Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Oct 14 in most of Nevada, but it moves 36 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Nevada fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in Nevada in 2026?
Most of Nevada peaks between Sep 30 and Oct 26: the high country first, around Oct 1, and the low ground last, around Oct 26. The first county to peak is White Pine County, around Sep 23, and the last is Churchill 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. This fall is running 1 day late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
| Week | Where it peaks | Most of the state |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | White Pine County | Starting to turn |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Humboldt National Forest, Jarbidge Wilderness, Ruby Mountains Wilderness and 6 counties | Starting to turn |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Inyo National Forest, Arc Dome Wilderness, Table Mountain Wilderness and 1 county | Nearly peak |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Toiyabe National Forest, High Schells Wilderness, Mount Grafton Wilderness Area and 5 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Black Rock Desert / High Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Spring Mountains National Recreation Area, Santa Rosa-Paradise Peak Wilderness and 1 county | Just past peak |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Desert National Wildlife Range, Basin and Range National Monument, Clover Mountains Wilderness Area 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.
5 of 17 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 12 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.
Late September to mid-October in the mountain ranges is how Nevada is usually described.
Nevada’s season place by place
The 24 places closest to their peak in Nevada, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Humboldt National Forest, Sep 30. Last: Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, Nov 11.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 9. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Nevada
The destinations we cover in Nevada, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Pahranagat National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 11 best Nov 10 to 13
- Past peakPeak Sep 30 best Sep 29 to Oct 2
- Ruby Mountains WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
- Alta Toquima WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
- Jarbidge WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 3 best Oct 2 to 5
- Mt. Moriah WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 4 best Oct 3 to 6
- Boundary Peak WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 4 best Oct 3 to 6
- Arc Dome WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 5 best Oct 4 to 7
- Currant Mountain WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 5 best Oct 4 to 7
- Table Mountain WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
- Past peakPeak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
- Past peakPeak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
- East Humboldts WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
- Goshute Canyon Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 9 best Oct 8 to 11
- Pine Forest Range Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 9 best Oct 8 to 11
- Shellback WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 10 best Oct 9 to 12
- Mount Grafton Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Past peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- High Schells WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Lee Canyon Ski AreaPast peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Mt. Charleston WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Parsnip Peak Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Ruby Lake National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- White Rock Range Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
Also forecast in NevadaDeath Valley National ParkLake Mead National Recreation AreaSpring Mountains National Recreation Area
Questions people ask about Nevada fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in Nevada?
Most of Nevada peaks between Sep 30 and Oct 26: the high country first, around Oct 1, and the low ground last, around Oct 26. The first county to peak is White Pine County, around Sep 23, and the last is Churchill County, around Oct 29. This fall is running 1 day late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall foliage in Nevada right now?
As of Nov 10, Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge is at peak.
- How long does peak last in Nevada?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Nevada as a whole, peak moves 36 days from White Pine County to Churchill County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 40 days.
- Is Nevada past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 10, every one of Nevada's 17 counties is past peak by our forecast. Churchill County was the last, around Oct 29.
- How far along is Nevada's fall foliage today?
On Nov 10, no county in Nevada is at peak yet: 17 of Nevada's 17 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 Nevada?
The first color shows in White Pine County around Sep 2 and peaks there around Sep 23. Churchill County is the last of Nevada's 17 counties, peaking around Oct 29. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 14.
- What's the best time to visit Nevada for fall foliage?
The week of Oct 14 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 13 to 16. That's the leaf peeping window for Nevada as a whole. For White Pine County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Sep 23; for Churchill County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 29.
What actually turns
Aspens turn gold in isolated mountain ranges rising from the Great Basin, creating dramatic contrasts of bright yellow groves against sagebrush gray and limestone white.
- Quaking Aspen
- Fremont Cottonwood
- Water Birch
- Rocky Mountain Maple
- Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany
Lamoille Canyon in the Ruby Mountains, often called Nevada's Yosemite, produces concentrated aspen and cottonwood color in a glacial canyon setting.
Every county by peak week
Eureka, White Pine
Elko, Esmeralda observed, Humboldt, Lander, Mineral, Nye
Carson City observed, Clark observed, Douglas observed, Lincoln, Pershing, Washoe observed
Lyon, Storey regional
Churchill
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.