National Park·South Dakota·111,331 acres
Badlands National Park
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
Weather Wind to 41 mph Tuesday. Color may come down before it turns.
Weather Hard frost Friday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
2 reports came in from Pennington County this week, 2 of them at peak. They moved our date 2 days later. See the county on the map.
When is peak fall foliage at Badlands National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Badlands National Park around Oct 20, and the four days to aim for are Oct 19 to 22.
The park runs from about 2,415 to 2,969 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 3 days: the high stands around Oct 19, the low ground around Oct 21. That's 9 days later than our model alone would say, because this season's reports from the ground moved it.
| 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 | 2,250 to 2,500 ft, 2,500 to 2,750 ft, 2,750 to 3,000 ft |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Just past peak |
- 2,750–3,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1940%
- 2,500–2,750 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 2044%
- 2,250–2,500 ftFadingpeak Oct 2113%
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 9 days later than our model alone would say. This season’s reports from the ground moved it, and they outrank us.
The place
You drive across South Dakota expecting flat and then the ground just falls away. 244,000 acres of buttes and spires so sharply eroded they look like the planet is showing you its bones. The formations expose 75 million years of geological history in horizontal stripes. Every hour the light shifts and the whole place becomes a different photograph.
Established 1978. About 1 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.
- 2,750–3,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 19
- 2,500–2,750 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 20
- 2,250–2,500 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 21
- What turns
- bur oak, green ash, hackberry, quaking aspen, plains cottonwood
- Entrance
- $30
What turns, and when
- bur oak27%
- green ash22%
- hackberry13%
- quaking aspen13%
- plains cottonwood12%
- boxelder4%
Every one of these turns yellow or gold here. The shades only tell the species apart.
Also named across South Dakota, outside what the canopy read measures here: Paper Birch.
The Black Hills produce a colorful mix of aspen gold and birch yellow against the dark green of ponderosa pine, while Spearfish Canyon stages the most dramatic display.
Questions people ask about Badlands National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Badlands National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Badlands National Park around Oct 20, and the four days to aim for are Oct 19 to 22.
- Where is the best fall color at Badlands National Park right now?
On Nov 10 the park is leaves down. The last band to peak was 2,250 to 2,500 feet, around Oct 21.
- How long does peak last at Badlands 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. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 3 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 7 days.
- Is Badlands National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 20, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.
- What trees turn color at Badlands National Park?
Quaking Aspen, Bur Oak, Cottonwood, Paper Birch, Green Ash. The Black Hills produce a colorful mix of aspen gold and birch yellow against the dark green of ponderosa pine, while Spearfish Canyon stages the most dramatic display.
- Is there an entrance fee at Badlands National Park?
Entrance fee $30.
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
Nearby, and when they turn
Wind Cave and Black Hills are on the map above, with their own date.
- Peak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Peak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Peak Oct 11 best Oct 10 to 13
- Peak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15