Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Nov 3 in most of North Carolina, but it moves 21 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
North Carolina fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in North Carolina in 2026?
Most of North Carolina peaks between Oct 24 and Nov 7: the high country first, around Oct 26, and the low ground last, around Nov 7. The first county to peak is Macon County, around Oct 19, and the last is Columbus County, around Nov 9.
Elevation does most of the work here. Color runs down a mountain at roughly a day and a half per 100 meters, so a ridge and the valley below it can be two weeks apart in the same county. On the coast the water adds its own delay, the shoreline itself 4 days behind the same trees inland. This fall is running 3 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
| Week | Where it peaks | Most of the state |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Cherokee National Forest, Nantahala National Forest, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and 16 counties | Starting to turn |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site and 24 counties | Nearly peak |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Croatan National Forest, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and 56 counties | Peak color |
| Nov 9 to Nov 15 this week | Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge, Swanquarter Wilderness, Wright Brothers National Memorial and 4 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 score the model against 16 long-running forest monitoring sites in this part of the country and publish what it got wrong.
10 of 100 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 251 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.
Early October above 5,000 feet, mid-to-late October on the Parkway, early November in the Piedmont is how North Carolina is usually described.
North Carolina’s season place by place
The 24 places closest to their peak in North Carolina, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Nantahala National Forest, Oct 19. Last: Swanquarter Wilderness, Nov 10.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Nov 7. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in North Carolina
The destinations we cover in North Carolina, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Swanquarter National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 10 best Nov 9 to 12
- Swanquarter WildernessPeakPeak Nov 10 best Nov 9 to 12
- Near peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Alligator River National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Cedar Island National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Near peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Pocosin WildernessNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Sheep Ridge WildernessNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Mackay Island National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Catfish Lake South WildernessNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Pea Island National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Pond Pine WildernessNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Fort Raleigh National Historic SiteNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Currituck National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 8 best Nov 7 to 10
- Wright Brothers National MemorialNear peakPeak Nov 9 best Nov 8 to 11
- Past peakPeak Oct 19 best Oct 18 to 21
- Past peakPeak Oct 20 best Oct 19 to 22
- Past peakPeak Oct 20 best Oct 19 to 22
- Past peakPeak Oct 21 best Oct 20 to 23
- Past peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Past peakPeak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26
- Past peakPeak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26
- Middle Prong WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26
- Past peakPeak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
Also forecast in North CarolinaCape Hatteras National SeashoreUwharrie National Forest
Questions people ask about North Carolina fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in North Carolina?
Most of North Carolina peaks between Oct 24 and Nov 7: the high country first, around Oct 26, and the low ground last, around Nov 7. The first county to peak is Macon County, around Oct 19, and the last is Columbus County, around Nov 9. This fall is running 3 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall foliage in North Carolina right now?
As of Nov 10, Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge, Swanquarter Wilderness, Croatan National Forest and 12 more are at peak.
- How long does peak last in North Carolina?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across North Carolina as a whole, peak moves 21 days from Macon County to Columbus County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 25 days.
- Is North Carolina past peak?
Mostly. As of Nov 10, 93 of North Carolina's 100 counties are past peak, 7 are at it and 0 are still ahead. Columbus County is the last to peak, around Nov 9.
- How far along is North Carolina's fall foliage today?
On Nov 10, 7 of North Carolina's 100 counties (7 percent) are at peak and 93 (93 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 North Carolina?
The first color shows in Macon County around Sep 28 and peaks there around Oct 19. Columbus County is the last of North Carolina's 100 counties, peaking around Nov 9. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Nov 3.
- What's the best time to visit North Carolina for fall foliage?
The week of Nov 3 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Nov 2 to 5. That's the leaf peeping window for North Carolina as a whole. For Macon County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 19; for Columbus County and its neighbors, the week of Nov 9.
What actually turns
Sourwoods turn deep crimson before anything else, tulip poplars go clear gold, hickories fade to bronze, and the layered ridgelines of the Blue Ridge create that famous smoky depth of warm color.
- Tulip Poplar
- Red Maple
- Sourwood
- Hickory
- White Oak
The Blue Ridge Parkway from Craggy Gardens to Waterrock Knob (Mile 364 to 451) is the highest, most dramatic section and produces the most intense color in the southern Appalachians.
Worth the drive
Buncombe County is home to Asheville and sits in the French Broad River valley surrounded by some of the highest peaks in the eastern US. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the county's eastern edge, and the Craggy Gardens section above 5,500 feet produces color in early October while downtown Asheville's streets do not peak until late October.
Haywood County sits at the heart of the Blue Ridge in western North Carolina. Great Smoky Mountains National Park covers much of the southern portion, and the Blue Ridge Parkway crosses the northern ridges. Elevation ranges from 1,800 to over 6,000 feet, which means color lasts four to six weeks as it rolls downhill from the balds to the valley floor.
Every county by peak week
Ashe, Avery, Macon observed, Mitchell regional
Alleghany, Buncombe observed, Clay regional, Graham regional, Guilford observed, Haywood observed, Henderson, Jackson, Madison, Orange observed, Swain observed, Transylvania, Watauga, Yancey
Alamance, Alexander, Burke, Cabarrus regional, Caldwell, Caswell regional, Catawba regional, Chatham regional, Cherokee regional, Cleveland regional, Davidson regional, Davie regional, Forsyth regional, Franklin regional, Gaston observed, Granville regional, Halifax, Hertford, Iredell, Lee regional, Lincoln regional, McDowell regional, Mecklenburg regional, Northampton, Person regional, Polk regional, Randolph regional, Rockingham regional, Rowan regional, Rutherford observed, Stokes regional, Surry, Vance regional, Warren, Wilkes, Yadkin regional
Anson, Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Durham corrected, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Harnett, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Tyrrell, Union, Wake observed, Washington, Wayne, Wilson
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
The official North Carolina report
North Carolina publishes its own foliage report through the season, from Fall Color Guy (Dr. Howard Neufeld). That's a university research group, and it's the most rigorous regional report we know of. Once the season starts it will be more current than any forecast, including ours.
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.