National Park·North Carolina, Tennessee·520,674 acres
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Before you drive inA parking tag is required for any vehicle parked longer than fifteen minutes. Daily, weekly or annual, sold online and at visitor centers. There is no entrance fee. The park’s own page on it.
Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
Weather Wind to 35 mph Thursday. Color may come down before it turns.
Weather Hard frost Thursday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
84 reports came in from Sevier County this week, 44 of them still green and 20 of them just starting. They moved our date 1 day later. See the county on the map.
When is peak fall foliage at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Great Smoky Mountains National Park around Oct 24, and the four days to aim for are Oct 23 to 26.
The park runs from about 1,521 to 5,071 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 17 days: the high stands around Oct 16, the low ground around Nov 2. That's 7 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Starting to turn | |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Starting to turn | |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Nearly peak | 5,000 to 6,000 ft |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Peak color | 3,000 to 4,000 ft, 4,000 to 5,000 ft |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Peak color | 2,000 to 3,000 ft |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Just past peak | 1,000 to 2,000 ft |
| Nov 9 to Nov 15 this week | Fading |
- 5,000–6,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 166%
- 4,000–5,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 2019%
- 3,000–4,000 ftFadingpeak Oct 2424%
- 2,000–3,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 2927%
- 1,000–2,000 ftJust past peakpeak Nov 224%
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 7 days later than our model alone would say. This season’s reports from the ground moved it, and they outrank us.
The place
The most visited national park by a wide margin. It protects one of the most biodiverse temperate forests on Earth. Go in mid-October when the hardwoods turn, or in late spring when the synchronous fireflies put on a show that looks engineered.
Established 1934. About 12.1 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.
Friday, October 23 to Saturday, October 24
You’ll find it just past peak up high, starting to turn lower down.
Up at 4,000 feet the stands peak around Oct 20; down at 2,000 feet they hold on until about Nov 2. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 4,000–5,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 20
- 3,000–4,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 24
- 2,000–3,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 29
- 1,000–2,000 ftStarting to turnpeak Nov 2
- Where to drive
- Newfound Gap Road, about 4 miles · Cherohala Skyway, about 34 miles · Blue Ridge Parkway (NC Section), about 75 miles
- What turns
- northern red oak, red maple, white oak, shagbark hickory, sugar maple
- Entrance
- No entrance fee
What turns, and when
- northern red oak26%
- red maple24%
- white oak15%
- shagbark hickory13%
- sugar maple11%
- tulip poplar5%
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.
Questions people ask about Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Great Smoky Mountains National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Great Smoky Mountains National Park around Oct 24, and the four days to aim for are Oct 23 to 26.
- Where is the best fall color at Great Smoky Mountains National Park right now?
On Nov 10 the park is fading. The last band to peak was 1,000 to 2,000 feet, around Nov 2.
- How long does peak last at Great Smoky Mountains National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 23 to 26, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 17 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 21 days.
- Is Great Smoky Mountains National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 24, and on Nov 10 it's fading.
- What trees turn color at Great Smoky Mountains National Park?
Tulip Poplar, Red Maple, Sourwood, Hickory, White Oak. 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.
- Is there an entrance fee at Great Smoky Mountains 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. 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
Nearby, and when they turn
Nantahala and Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness are on the map above, with their own date.
- Peak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
- Peak Oct 21 best Oct 20 to 23
- Peak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
- Peak Oct 26 best Oct 25 to 28
Fall color roads near Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the park, so allow more by road.
- Newfound Gap Road
Crosses the spine of the Great Smokies at 5,046 feet. Color peaks at the top in early October and at the base by late October.
- Cherohala Skyway
Connects Robbinsville, NC to Tellico Plains, TN across the Unicoi Mountains. Less traffic than the Parkway, equally spectacular.
- Blue Ridge Parkway (NC Section)
Mile markers 217 to 469. The highest and most dramatic section. Waterrock Knob, Craggy Gardens, and Graveyard Fields are must-stop overlooks.