Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Nov 9 in most of South Carolina, but it moves 12 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
South Carolina fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in South Carolina in 2026?
Most of South Carolina peaks between Nov 4 and Nov 12: the north first, around Nov 5, and the south last, around Nov 11. The first county to peak is Greenville County, around Nov 2, and the last is Jasper County, around Nov 14.
Latitude does most of the work here: color moves south at about two days per degree, so the north of the state turns 5 days ahead of the south. This fall is running 3 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
| Week | Where it peaks | Most of the state |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Francis Marion and Sumter National Forests, Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge, Kings Mountain National Military Park and 23 counties | Peak color |
| Nov 9 to Nov 15 this week | Francis Marion National Wildlife Refuge, Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and 23 counties | Peak color |
Each date is the middle of the four days we’d aim a trip at, and each place page names them. We score the model against 16 long-running forest monitoring sites in this part of the country and publish what it got wrong.
Mid-to-late October in the mountains, late November in the Midlands is how South Carolina is usually described.
South Carolina’s season place by place
Every place we forecast in South Carolina, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Ellicott Rock Wilderness, Oct 25. Last: Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge, Nov 14.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Nov 11. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in South Carolina
The destinations we cover in South Carolina, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Waccamaw National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 10 best Nov 9 to 12
- PeakPeak Nov 10 best Nov 9 to 12
- Santee National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 10 best Nov 9 to 12
- Hell Hole Bay WildernessPeakPeak Nov 11 best Nov 10 to 13
- Wambaw Creek WildernessPeakPeak Nov 11 best Nov 10 to 13
- Francis Marion National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 12 best Nov 11 to 14
- Cape Romain National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 12 best Nov 11 to 14
- Cape Romain WildernessPeakPeak Nov 12 best Nov 11 to 14
- Little Wambaw Swamp WildernessPeakPeak Nov 12 best Nov 11 to 14
- Wambaw Swamp WildernessPeakPeak Nov 12 best Nov 11 to 14
- Ernest F. Hollings Ace Basin National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 13 best Nov 12 to 15
- Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical ParkPeakPeak Nov 13 best Nov 12 to 15
- Savannah National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 14 best Nov 13 to 16
- Pinckney Island National Wildlife RefugePeakPeak Nov 14 best Nov 13 to 16
- Near peakPeak Nov 8 best Nov 7 to 10
- Ninety Six National Historic SiteNear peakPeak Nov 8, oak Nov 14 best Nov 7 to 10
- Ellicott Rock WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
- Cowpens National BattlefieldPast peakPeak Nov 2, oak Nov 5 best Nov 1 to 4
- Kings Mountain National Military ParkPast peakPeak Nov 3, oak Nov 6 best Nov 2 to 5
- Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Nov 6 best Nov 5 to 8
Questions people ask about South Carolina fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in South Carolina?
Most of South Carolina peaks between Nov 4 and Nov 12: the north first, around Nov 5, and the south last, around Nov 11. The first county to peak is Greenville County, around Nov 2, and the last is Jasper County, around Nov 14. This fall is running 3 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall foliage in South Carolina right now?
As of Nov 10, Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge, Congaree National Park, Santee National Wildlife Refuge and 14 more are at peak, with Kings Mountain National Military Park within a week of it.
- How long does peak last in South Carolina?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across South Carolina as a whole, peak moves 12 days from Greenville County to Jasper County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 16 days.
- Is South Carolina past peak?
Not yet for most of it. As of Nov 10, 17 of South Carolina's 46 counties are past peak, 22 are at it and 7 are still ahead.
- How far along is South Carolina's fall foliage today?
On Nov 10, 22 of South Carolina's 46 counties (48 percent) are at peak, 7 (15 percent) are turning and 17 (37 percent) are past peak. The county map above paints each one, and the live map lets you scrub the day.
- When do the leaves change in South Carolina?
The first color shows in Greenville County around Oct 12 and peaks there around Nov 2. Jasper County is the last of South Carolina's 46 counties, peaking around Nov 14. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Nov 9.
- What's the best time to visit South Carolina for fall foliage?
The week of Nov 9 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Nov 8 to 11. That's the leaf peeping window for South Carolina as a whole. For Greenville County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Nov 2; for Jasper County and its neighbors, the week of Nov 14.
What actually turns
The Blue Ridge escarpment in the northwest corner produces mountain color that drops off dramatically into the Piedmont, with maples and tulip poplars providing the best displays.
- Red Maple
- Sweetgum
- Tulip Poplar
- Hickory
- White Oak
The Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway (Route 11) runs along the Blue Ridge escarpment, and Table Rock State Park is the best single viewpoint for fall color in the state.
Worth the drive
Greenville County in upstate South Carolina sits at the base of the Blue Ridge escarpment and contains some of the most dramatic elevation changes in the Southeast. The county stretches from the 3,500-foot peaks along the North Carolina border down to the Piedmont at 900 feet, and the Blue Wall, as the escarpment is locally known, puts on a vertical fall display visible from the city of Greenville itself.
Every county by peak week
Cherokee regional, Greenville, Oconee regional, Pickens, York regional
Abbeville, Aiken, Anderson, Calhoun, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Darlington, Dillon, Edgefield, Fairfield, Florence, Greenwood, Horry, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, McCormick, Newberry, Orangeburg, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg
Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Hampton, Jasper
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
See it on the map
The live map covers every county in the country, with a timeline you can scrub through the season, the nearest forest monitoring camera, and the long-term record where we hold one. If you’re going this weekend, the weekend report names where color is at peak right now, region by region.
Before you drive, it’s worth checking fire and smoke conditions for the same forests. A perfect color week is no good under a smoke plume.