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Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET

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Wilderness Area·Oregon·65,434 acres

Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness

Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET

Peak color, most of the standOct 16Aim for Oct 15 to 18
In the wilderness today, Nov 10Leaves down

bigleaf maple and vine maple

SepOctNov

black cottonwood, peak Sep 25

SepOctNov

Peak color should arrive around Sep 25 for the black cottonwood, and around Oct 18 for the bigleaf maple and vine maple.

Roadsides and wetland edges turn first, and the woods behind them run a few days later.

1 report came in from Hood River County this week, 1 of them at peak. Our date held. See the county on the map.

I-5I-205I-26I-84Cascade LocksGreshamCamasBeavertonTroutdaleHood RiverOregon CitySandyColumbia River Gorge National Scenic Areapeak Oct 16Mount Hood Wildernesspeak Oct 10Salmon-Huckleberry Wildernesspeak Oct 12Mt. Hoodpeak Oct 13Mount Hood Recreation Areapeak Oct 16Roaring River Wildernesspeak Oct 11Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness
I-205I-84I-5Cascade LocksGreshamCarsonHood RiverSandyMount Hood VillageHappy ValleyBattle GroundMount Hood Wildernesspeak Oct 10Salmon-Huckleberry Wildernesspeak Oct 12Mt. Hoodpeak Oct 13Mount Hood Recreation Areapeak Oct 16Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness
Still greenStartingNearly peakPeakPast peakNo fall canopy we forecastInside the line, each band of elevation is painted on its own date.
Around Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness Multnomah County holds most of the wilderness and is fading today. That’s the county as a whole, which peaks 7 days later than the wilderness’s own stands: the wilderness is leaves down. Hood River County, to the southeast, is 16 days ahead.
Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness fall foliage map 2026: the place and the counties around it painted by how far along their color is on Nov 10. Peak forecast around Oct 16, maple Oct 18, best Oct 15 to 18.
Save or share this mapToday’s Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness fall foliage map as a picture, redrawn every morning. Free to reuse with credit to More Than Just Parks and a link back; the terms.Save the mapPin itFacebookXEmail

When is peak fall foliage at Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness in 2026?

Our forecast puts peak color at Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness around Oct 16, and the four days to aim for are Oct 15 to 18. black cottonwood peak later, around Sep 25.

The wilderness runs from about 82 to 4,045 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 5 days: the high stands around Oct 10, the low ground around Oct 15. That's 3 days later than our model alone would say, because this season's reports from the ground moved it.

Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness, fall color week by week, 2026
WeekIn the wildernessElevation at peak
Sep 21 to Sep 27Starting to turn
Sep 28 to Oct 4Starting to turn
Oct 5 to Oct 11Nearly peak4,000 to 5,000 ft
Oct 12 to Oct 18Peak color0 to 1,000 ft, 1,000 to 2,000 ft, 3,000 to 4,000 ft
Oct 19 to Oct 25Just past peak2,000 to 3,000 ft
Oct 26 to Nov 1Just past peak
By elevation The wilderness runs from about 82 to 4,045 feet. That’s 5 days of season between the top and the bottom: the high stands peak around Oct 10, the low ground holds until about Oct 15, and the color comes downhill in between. The date at the top of this page is the 0 to 1,000 foot band.
  1. 4,000–5,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 106%
  2. 3,000–4,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1530%
  3. 2,000–3,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 2029%
  4. 1,000–2,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1215%
  5. 0–1,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1521%

Height off 3DEP inside the wilderness’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the wilderness stands in it.

The latest daylight frame from the NEON.D16.MART.DP1.20002 camera, 21 km from Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness
Latest daylight frame PhenoCam Network, Martha Creek camera, 21 km away, captured Nov 9.

That’s 3 days later than our model alone would say. This season’s reports from the ground moved it, and they outrank us.

Plan this trip

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.

Thursday, October 15 to Friday, October 16

You’ll find it peak color.

That's the day our forecast puts peak color here.

  • 3,000–4,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 15
  • 2,000–3,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 20
  • 1,000–2,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 12
  • 0–1,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 15
Where to drive
Historic Columbia River Highway, about 11 miles · McKenzie Pass Scenic Byway (Route 242), about 93 miles
What turns
bigleaf maple, vine maple, Oregon white oak, black cottonwood, red alder

What turns, and when

Also named across Oregon, outside what the canopy read measures here: Western Larch.

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.

Questions people ask about Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness

When is peak fall foliage at Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness?

Our forecast puts peak color at Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness around Oct 16, and the four days to aim for are Oct 15 to 18. black cottonwood peak later, around Sep 25.

Where is the best fall color at Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness right now?

On Nov 10 the wilderness is leaves down. The last band to peak was 2,000 to 3,000 feet, around Oct 20.

How long does peak last at Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness?

About four days at the top, Oct 15 to 18, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the wilderness's elevations the color moves over about 5 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 9 days.

Is Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness past peak?

Yes. Peak was around Oct 16, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.

What trees turn color at Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness?

Vine Maple, Bigleaf Maple, Black Cottonwood, Red Alder, Western Larch. 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.

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

All of Oregon

Nearby, and when they turn

Mt. Hood and Roaring River Wilderness are on the map above, with their own date.

  1. Mount Hood National Recreation AreaOR · about 26 miles
    Peak Oct 16 best Oct 15 to 18
  2. Gifford Pinchot National ForestWA · about 42 miles
    Peak Oct 5 best Oct 4 to 7
  3. Mount Jefferson WildernessOR · about 70 miles
    Peak Oct 21 best Oct 20 to 23
  4. Mount Rainier National ParkWA · about 87 miles
    Peak Oct 4 best Oct 3 to 6

Fall color roads near Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness

Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the wilderness, so allow more by road.

  • Historic Columbia River Highway · about 11 miles, OR · 73 miles of road

    Waterfalls, basalt cliffs, and vine maples. The restored sections between Troutdale and Ainsworth are the crown jewels.

  • McKenzie Pass Scenic Byway (Route 242) · about 93 miles, OR · 36 miles of road

    Crosses the Cascades through lava fields and old-growth forest. Vine maple understory turns electric in mid-October.