National Park·Ohio·19,110 acres
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
sugar maple and American beech
white oak and northern red oak, peak Oct 26
Peak color should arrive around Oct 18 for the sugar maple and American beech, and around Oct 26 for the white oak and northern red oak.
Roadsides and wetland edges turn first, and the woods behind them run a few days later.
Weather Hard frost Friday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Cuyahoga Valley National Park around Oct 20, and the four days to aim for are Oct 19 to 22. white oak and northern red oak peak later, around Oct 26.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Starting to turn | |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Nearly peak | |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Peak color | 0 to 1,000 ft, 1,000 to 2,000 ft |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Just past peak |
- 1,000–2,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1913%
- 0–1,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 2087%
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
The Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969, and that image became the symbol of everything wrong with American industry. Now 22 miles of that same river run through a national park between Cleveland and Akron. The forest came back. The herons came back. The whole valley is a 33,000-acre argument that we can actually fix what we broke, if we bother to try.
Established 2000. About 2.9 million/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.
Monday, October 19 to Tuesday, October 20
You’ll find it peak color.
That's the day our forecast puts peak color here.
- 1,000–2,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 19
- 0–1,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 20
- Where to drive
- Hocking Hills Scenic Byway (Route 374), about 136 miles · Route 6 through Allegheny National Forest, about 140 miles
- What turns
- sugar maple, American beech, red maple, northern red oak, white oak
- Entrance
- No entrance fee
What turns, and when
- sugar maple30%
- American beech20%
- red maple17%
- northern red oak13%
- white oak13%
- shagbark hickory7%
Hocking Hills' sandstone gorges frame sugar maples in vivid orange, red oaks turn deep burgundy across the unglaciated Appalachian Plateau, and beeches fade to bronze in the ravines.
Questions people ask about Cuyahoga Valley National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Cuyahoga Valley National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Cuyahoga Valley National Park around Oct 20, and the four days to aim for are Oct 19 to 22. white oak and northern red oak peak later, around Oct 26.
- Where is the best fall color at Cuyahoga Valley National Park right now?
On Nov 10 the park is leaves down. The last band to peak was 0 to 1,000 feet, around Oct 20.
- How long does peak last at Cuyahoga Valley National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 19 to 22, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive.
- Is Cuyahoga Valley National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 20, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.
- What trees turn color at Cuyahoga Valley National Park?
Sugar Maple, Red Oak, White Oak, Hickory, American Beech. Hocking Hills' sandstone gorges frame sugar maples in vivid orange, red oaks turn deep burgundy across the unglaciated Appalachian Plateau, and beeches fade to bronze in the ravines.
- Is there an entrance fee at Cuyahoga Valley National Park?
Entrance fee Free.
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 13 long-running forest cameras: two dates in three land within 9 days of the camera’s own peak. How this map is made
Nearby, and when they turn
- Peak Oct 15 best Oct 14 to 17
- Peak Oct 15 best Oct 14 to 17
- Peak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26
Fall color roads near Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the park, so allow more by road.
- Hocking Hills Scenic Byway (Route 374)
Winds through the sandstone gorges of Hocking Hills. Old Man's Cave and Ash Cave are stunning framed by fall maples.
- Route 6 through Allegheny National Forest
Pennsylvania's wildest stretch of forest, peaking in mid-October with a sea of red oak, cherry, and maple.