Where is the best fall foliage in Texas right now?

As of Nov 10, Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland, Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, Caddo National Grassland and one more are at peak, with Neches River National Wildlife Refuge, Big Bend National Park, Sabine National Forest and three more within a week of it. Angelina National Forest follows around Nov 18.

How long does peak last in Texas?

In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Texas as a whole, peak moves 36 days from Sherman County to Cameron County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 40 days.

Not yet for most of it. As of Nov 10, 53 of Texas's 254 counties are past peak, 39 are at it and 162 are still ahead.

How far along is Texas's fall foliage today?

On Nov 10, 39 of Texas's 254 counties (15 percent) are at peak, 160 (63 percent) are turning, 53 (21 percent) are past peak and 2 (1 percent) are still green. The county map above paints each one, and the live map lets you scrub the day.

When do the leaves change in Texas?

The first color shows in Sherman County around Oct 6 and peaks there around Oct 27. Cameron County is the last of Texas's 254 counties, peaking around Dec 2. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Nov 14.

What's the best time to visit Texas for fall foliage?

The week of Nov 14 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Nov 13 to 16. That's the leaf peeping window for Texas as a whole. For Sherman County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 27; for Cameron County and its neighbors, the week of Dec 2.

Back to the map

Texas Fall Foliage Map 2026

Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET

Photograph: More Than Just Parks

Peak color lands around Nov 14 in most of Texas, but it moves 36 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.

Texas fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9

Texas, Nov 10 Still green to peak to past peak, the map’s own scale. Open the live map to scrub the day, or save today’s leaf color map below.

When is peak fall foliage in Texas in 2026?

Most of Texas peaks between Nov 2 and Nov 24: the high country first, around Nov 6, and the low ground last, around Nov 20. The first county to peak is Sherman County, around Oct 27, and the last is Cameron County, around Dec 2.

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.

Texas, fall foliage week by week, 2026
Week	Where it peaks	Most of the state
Oct 26 to Nov 1	Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Lake Meredith National Recreation Area, Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge and 23 counties	Starting to turn
Nov 2 to Nov 8	Rita Blanca National Grassland, Black Kettle National Grassland, Fort Davis National Historic Site and 38 counties	Nearly peak
Nov 9 to Nov 15 this week	Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland, Caddo National Grassland, Caddo Lake National Wildlife Refuge and 89 counties	Peak color
Nov 16 to Nov 22	Big Bend National Park, Sam Houston National Forest, Sabine National Forest and 67 counties	Peak color
Nov 23 to Nov 29	San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge, Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife Refuge and 32 counties	Just past peak
Nov 30 to Dec 6	Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge and 5 counties	Fading

Each date is the middle of the four days we’d aim a trip at, and each place page names them. We publish what the model got wrong, region by region.

Late October in the Guadalupes, mid-November in the Hill Country, late November in East Texas is how Texas is usually described.

Texas’s season place by place

The 24 places closest to their peak in Texas, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.

First: Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland, Nov 11. Last: San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, Nov 23.

The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Nov 18. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.

Where to go in Texas

The destinations we cover in Texas, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.

Lyndon B. Johnson National GrasslandTexas
PeakPeak Nov 11 best Nov 10 to 13
Hagerman National Wildlife RefugeTexas
PeakPeak Nov 11 best Nov 10 to 13
Caddo National GrasslandTexas
PeakPeak Nov 12, white oak Nov 19 best Nov 11 to 14
Caddo Lake National Wildlife RefugeTexas
PeakPeak Nov 14 best Nov 13 to 16
Neches River National Wildlife RefugeTexas
PeakPeak Nov 16 best Nov 15 to 18
Big Bend National ParkTexas
PeakPeak Nov 17 best Nov 16 to 19
Sabine National ForestTexas
PeakPeak Nov 17 best Nov 16 to 19
Davy Crockett National ForestTexas
PeakPeak Nov 17 best Nov 16 to 19
Turkey Hill WildernessTexas
PeakPeak Nov 17 best Nov 16 to 19
Big Slough WildernessTexas
PeakPeak Nov 17 best Nov 16 to 19
Angelina National ForestTexas
PeakPeak Nov 18 best Nov 17 to 20
Upland Island WildernessTexas
PeakPeak Nov 18 best Nov 17 to 20
Indian Mounds WildernessTexas
PeakPeak Nov 18 best Nov 17 to 20
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical ParkTexas
PeakPeak Nov 18 best Nov 17 to 20
Harvey Creek Recreation AreaTexas
PeakPeak Nov 18 best Nov 17 to 20
Sam Houston National ForestTexas
PeakPeak Nov 19, sweetgum Nov 27 best Nov 18 to 21
Little Lake Creek WildernessTexas
PeakPeak Nov 19, sweetgum Nov 27 best Nov 18 to 21
Big Thicket National PreserveTexas
Near peakPeak Nov 20, sweetgum Nov 28 best Nov 19 to 22
Trinity River National Wildlife RefugeTexas
Near peakPeak Nov 21, sweetgum Nov 29 best Nov 20 to 23
McFaddin National Wildlife RefugeTexas
Near peakPeak Nov 22, sweetgum Nov 30 best Nov 21 to 24
Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife RefugeTexas
Near peakPeak Nov 22 best Nov 21 to 24
Texas Point National Wildlife RefugeTexas
Near peakPeak Nov 22, sweetgum Nov 30 best Nov 21 to 24
Jocelyn Nungaray National Wildlife RefugeTexas
Too earlyPeak Nov 23, sweetgum Dec 1 best Nov 22 to 25
San Antonio Missions National Historical ParkTexas
Too earlyPeak Nov 23 best Nov 22 to 25

