Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Oct 25 in most of New Mexico, but it moves 30 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
New Mexico fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in New Mexico in 2026?
Most of New Mexico peaks between Oct 8 and Oct 31: the high country first, around Oct 12, and the low ground last, around Oct 29. The first county to peak is Taos County, around Oct 4, and the last is Lea County, around Nov 3.
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 4 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
| Week | Where it peaks | Most of the state |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Cruces Basin Wilderness and 2 counties | Starting to turn |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Pecos Wilderness, San Pedro Parks Wilderness, Latir Peak Wilderness and 4 counties | Starting to turn |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, El Malpais National Conservation Area, Valles Caldera National Preserve and 7 counties | Nearly peak |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Gila National Forest, Cibola National Forest, Santa Fe National Forest and 4 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Coronado National Forest, Gila Wilderness, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge and 14 counties | Peak color |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge and 2 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.
3 of 33 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 57 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 at 10,000 feet, early-to-mid October at lower elevations is how New Mexico is usually described.
New Mexico’s season place by place
The 24 places closest to their peak in New Mexico, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Cruces Basin Wilderness, Oct 4. Last: Chama River Canyon Wilderness, Oct 19.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 18. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in New Mexico
The destinations we cover in New Mexico, 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 4 best Oct 3 to 6
- Past peakPeak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
- Past peakPeak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
- Past peakPeak Oct 9 best Oct 8 to 11
- San Pedro Parks WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 11 best Oct 10 to 13
- Valles Caldera National PreservePast peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Past peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Rìo San Antonio Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Past peakPeak Oct 16 best Oct 15 to 18
- Past peakPeak Oct 17 best Oct 16 to 19
- Fort Union National MonumentPast peakPeak Oct 17 best Oct 16 to 19
- El Malpais National Conservation AreaPast peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
- Cebolla Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
- West Malpais Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
- Past peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
- Chaco Culture National Historical ParkPast peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
- Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
- Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation AreaPast peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
- El Morro National MonumentPast peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
- Past peakPeak Oct 19 best Oct 18 to 21
- El Malpais National MonumentPast peakPeak Oct 19 best Oct 18 to 21
- Past peakPeak Oct 19 best Oct 18 to 21
- Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 19 best Oct 18 to 21
- Chama River Canyon WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 19 best Oct 18 to 21
Also forecast in New MexicoCarlsbad Caverns National ParkCibola National ForestCoronado National ForestGila National ForestGuadalupe Mountains National ParkLincoln National ForestSandia Mountain WildernessSanta Fe National ForestWhite Sands National Park
Questions people ask about New Mexico fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in New Mexico?
Most of New Mexico peaks between Oct 8 and Oct 31: the high country first, around Oct 12, and the low ground last, around Oct 29. The first county to peak is Taos County, around Oct 4, and the last is Lea County, around Nov 3. This fall is running 4 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall foliage in New Mexico right now?
Peak has passed in the places we cover in New Mexico as of Nov 10. Carson National Forest and 23 more was the last, around Oct 19. The live map still shows where russet and late gold are holding.
- How long does peak last in New Mexico?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across New Mexico as a whole, peak moves 30 days from Taos County to Lea County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 34 days.
- Is New Mexico past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 10, every one of New Mexico's 33 counties is past peak by our forecast. Lea County was the last, around Nov 3.
- How far along is New Mexico's fall foliage today?
On Nov 10, no county in New Mexico is at peak yet: 33 of New Mexico's 33 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 New Mexico?
The first color shows in Taos County around Sep 13 and peaks there around Oct 4. Lea County is the last of New Mexico's 33 counties, peaking around Nov 3. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 25.
- What's the best time to visit New Mexico for fall foliage?
The week of Oct 25 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 24 to 27. That's the leaf peeping window for New Mexico as a whole. For Taos County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 4; for Lea County and its neighbors, the week of Nov 3.
What actually turns
Aspens turn gold in the Sangre de Cristo and Jemez mountains, Gambel oaks go russet and orange at lower elevations, and cottonwoods line the Rio Grande bosque in butter yellow.
- Quaking Aspen
- Narrowleaf Cottonwood
- Gambel Oak
- Rocky Mountain Maple
- Bigtooth Maple
The Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway near Taos loops through some of the finest aspen color in the southern Rockies, peaking in late September to early October.
Worth the drive
Taos County in northern New Mexico contains the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway and some of the finest aspen color in the southern Rockies. The aspens on the slopes of Wheeler Peak (New Mexico's highest at 13,167 feet) and in the Rio Fernando de Taos valley produce gold that glows against adobe and sage. The drive from Taos through the Sangre de Cristos to Red River and Angel Fire is a 84-mile loop of almost continuous aspen.
Every county by peak week
Colfax, Rio Arriba, Taos
Cibola, Mora, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval regional
Catron, Lincoln, Los Alamos corrected, McKinley, Otero, Santa Fe observed, Torrance regional
Bernalillo observed, Chaves, Grant, Guadalupe, Harding, Sierra, Union
Curry, De Baca, Doña Ana, Eddy, Hidalgo, Lea, Luna, Quay, Roosevelt, Socorro, Valencia regional
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.