National Park·Texas·785,097 acres
Big Bend National Park
Forecast issued Nov 12, 5:26pm ET
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 Big Bend National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Big Bend National Park around Nov 17, and the four days to aim for are Nov 16 to 19.
The park runs from about 2,038 to 4,555 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 11 days: the high stands around Nov 11, the low ground around Nov 16. That's 5 days later than our model alone would say, because this September has been running warm.
| Week | In the park | Elevation at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Starting to turn | |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Starting to turn | |
| Nov 9 to Nov 15 this week | Nearly peak | 3,000 to 4,000 ft, 4,000 to 5,000 ft |
| Nov 16 to Nov 22 | Peak color | 2,000 to 3,000 ft |
| Nov 23 to Nov 29 | Just past peak |
- 4,000–5,000 ftPeak colorpeak Nov 116%
- 3,000–4,000 ftPeak colorpeak Nov 1334%
- 2,000–3,000 ftNearly peakpeak Nov 1653%
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 5 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
The place
Eight hours from the nearest real airport. 801,163 acres of Chihuahuan Desert in southwest Texas where the Rio Grande bends 90 degrees along the Mexican border. The Chisos Mountains rise to 7,832 feet out of the desert floor, holding an entire forested ecosystem that has no business being there. You can go all day without seeing another car.
Established 1944. About 463K/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.
Monday, November 16 to Tuesday, November 17
You’ll find it just past peak up high, at peak lower down.
Up at 3,000 feet the stands peak around Nov 13; down at 3,000 feet they hold on until about Nov 16. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 3,000–4,000 ftJust past peakpeak Nov 13
- 2,000–3,000 ftPeak colorpeak Nov 16
- What turns
- bigtooth maple, chinkapin oak, Arizona walnut, velvet ash, Fremont cottonwood
- Entrance
- $30
What turns, and when
- bigtooth maple31%
- chinkapin oak15%
- Arizona walnut15%
- velvet ash9%
- Fremont cottonwood9%
- willow9%
Also named across Texas, outside what the canopy read measures here: Bald Cypress, Sweetgum, Red Oak, Sycamore.
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.
Questions people ask about Big Bend National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Big Bend National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Big Bend National Park around Nov 17, and the four days to aim for are Nov 16 to 19.
- Where is the best fall color at Big Bend National Park right now?
On Nov 12 the park is nearly peak. By elevation, the color is at peak at 3,000 to 4,000 feet and 4,000 to 5,000 feet.
- How long does peak last at Big Bend National Park?
About four days at the top, Nov 16 to 19, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 11 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 15 days.
- Is Big Bend National Park past peak?
No. On Nov 12 it's nearly peak, and peak is around Nov 17, 5 days away.
- What trees turn color at Big Bend National Park?
Bigtooth maple is 31 percent of the trees that turn here, then chinkapin oak (15 percent), Arizona walnut (15), velvet ash (9), Fremont cottonwood (9) and willow (9). Bigtooth maple and Fremont cottonwood turn red; chinkapin oak turns orange; Arizona walnut, velvet ash and willow turn yellow or gold. What turns, and when
- Is there an entrance fee at Big Bend National Park?
Entrance fee $30.
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
- Peak Nov 20 best Nov 19 to 22