Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Oct 3 in most of North Dakota, but it moves 19 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
North Dakota fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in North Dakota in 2026?
Most of North Dakota peaks between Sep 30 and Oct 10. The first county to peak is Bottineau County, around Sep 28, and the last is Bowman County, around Oct 17.
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 | Theodore Roosevelt National Park, J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge, Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge and 33 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Little Missouri National Grassland, Sheyenne National Grassland, Lake Ilo National Wildlife Refuge and 17 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | White Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Stewart Lake National Wildlife Refuge 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.
2 of 53 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 13 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 in the Turtle Mountains, early-to-mid October in the river valleys is how North Dakota is usually described.
North Dakota’s season place by place
The 24 places closest to their peak in North Dakota, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Des Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, Sep 29. Last: Stutsman County Waterfowl Production Area, Oct 3.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 1. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in North Dakota
The destinations we cover in North Dakota, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Des Lacs National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Sep 29 best Sep 28 to Oct 1
- Lake Zahl National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Sep 29 best Sep 28 to Oct 1
- Rock Lake National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Sep 29 best Sep 28 to Oct 1
- J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Sep 30 best Sep 29 to Oct 2
- Upper Souris National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Sep 30 best Sep 29 to Oct 2
- Shell Lake National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Sep 30 best Sep 29 to Oct 2
- Past peakPeak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
- Lake Alice National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
- Pierce County Waterfowl Production AreaPast peakPeak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
- McLean County Waterfowl Production AreaPast peakPeak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
- McLean National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
- Ramsey County Waterfowl Production AreaPast peakPeak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
- Fort Union Trading Post National Historic SitePast peakPeak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
- Lake Nettie National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
- Sullys Hill National Game PreservePast peakPeak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
- White Horse Hill National Game PreservePast peakPeak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
- Florence Lake National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
- GDU Canal LakesPast peakPeak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
- Mountrail County Waterfowl Production AreaPast peakPeak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
- Lostwood National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 3 best Oct 2 to 5
- Chase Lake National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 3 best Oct 2 to 5
- Chase Lake WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 3 best Oct 2 to 5
- Knife River Indian Villages National Historic SitePast peakPeak Oct 3 best Oct 2 to 5
- Stutsman County Waterfowl Production AreaPast peakPeak Oct 3 best Oct 2 to 5
Questions people ask about North Dakota fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in North Dakota?
Most of North Dakota peaks between Sep 30 and Oct 10. The first county to peak is Bottineau County, around Sep 28, and the last is Bowman County, around Oct 17. 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 North Dakota right now?
Peak has passed in the places we cover in North Dakota as of Nov 10. Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge and 23 more was the last, around Oct 3. The live map still shows where russet and late gold are holding.
- How long does peak last in North Dakota?
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 Dakota as a whole, peak moves 19 days from Bottineau County to Bowman County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 23 days.
- Is North Dakota past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 10, every one of North Dakota's 53 counties is past peak by our forecast. Bowman County was the last, around Oct 17.
- How far along is North Dakota's fall foliage today?
On Nov 10, no county in North Dakota is at peak yet: 53 of North Dakota's 53 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 North Dakota?
The first color shows in Bottineau County around Sep 7 and peaks there around Sep 28. Bowman County is the last of North Dakota's 53 counties, peaking around Oct 17. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 3.
- What's the best time to visit North Dakota for fall foliage?
The week of Oct 3 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 2 to 5. That's the leaf peeping window for North Dakota as a whole. For Bottineau County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Sep 28; for Bowman County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 17.
What actually turns
The Turtle Mountains and Pembina Gorge produce a boreal mix of aspen gold and oak russet, while cottonwoods line the Missouri River breaks in pale yellow.
- Quaking Aspen
- Bur Oak
- Green Ash
- Cottonwood
- American Elm
The Pembina Gorge in the northeast corner is North Dakota's best-kept secret for fall color, with steep ravines of aspen and birch that feel more like northern Minnesota than the Great Plains.
Every county by peak week
Bottineau, Grand Forks observed, Renville, Rolette
Barnes, Benson, Burke, Burleigh, Cavalier, Divide, Dunn, Eddy, Emmons, Foster, Grant, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McHenry, McIntosh, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Morton, Mountrail, Nelson, Oliver, Pembina, Pierce, Ramsey, Sheridan, Sioux, Steele, Stutsman, Towner, Traill, Walsh, Ward, Wells, Williams
Billings, Cass observed, Dickey, Golden Valley, Hettinger, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stark
Adams, Bowman, Slope
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.