Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Nov 4 in most of Tennessee, but it moves 16 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Tennessee fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in Tennessee in 2026?
Most of Tennessee peaks between Oct 29 and Nov 7: the high country first, around Oct 31, and the low ground last, around Nov 6. The first county to peak is Johnson County, around Oct 23, and the last is Fayette County, around Nov 8.
Elevation does most of the work here. Color runs down a mountain at roughly a day per 100 meters, so a ridge and the valley below it can be a week or two apart in the same county. This fall is running 6 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
| Week | Where it peaks | Most of the state |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Cherokee National Forest, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pisgah National Forest and 4 counties | Starting to turn |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Cohutta Wilderness, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and 22 counties | Nearly peak |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, Chickasaw National Wildlife Refuge, Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge and 69 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 7 long-running forest monitoring sites in this part of the country and publish what it got wrong.
4 of 95 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 367 reports from official state sources have moved those dates off the model and narrowed their windows. Counties with neither keep the model forecast and say so. Which is which is marked in the table below.
Early October at the highest elevations, mid-to-late October at mid-elevations, early November in the valleys is how Tennessee is usually described.
Tennessee’s season place by place
The 24 places closest to their peak in Tennessee, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Pisgah National Forest, Oct 20. Last: Natchez Trace Parkway, Nov 11.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 29. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Tennessee
The destinations we cover in Tennessee, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- PeakPeak Nov 11 best Nov 10 to 13
- Chickasaw National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Shiloh National Military ParkNear peakPeak Nov 7 best Nov 6 to 9
- Lower Hatchie National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 8 best Nov 7 to 10
- Hatchie National Wildlife RefugeNear peakPeak Nov 8 best Nov 7 to 10
- Past peakPeak Oct 20 best Oct 19 to 22
- Unaka Mountain WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 21 best Oct 20 to 23
- Past peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Pond Mountain WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Past peakPeak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26
- Past peakPeak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
- Past peakPeak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
- Sampson Mountain WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
- Big Laurel Branch WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
- Upper Bald River WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 26 best Oct 25 to 28
- Cumberland Gap National Historical ParkPast peakPeak Oct 27, oak Oct 30 best Oct 26 to 29
- Cohutta WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 29 best Oct 28 to 31
- Big Frog WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 29 best Oct 28 to 31
- Bald River Gorge WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 29 best Oct 28 to 31
- Little Frog Mountain WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 30 best Oct 29 to Nov 1
- Past peakPeak Oct 31 best Oct 30 to Nov 2
- Gee Creek WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 31 best Oct 30 to Nov 2
- Past peakPeak Nov 1 best Oct 31 to Nov 3
- Past peakPeak Nov 4, oak Nov 7 best Nov 3 to 6
Questions people ask about Tennessee fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in Tennessee?
Most of Tennessee peaks between Oct 29 and Nov 7: the high country first, around Oct 31, and the low ground last, around Nov 6. The first county to peak is Johnson County, around Oct 23, and the last is Fayette County, around Nov 8. This fall is running 6 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall foliage in Tennessee right now?
As of Nov 10, Natchez Trace Parkway, Chickasaw National Wildlife Refuge, Shiloh National Military Park and two more are at peak, with Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area within a week of it.
- How long does peak last in Tennessee?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Tennessee as a whole, peak moves 16 days from Johnson County to Fayette County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 20 days.
- Is Tennessee past peak?
Mostly. As of Nov 10, 90 of Tennessee's 95 counties are past peak, 5 are at it and 0 are still ahead. Fayette County is the last to peak, around Nov 8.
- How far along is Tennessee's fall foliage today?
On Nov 10, 5 of Tennessee's 95 counties (5 percent) are at peak and 90 (95 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 Tennessee?
The first color shows in Johnson County around Oct 2 and peaks there around Oct 23. Fayette County is the last of Tennessee's 95 counties, peaking around Nov 8. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Nov 4.
- What's the best time to visit Tennessee for fall foliage?
The week of Nov 4 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Nov 3 to 6. That's the leaf peeping window for Tennessee as a whole. For Johnson County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 23; for Fayette County and its neighbors, the week of Nov 8.
What actually turns
The Great Smoky Mountains produce a warm, layered fall where tulip poplars turn gold, sourwoods go crimson, hickories fade to bronze, and the ridgelines recede in hazy waves of color.
- Tulip Poplar
- Red Maple
- Sourwood
- Hickory
- White Oak
Newfound Gap Road in Great Smoky Mountains National Park crosses the Appalachian Divide at 5,046 feet, and the drive from Gatlinburg to the summit in mid-October is one of the iconic fall experiences in America.
Worth the drive
Sevier County is the Tennessee gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains, containing Gatlinburg and the northern slopes of the park. Newfound Gap Road climbs from 1,462 feet at Sugarlands to 5,046 feet at the gap, creating a vertical gradient of color that is unmatched in the eastern United States. Visit the higher elevations in early October and the lower sections two to three weeks later.
Every county by peak week
Carter, Johnson, Sevier observed, Unicoi
Anderson, Bledsoe, Blount observed, Campbell, Claiborne, Clay, Cocke, Cumberland, Davidson regional, Fentress, Grainger regional, Greene, Grundy, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawkins, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox observed, Loudon regional, Macon, McMinn, Monroe regional, Morgan, Overton, Pickett, Polk, Putnam, Rhea, Roane, Scott, Sequatchie, Sullivan, Sumner, Union, Van Buren, Washington, White, Wilson regional
Bedford regional, Benton, Bradley, Cannon regional, Carroll, Cheatham, Chester, Coffee regional, Crockett, Decatur, DeKalb, Dickson, Dyer, Fayette, Franklin, Gibson, Giles, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Lake, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Madison, Marion, Marshall regional, Maury, McNairy, Meigs, Montgomery, Moore, Obion, Perry, Robertson, Rutherford observed, Shelby, Smith, Stewart, Tipton, Trousdale, Warren, Wayne, Weakley, Williamson regional
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
The official Tennessee report
Tennessee publishes its own foliage report through the season, from Tennessee State Parks. That's a state forestry agency, which means foresters reporting conditions rather than a tourism office. Once the season starts it will be more current than any forecast, including ours.
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.