Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
Weather Wind to 55 mph Monday. Color may come down before it turns.
Weather Hard frost Tuesday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Great Basin National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Great Basin National Park around Oct 6, and the four days to aim for are Oct 5 to 8.
The park runs from about 6,732 to 10,990 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 24 days: the high stands around Sep 18, the low ground around Oct 12. That's 1 day later than our model alone would say, because this September has been running warm.
| Week | In the park | Elevation at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 to Sep 6 | Still green | |
| Sep 7 to Sep 13 | Still green | |
| Sep 14 to Sep 20 | Starting to turn | 10,000 to 11,000 ft, 11,000 to 12,000 ft |
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Starting to turn | 9,000 to 10,000 ft |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Nearly peak | 8,000 to 9,000 ft |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Peak color | 7,000 to 8,000 ft |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 this week | Just past peak | 6,000 to 7,000 ft |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Fading |
- 11,000–12,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 185%
- 10,000–11,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 1716%
- 9,000–10,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 2422%
- 8,000–9,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 3027%
- 7,000–8,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 620%
- 6,000–7,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 1210%
Height off 3DEP inside the park’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the park stands in it.
That’s 1 day later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
The place
One of the least visited parks in the system, stuck in the remote Snake Range of eastern Nevada where nobody accidentally ends up. Lehman Caves hold more than 300 rare shield formations. The bristlecone pines on the ridgeline above have been alive for over 4,000 years, which puts your problems in perspective.
Established 1986. About 152,000/year visitors.
If 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 5 to Tuesday, October 6
You’ll find it fading up high, nearly peak lower down.
Up at 10,000 feet the stands peak around Sep 17; down at 7,000 feet they hold on until about Oct 12. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 10,000–11,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 17
- 9,000–10,000 ftJust past peakpeak Sep 24
- 8,000–9,000 ftJust past peakpeak Sep 30
- 7,000–8,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 6
- 6,000–7,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 12
- Where to drive
- Fish Lake Scenic Byway (UT 25), about 139 miles · Nebo Loop, about 148 miles
- What turns
- quaking aspen, Gambel oak
- Entrance
- No entrance fee
What turns, and when
- quaking aspen96%
- Gambel oak4%
Also named across Nevada, outside what the canopy read measures here: Fremont Cottonwood, Water Birch, Rocky Mountain Maple, Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany.
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.
Questions people ask about Great Basin National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Great Basin National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Great Basin National Park around Oct 6, and the four days to aim for are Oct 5 to 8.
- Where is the best fall color at Great Basin National Park right now?
On Oct 13 the park is just past peak. By elevation, the color is at peak at 6,000 to 7,000 feet.
- How long does peak last at Great Basin National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 5 to 8, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 24 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 28 days.
- Is Great Basin National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 6, and on Oct 13 it's just past peak.
- What trees turn color at Great Basin National Park?
Quaking Aspen, Fremont Cottonwood, Water Birch, Rocky Mountain Maple, Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany. 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.
- Is there an entrance fee at Great Basin National Park?
Entrance fee Free.
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. Out here we score it against NASA's satellite record of when the canopy shuts down, read inside each unit’s own boundary: two dates in three land within 12 days of it. How this map is made