Where is the best fall color at Pemigewasset Wilderness right now?

On Nov 10 the wilderness is leaves down. The last band to peak was 1,500 to 2,000 feet, around Oct 21.

How long does peak last at Pemigewasset Wilderness?

About four days at the top, Oct 16 to 19, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the wilderness's elevations the color moves over about 8 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 12 days.

Is Pemigewasset Wilderness past peak?

Yes. Peak was around Oct 17, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.

Back to the map

Wilderness Area·New Hampshire·45,809 acres

Pemigewasset Wilderness

Forecast issued Nov 10, 5:22pm ET

Peak colorOct 17Aim for Oct 16 to 19

In the wilderness today, Nov 10Leaves down

Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.

Weather Hard frost Wednesday night. Peak may come early and go fast.

No new reports from the ground here this week.

Still greenStartingNearly peakPeakPast peakNo fall canopy we forecastInside the line, each band of elevation is painted on its own date.

Around Pemigewasset Wilderness Nearly all of the wilderness is in Grafton County, which is fading today. That’s the county as a whole, which peaks 6 days later than the wilderness’s own stands: the wilderness is leaves down.

When is peak fall foliage at Pemigewasset Wilderness in 2026?

Our forecast puts peak color at Pemigewasset Wilderness around Oct 17, and the four days to aim for are Oct 16 to 19.

The wilderness runs from about 1,728 to 4,096 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 8 days: the high stands around Oct 13, the low ground around Oct 21. That's 14 days later than our model alone would say, because this season's reports from the ground moved it.

Pemigewasset Wilderness, fall color week by week, 2026
Week	In the wilderness	Elevation at peak
Sep 28 to Oct 4	Starting to turn
Oct 5 to Oct 11	Nearly peak
Oct 12 to Oct 18	Peak color	2,500 to 3,000 ft, 3,000 to 3,500 ft, 3,500 to 4,000 ft, 4,000 to 4,500 ft
Oct 19 to Oct 25	Peak color	1,500 to 2,000 ft, 2,000 to 2,500 ft
Oct 26 to Nov 1	Just past peak

By elevation The wilderness runs from about 1,728 to 4,096 feet. That’s 8 days of season between the top and the bottom: the high stands peak around Oct 13, the low ground holds until about Oct 21, and the color comes downhill in between. The date at the top of this page is the 2,500 to 3,000 foot band.

4,000–4,500 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 136%
3,500–4,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1512%
3,000–3,500 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1622%
2,500–3,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1828%
2,000–2,500 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1921%
1,500–2,000 ftFadingpeak Oct 2111%

Height off 3DEP inside the wilderness’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the wilderness stands in it.

Today from the NEON.D01.BART.DP1.00033 camera, 13 km from Pemigewasset Wilderness — See it now PhenoCam Network, Bartlett Experimental Forest camera, 13 km away, captured Nov 10.

That’s 14 days later than our model alone would say. This season’s reports from the ground moved it, and they outrank us.

Plan this trip

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.

ArrivingLeaving

Friday, October 16 to Saturday, October 17

You’ll find it peak color up high, nearly peak lower down.

Up at 3,500 feet the stands peak around Oct 15; down at 2,000 feet they hold on until about Oct 21. Pick your elevation for the day you come.

3,500–4,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 15
3,000–3,500 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 16
2,500–3,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 18
2,000–2,500 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 19
1,500–2,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 21

Where to drive: Kancamagus Highway, about 8 miles · Route 112 (Lost River Road), about 16 miles · Route 100, about 65 miles
What turns: sugar maple, red maple, paper birch, yellow birch, American beech

What turns, and when

sugar maple30%
red maple20%
paper birch20%
yellow birch10%
American beech10%
quaking aspen10%

Also named across New Hampshire, outside what the canopy read measures here: White Birch.

New Hampshire's White Mountains produce the most dramatic fall color in the Northeast, with sugar maples blazing orange and scarlet against the granite peaks and dark green of spruce.

Questions people ask about Pemigewasset Wilderness

When is peak fall foliage at Pemigewasset Wilderness?: Our forecast puts peak color at Pemigewasset Wilderness around Oct 17, and the four days to aim for are Oct 16 to 19.
Where is the best fall color at Pemigewasset Wilderness right now?: On Nov 10 the wilderness is leaves down. The last band to peak was 1,500 to 2,000 feet, around Oct 21.
How long does peak last at Pemigewasset Wilderness?: About four days at the top, Oct 16 to 19, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the wilderness's elevations the color moves over about 8 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 12 days.
Is Pemigewasset Wilderness past peak?: Yes. Peak was around Oct 17, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.
What trees turn color at Pemigewasset Wilderness?: Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Yellow Birch, White Birch, American Beech. New Hampshire's White Mountains produce the most dramatic fall color in the Northeast, with sugar maples blazing orange and scarlet against the granite peaks and dark green of spruce.

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 27 long-running forest cameras: two dates in three land within 10 days of the camera’s own peak. How this map is made

All of New Hampshire

Nearby, and when they turn

Caribou-Speckled Mountain WildernessME · about 31 miles
Peak Oct 10 best Oct 9 to 12
Breadloaf WildernessVT · about 69 miles
Peak Oct 4 best Oct 3 to 6
Joseph Battell WildernessVT · about 72 miles
Peak Oct 5 best Oct 4 to 7
Rachel Carson National Wildlife RefugeME · about 75 miles
Peak Oct 15 best Oct 14 to 17
Moosalamoo National Recreation AreaVT · about 76 miles
Peak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
Green Mountain National ForestVT · about 87 miles
Peak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8

Fall color roads near Pemigewasset Wilderness

Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the wilderness, so allow more by road.

Kancamagus Highway · about 8 miles, NH · 34.5 miles of road
One of America's finest fall drives through the White Mountains, peaking early-to-mid October. The stretch between Lincoln and Conway is jaw-dropping.
Route 112 (Lost River Road) · about 16 miles, NH · 21 miles of road
A less-trafficked alternative to the Kanc, running through Kinsman Notch with excellent birch and maple color.
Route 100 · about 65 miles, VT · 216 miles of road
Runs the full length of Vermont through the Green Mountains. The section between Stowe and Killington is the postcard version of New England fall.
Mohawk Trail (Route 2) · about 125 miles, MA · 63 miles of road
The original scenic highway in America, crossing the Berkshires. The Hairpin Turn overlook at Florida, MA offers a 60-mile view of color.