Peak color lands around Oct 10 in most of Oregon, but it moves 21 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Oregon’s season, place by place
The 24 places closest to their peak in Oregon, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Sep 25.
First: Deadhorse and Campbell Lake Recreation Area, Sep 29. Last: Bridge Creek Wilderness, Oct 8.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 6. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
The county map today
Where to go in Oregon
The destinations we cover in Oregon, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Deadhorse and Campbell Lake Recreation AreaPeakPeak 29 Sep best 28 Sep to 1 Oct
- Monument Rock WildernessNear peakPeak 3 Oct best 2 to 5 Oct
- Near peakPeak 4 Oct best 3 to 6 Oct
- Hells Canyon-Seven Devils Scenic AreaNear peakPeak 4 Oct best 3 to 6 Oct
- Gearhart Mountain WildernessNear peakPeak 4 Oct best 3 to 6 Oct
- Hells Canyon Wilderness AreaNear peakPeak 4 Oct best 3 to 6 Oct
- Eagle Cap WildernessToo earlyPeak 5 Oct best 4 to 7 Oct
- Hells Canyon WildernessToo earlyPeak 5 Oct best 4 to 7 Oct
- Vinegar Hill-Indian Rock Scenic AreaToo earlyPeak 5 Oct best 4 to 7 Oct
- Miller Lake Recreation AreaToo earlyPeak 5 Oct best 4 to 7 Oct
- Too earlyPeak 6 Oct best 5 to 8 Oct
- McNary National Wildlife RefugeToo earlyPeak 6 Oct, maple 19 Oct best 5 to 8 Oct
- Cold Springs National Wildlife RefugeToo earlyPeak 6 Oct, maple 19 Oct best 5 to 8 Oct
- Hart Mountain National Antelope RefugeToo earlyPeak 7 Oct best 6 to 9 Oct
- Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection AreaToo earlyPeak 7 Oct best 6 to 9 Oct
- Too earlyPeak 7 Oct best 6 to 9 Oct
- Umatilla National Wildlife RefugeToo earlyPeak 7 Oct, maple 20 Oct best 6 to 9 Oct
- Canyon Meadows Recreation AreaToo earlyPeak 7 Oct best 6 to 9 Oct
- Cottonwood Meadow Recreation AreaToo earlyPeak 7 Oct best 6 to 9 Oct
- Too earlyPeak 8 Oct best 7 to 10 Oct
- Strawberry Mountain WildernessToo earlyPeak 8 Oct best 7 to 10 Oct
- Too earlyPeak 8 Oct, maple 20 Oct best 7 to 10 Oct
- Diamond Peak WildernessToo earlyPeak 8 Oct best 7 to 10 Oct
- Bridge Creek WildernessToo earlyPeak 8 Oct best 7 to 10 Oct
Also forecast in OregonColumbia River Gorge National Scenic AreaHells Canyon National Recreation AreaKlamath National ForestMalheur National ForestMark O. Hatfield WildernessMount Hood National Recreation AreaMount Jefferson WildernessMount Washington WildernessMt. Hood National ForestOchoco National ForestOregon Dunes National Recreation AreaRoaring River WildernessRogue River-Siskiyou National ForestSalmon-Huckleberry WildernessSiuslaw National ForestThree Sisters WildernessUmatilla National ForestUmpqua National ForestWillamette National Forest
When to go
Across 36 counties, peak color is forecast to arrive first in Harney County around Sep 27 and last in Jefferson County around Oct 18. Most of the state peaks near Oct 10.
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.
1 of 36 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 2 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.
Mid-to-late October in the Cascades and Gorge, early November in the Willamette Valley is how Oregon is usually described.
What actually turns
Vine maples turn vivid scarlet in the understory of Douglas fir forests, bigleaf maples go gold with enormous leaves, and the Columbia Gorge frames it all against waterfalls and basalt.
- Vine Maple
- Bigleaf Maple
- Black Cottonwood
- Red Alder
- Western Larch
The Historic Columbia River Highway, with Multnomah Falls and a dozen smaller waterfalls framed by vine maple color, is the most dramatic fall setting in the Pacific Northwest.
Worth the drive
Hood River County contains the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge, including Multnomah Falls and dozens of smaller waterfalls that become the backdrop for vine maple color in October. The Historic Columbia River Highway, engineered by Samuel Lancaster in 1913, is one of the most beautiful roads in America at any time of year, and in mid-October it becomes extraordinary.
Every county, by peak week
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.
Harney
Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Lake, Malheur, Marion observed, Morrow, Sherman, Wallowa
Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Crook, Deschutes, Hood River, Klamath, Linn, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Umatilla, Union, Wasco, Washington, Wheeler, Yamhill
Benton, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Lane, Lincoln
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