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.
Weather Wind to 43 mph Thursday. Color may come down before it turns.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Theodore Roosevelt National Park around Oct 1, and the four days to aim for are Sep 30 to Oct 3.
The park runs from about 2,122 to 2,776 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 8 days: the high stands around Oct 13, the low ground around Oct 5. That's 3 days later than our model alone would say, because this September has been running warm.
| Week | In the park | Elevation at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 14 to Sep 20 | Starting to turn | |
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Nearly peak | |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Peak color | |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Just past peak | 2,000 to 2,250 ft, 2,250 to 2,500 ft, 2,500 to 2,750 ft |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 this week | Just past peak | 2,750 to 3,000 ft |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Fading |
- 2,750–3,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 137%
- 2,500–2,750 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 1140%
- 2,250–2,500 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 727%
- 2,000–2,250 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 526%
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 3 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
The place
Roosevelt came to the North Dakota Badlands in 1883 after his wife and mother died on the same day. The landscape put him back together. The park that carries his name protects that same stretch of broken, banded earth where the Little Missouri River has carved striped buttes out of ancient seabed. It is emptier and stranger than almost anything in the lower 48.
Established 1978. About 800,000/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.
Wednesday, September 30 to Thursday, October 1
You’ll find it starting to turn up high, nearly peak lower down.
Up at 2,500 feet the stands peak around Oct 11; down at 2,250 feet they hold on until about Oct 5. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 2,500–2,750 ftStarting to turnpeak Oct 11
- 2,250–2,500 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 7
- 2,000–2,250 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 5
- What turns
- plains cottonwood, green ash, boxelder, willow, American elm
- Entrance
- $30
What turns, and when
- plains cottonwood29%
- green ash21%
- boxelder10%
- willow10%
- American elm10%
- bur oak10%
Every one of these turns yellow or gold here. The shades only tell the species apart.
Also named across North Dakota, outside what the canopy read measures here: Quaking Aspen.
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.
Questions people ask about Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Theodore Roosevelt National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Theodore Roosevelt National Park around Oct 1, and the four days to aim for are Sep 30 to Oct 3.
- Where is the best fall color at Theodore Roosevelt National Park right now?
On Oct 13 the park is just past peak. By elevation, the color is at peak at 2,500 to 2,750 feet and 2,750 to 3,000 feet.
- How long does peak last at Theodore Roosevelt National Park?
About four days at the top, Sep 30 to Oct 3, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 8 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 12 days.
- Is Theodore Roosevelt National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 1, and on Oct 13 it's just past peak.
- What trees turn color at Theodore Roosevelt National Park?
Quaking Aspen, Bur Oak, Green Ash, Cottonwood, American Elm. 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.
- Is there an entrance fee at Theodore Roosevelt National Park?
Entrance fee $30.
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