National Park·South Dakota·33,927 acres
Wind Cave 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.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Wind Cave National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Wind Cave National Park around Oct 23, and the four days to aim for are Oct 22 to 25.
The park runs from about 3,720 to 4,651 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 6 days: the high stands around Oct 17, the low ground around Oct 23. That's 4 days later than our model alone would say, because this September has been running warm.
| Week | In the park | Elevation at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Starting to turn | |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Starting to turn | |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Nearly peak | 4,500 to 4,750 ft |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Peak color | 3,500 to 3,750 ft, 3,750 to 4,000 ft, 4,000 to 4,250 ft, 4,250 to 4,500 ft |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Just past peak | |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Just past peak |
- 4,500–4,750 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1713%
- 4,250–4,500 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1920%
- 4,000–4,250 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 2033%
- 3,750–4,000 ftFadingpeak Oct 2226%
- 3,500–3,750 ftFadingpeak Oct 238%
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 4 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
The place
Wind Cave was the seventh national park and the first created specifically to protect a cave. Below the surface, over 150 miles of surveyed passages contain boxwork, a honeycomb calcite formation found almost nowhere else on earth. Above ground, one of the last intact mixed-grass prairies in the country rolls out to the horizon with bison, elk, and prairie dogs doing exactly what they were doing 500 years ago.
Established 1903. About 489,000/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.
Thursday, October 22 to Friday, October 23
You’ll find it just past peak up high, peak color lower down.
Up at 4,500 feet the stands peak around Oct 17; down at 4,000 feet they hold on until about Oct 22. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 4,500–4,750 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 17
- 4,250–4,500 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 19
- 4,000–4,250 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 20
- 3,750–4,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 22
- What turns
- bur oak, green ash, quaking aspen, hackberry, plains cottonwood
- Entrance
- No entrance fee
What turns, and when
- bur oak37%
- green ash21%
- quaking aspen20%
- hackberry19%
- plains cottonwood3%
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 Wind Cave National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Wind Cave National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Wind Cave National Park around Oct 23, and the four days to aim for are Oct 22 to 25.
- Where is the best fall color at Wind Cave National Park right now?
On Nov 10 the park is fading. The last band to peak was 3,500 to 3,750 feet, around Oct 23.
- How long does peak last at Wind Cave National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 22 to 25, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 6 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 10 days.
- Is Wind Cave National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 23, and on Nov 10 it's fading.
- What trees turn color at Wind Cave 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 Wind Cave National Park?
Entrance fee Free.
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
Black Hills and Badlands 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