Also forecast in TexasAmistad National Recreation AreaGuadalupe Mountains National ParkLake Meredith National Recreation AreaPadre Island National Seashore

Questions people ask about Texas fall foliage

When is peak fall foliage in Texas?: Most of Texas peaks between Nov 2 and Nov 24: the high country first, around Nov 6, and the low ground last, around Nov 20. The first county to peak is Sherman County, around Oct 27, and the last is Cameron County, around Dec 2. 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 Texas right now?: As of Nov 10, Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland, Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge, Caddo National Grassland and one more are at peak, with Neches River National Wildlife Refuge, Big Bend National Park, Sabine National Forest and three more within a week of it. Angelina National Forest follows around Nov 18.
How long does peak last in Texas?: In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Texas as a whole, peak moves 36 days from Sherman County to Cameron County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 40 days.
Is Texas past peak?: Not yet for most of it. As of Nov 10, 53 of Texas's 254 counties are past peak, 39 are at it and 162 are still ahead.
How far along is Texas's fall foliage today?: On Nov 10, 39 of Texas's 254 counties (15 percent) are at peak, 160 (63 percent) are turning, 53 (21 percent) are past peak and 2 (1 percent) are still green. The county map above paints each one, and the live map lets you scrub the day.
When do the leaves change in Texas?: The first color shows in Sherman County around Oct 6 and peaks there around Oct 27. Cameron County is the last of Texas's 254 counties, peaking around Dec 2. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Nov 14.
What's the best time to visit Texas for fall foliage?: The week of Nov 14 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Nov 13 to 16. That's the leaf peeping window for Texas as a whole. For Sherman County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 27; for Cameron County and its neighbors, the week of Dec 2.

What actually turns

Bald cypresses turn copper and russet along the Hill Country rivers, bigtooth maples in the Guadalupe Mountains produce pockets of scarlet, and sweetgums color the Piney Woods red and purple.

Bald Cypress
Sweetgum
Red Oak
Bigtooth Maple
Sycamore

Lost Maples State Natural Area in the Hill Country protects a relict grove of bigtooth maples that turn vivid scarlet, and it is one of the most surprising fall destinations in the South.

Every county by peak week

Oct 27

Hartley, Sherman

Oct 29 to Nov 3

Armstrong, Bailey, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Cochran, Culberson, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Donley, Floyd, Gray, Hale, Hansford, Hemphill, Hockley, Hutchinson, Lamb, Lipscomb, Lubbock, Moore, Motley, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Swisher, Wheeler, Yoakum

Nov 4 to Nov 10

Andrews, Archer, Baylor, Borden, Brewster, Childress, Clay, Collingsworth, Cottle, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens, Ector, El Paso, Fisher, Foard, Gaines, Garza, Glasscock, Hall, Hardeman, Haskell, Howard, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Kent, King, Knox, Loving, Lynn, Martin, Midland, Mitchell, Montague, Nolan, Pecos, Presidio, Reagan, Reeves, Scurry, Sterling, Stonewall, Taylor, Terry, Upton, Ward, Wichita, Wilbarger, Winkler

Nov 11 to Nov 17

Anderson, Bosque, Bowie, Brown, Burnet, Callahan, Camp, Cass, Cherokee, Coke, Coleman, Collin, Comanche, Concho, Cooke, Coryell, Crane, Crockett, Dallas, Delta, Denton, Eastland, Edwards, Ellis, Erath, Fannin, Franklin, Freestone, Gillespie, Grayson, Gregg, Hamilton, Harrison, Henderson, Hill, Hood, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Irion, Jack, Johnson, Jones, Kaufman, Kerr, Kimble, Lamar, Lampasas, Leon, Limestone, Llano, Marion, Mason, McCulloch, McLennan, Menard, Mills, Morris, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Panola, Parker, Rains, Real, Red River, Rockwall, Runnels, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Saba, Schleicher, Shackelford, Shelby, Smith, Somervell, Stephens, Sutton, Tarrant, Terrell, Throckmorton, Titus, Tom Green, Upshur, Van Zandt, Wise, Wood, Young

Nov 18 to Nov 24

Angelina, Atascosa, Austin, Bandera, Bastrop, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Brazoria, Brazos, Burleson, Caldwell, Chambers, Colorado, Comal, DeWitt, Falls, Fayette, Fort Bend, Frio, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Hays, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Kendall, Kinney, Lavaca, Lee, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Maverick, Medina, Milam, Montgomery, Newton, Orange, Polk, Robertson, San Jacinto, Travis, Trinity, Tyler, Uvalde, Val Verde, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Washington, Wharton, Williamson, Wilson, Zavala

Nov 25 to Dec 1

Aransas, Bee, Brooks, Calhoun, Dimmit, Duval, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kenedy, Kleberg, La Salle, Live Oak, McMullen, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Webb, Willacy, Zapata

Dec 2

Cameron, Hidalgo

Next door todayArkansas peak colorLouisiana nearly peakNew Mexico fadingOklahoma just past peak

How this map is madeThe trees, the elevation, this September’s weather and reports from the ground, scored against 68 forest cameras. Median error 6 days.

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

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.