National Recreation Area·Pennsylvania·24,147 acres
Allegheny National Recreation Area
Forecast issued 25 Sep, 5:21pm ET
Peak color16 OctAim for 15 to 18 Oct
In the recreation area today, Sep 25Starting to turn
Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
Still greenStartingNearly peakPeakPast peakNo fall canopy we forecastInside the line, each band of elevation is painted on its own date.
Around Allegheny National Recreation Area Warren County holds most of the recreation area and is starting to turn today. McKean County, to the east, is 2 days ahead.By elevation The recreation area runs from about 1,329 to 2,014 feet. That’s 2 days of season between the top and the bottom: the high stands peak around Oct 14, the low ground holds until about Oct 16, and the color comes downhill in between. The date at the top of this page is the 1,250 to 1,500 foot band.
2,000–2,250 ftStarting to turnpeak Oct 146%
1,750–2,000 ftStarting to turnpeak Oct 1537%
1,500–1,750 ftStarting to turnpeak Oct 1630%
1,250–1,500 ftStarting to turnpeak Oct 1627%
SepOctNov
Height off 3DEP inside the recreation area’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the recreation area stands in it.
That’s 3 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
Set the days you can be here. Everything under them answers for those days, not for peak.
Thursday 15 October to Friday 16 October
You’ll find it peak color.
That's the day our forecast puts peak color here.
1,750–2,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 15
1,500–1,750 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 16
1,250–1,500 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 16
Where to drive
Route 6 through Allegheny National Forest, about 11 miles · Letchworth Gorge Road (Park Road), about 72 miles
What turns
northern red oak, red maple, white oak, shagbark hickory, sugar maple
What turns, and when
northern red oak26%
red maple24%
white oak14%
shagbark hickory13%
sugar maple11%
tulip poplar6%
Also named across Pennsylvania, outside what the canopy read measures here: American Beech.
Pennsylvania's vast forests turn every shade from scarlet maple to burgundy oak to bronze beech, and the Allegheny Plateau produces color that rivals the best of New England across a much larger canvas.
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 27 long-running forest cameras: two dates in three land within 10 days of the camera’s own peak. How this map is made
