National River and Recreation Area·Kentucky, Tennessee·113,633 acres
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
Forecast issued 25 Sep, 5:21pm ET
Peak color31 OctAim for 30 Oct to 2 Nov
In the recreation area today, Sep 25Still green
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 Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area McCreary County holds most of the recreation area and is still green today. Scott County, to the southeast, is on the same day. Fentress County, to the southwest, is 1 day behind.By elevation The recreation area runs from about 976 to 1,543 feet. That’s 2 days of season between the top and the bottom: the high stands peak around Oct 30, the low ground holds until about Nov 1, and the color comes downhill in between. The date at the top of this page is the 1,250 to 1,500 foot band.
1,500–1,750 ftStill greenpeak Oct 3012%
1,250–1,500 ftStill greenpeak Oct 3156%
1,000–1,250 ftStill greenpeak Nov 125%
750–1,000 ftStill greenpeak Nov 16%
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 5 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.
Friday 30 October to Saturday 31 October
You’ll find it peak color.
That's the day our forecast puts peak color here.
1,500–1,750 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 30
1,250–1,500 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 31
1,000–1,250 ftPeak colorpeak Nov 1
Where to drive
Cherohala Skyway, about 92 miles · Newfound Gap Road, about 94 miles · Blue Ridge Parkway (NC Section), about 147 miles
What turns
white oak, red maple, northern red oak, shagbark hickory, tulip poplar
What turns, and when
white oak30%
red maple20%
northern red oak20%
shagbark hickory10%
tulip poplar5%
blackgum5%
Also named across Tennessee, outside what the canopy read measures here: Sourwood.
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.
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 16 long-running forest cameras: two dates in three land within 7 days of the camera’s own peak. How this map is made
