10 to 13
- Past peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Valentine National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Fort Niobrara National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Fort Niobrara WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- John W. and Louise Seier National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Past peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Past peakPeak Oct 16 best Oct 15 to 18
- Crescent Lake National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
- Desoto National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 20 best Oct 19 to 22
- Hall County Waterfowl Production AreaPast peakPeak Oct 20 best Oct 19 to 22
- Hamilton County Waterfowl Production AreaPast peakPeak Oct 20 best Oct 19 to 22
- Boyer Chute National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 21 best Oct 20 to 23
- Soldier Creek WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 22 best Oct 21 to 24
- Past peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- North Platte National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Agate Fossil Beds National MonumentPast peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Lake MinatarePast peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Homestead National Historical ParkPast peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Scotts Bluff National MonumentPast peakPeak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
- Oglala National GrasslandPast peakPeak Oct 26 best Oct 25 to 28
Questions people ask about Nebraska fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in Nebraska?
Most of Nebraska peaks between Oct 14 and Oct 23. The first county to peak is Grant County, around Oct 12, and the last is Cheyenne County, around Oct 27. 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 Nebraska right now?
Peak has passed in the places we cover in Nebraska as of Nov 9. Oglala National Grassland and 20 more was the last, around Oct 26. The live map still shows where russet and late gold are holding.
- How long does peak last in Nebraska?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Nebraska as a whole, peak moves 15 days from Grant County to Cheyenne County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 19 days.
- Is Nebraska past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 9, every one of Nebraska's 93 counties is past peak by our forecast. Cheyenne County was the last, around Oct 27.
- How far along is Nebraska's fall foliage today?
On Nov 9, no county in Nebraska is at peak yet: 93 of Nebraska's 93 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 Nebraska?
The first color shows in Grant County around Sep 21 and peaks there around Oct 12. Cheyenne County is the last of Nebraska's 93 counties, peaking around Oct 27. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 19.
- What's the best time to visit Nebraska 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 Nebraska as a whole. For Grant County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 12; for Cheyenne County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 27.
What actually turns
Cottonwoods along the Platte and Niobrara rivers turn gold, and the Pine Ridge in the northwest produces a surprising mix of ponderosa pine and hardwood color.
- Cottonwood
- Bur Oak
- Red Oak
- Hackberry
- Green Ash
The Niobrara Valley Preserve near Valentine, where the eastern deciduous forest meets the western pine forest, produces an unusual and beautiful mix of fall color.
Every county, by peak week
Arthur, Brown, Cherry, Grant, Hooker, Keya Paha
Adams, Antelope, Blaine, Boone, Boyd, Buffalo, Burt, Butler, Cedar, Chase, Colfax, Cuming, Custer, Dakota, Dawson, Dixon, Dodge, Dundy, Frontier, Garden, Garfield, Gosper, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Hayes, Hitchcock, Holt, Howard, Kearney, Keith, Knox, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, Madison, McPherson, Merrick, Nance, Perkins, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Rock, Saunders, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Stanton, Thomas, Thurston, Valley, Washington, Wayne, Wheeler, York
Banner, Box Butte, Cass, Cheyenne, Clay, Dawes, Deuel, Douglas, Fillmore, Franklin, Furnas, Gage, Harlan, Jefferson, Johnson, Kimball, Lancaster, Morrill, Nemaha, Nuckolls, Otoe, Pawnee, Red Willow, Richardson, Saline, Sarpy, Scotts Bluff, Seward, Thayer, Webster
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.