National Park·New Mexico, Texas·87,225 acres
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Photograph: More Than Just Parks
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 Guadalupe Mountains National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Guadalupe Mountains National Park around Oct 31, and the four days to aim for are Oct 30 to Nov 2.
The park runs from about 3,646 to 7,793 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 13 days: the high stands around Oct 25, the low ground around Nov 5. That's 4 days later than our model alone would say, because this September has been running warm.
| Week | In the park | Elevation at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Starting to turn | |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Starting to turn | |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Nearly peak | 7,000 to 8,000 ft |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Peak color | 5,000 to 6,000 ft, 6,000 to 7,000 ft |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Peak color | 3,000 to 4,000 ft, 4,000 to 5,000 ft |
| Nov 9 to Nov 15 this week | Just past peak |
- 7,000–8,000 ftFadingpeak Oct 2514%
- 6,000–7,000 ftFadingpeak Oct 2822%
- 5,000–6,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 3116%
- 4,000–5,000 ftJust past peakpeak Nov 323%
- 3,000–4,000 ftJust past peakpeak Nov 522%
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 4 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
The place
Far west Texas, in the middle of genuine nowhere. The park protects the world's most extensive Permian fossil reef, exposed after 250 million years of uplift and erosion. Guadalupe Peak hits 8,751 feet, the highest point in Texas. Most Texans have no idea it exists.
Established 1972. About 226,000/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 30 to Saturday, October 31
You’ll find it just past peak up high, nearly peak lower down.
Up at 7,000 feet the stands peak around Oct 25; down at 4,000 feet they hold on until about Nov 5. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 7,000–8,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 25
- 6,000–7,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 28
- 5,000–6,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 31
- 4,000–5,000 ftNearly peakpeak Nov 3
- 3,000–4,000 ftNearly peakpeak Nov 5
- What turns
- willow, velvet ash, Fremont cottonwood, Gambel oak, bigtooth maple
- Entrance
- $15
What turns, and when
- willow14%
- velvet ash14%
- Fremont cottonwood14%
- Gambel oak13%
- bigtooth maple10%
- Arizona walnut8%
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 Guadalupe Mountains National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Guadalupe Mountains National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Guadalupe Mountains National Park around Oct 31, and the four days to aim for are Oct 30 to Nov 2.
- Where is the best fall color at Guadalupe Mountains National Park right now?
On Nov 10 the park is just past peak. The last band to peak was 3,000 to 4,000 feet, around Nov 5.
- How long does peak last at Guadalupe Mountains National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 30 to Nov 2, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 13 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 17 days.
- Is Guadalupe Mountains National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 31, and on Nov 10 it's just past peak.
- What trees turn color at Guadalupe Mountains National Park?
Bald Cypress, Sweetgum, Red Oak, Bigtooth Maple, 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.
- Is there an entrance fee at Guadalupe Mountains National Park?
Entrance fee $15.
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
Lincoln is on the map above, with its own date.
- Peak Nov 2 best Nov 1 to 4