Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Oct 2 in most of Utah, but it moves 18 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Utah fall color map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall color in Utah in 2026?
Most of Utah peaks between Sep 27 and Oct 8: the high country first, around Sep 28, and the low ground last, around Oct 6. The first county to peak is Daggett County, around Sep 23, and the last is Wayne County, around Oct 11.
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 2 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
| Week | Where it peaks | Most of the state |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Ashley Karst National Recreation and Geologic Area National Recreation Area and 8 counties | Nearly peak |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Sawtooth National Forest, Ashley National Forest and 12 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Fishlake National Forest, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Mount Naomi Wilderness and 9 counties | Just past peak |
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.
8 of 29 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 19 reports from official state sources have moved those dates off the model and narrowed their windows. Counties with neither keep the model forecast and say so. Which is which is marked in the table below.
Late September at high elevations, early-to-mid October along the Wasatch Front is how Utah is usually described.
Utah’s season place by place
The 24 places closest to their peak in Utah, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: High Uintas Wilderness, Sep 19. Last: Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Nov 8.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 7. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Utah
The destinations we cover in Utah, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Rainbow Bridge National MonumentNear peakPeak Nov 8 best Nov 7 to 10
- High Uintas WildernessPast peakPeak Sep 19 best Sep 18 to 21
- Past peakPeak Sep 22 best Sep 21 to 24
- Past peakPeak Sep 23 best Sep 22 to 25
- Past peakPeak Sep 30 best Sep 29 to Oct 2
- Past peakPeak Oct 4 best Oct 3 to 6
- Past peakPeak Oct 4 best Oct 3 to 6
- Past peakPeak Oct 4 best Oct 3 to 6
- Brian Head Ski AreaPast peakPeak Oct 5 best Oct 4 to 7
- Cedar Breaks National MonumentPast peakPeak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
- Alta Ski AreaPast peakPeak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
- Brighton Ski AreaPast peakPeak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
- Past peakPeak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
- Snowbird Ski AreaPast peakPeak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
- Solitude Ski AreaPast peakPeak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
- Past peakPeak Oct 8 best Oct 7 to 10
- Ashdown Gorge WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 8 best Oct 7 to 10
- Past peakPeak Oct 10 best Oct 9 to 12
- Past peakPeak Oct 11 best Oct 10 to 13
- Dark Canyon WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Past peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Snowbasin Ski AreaPast peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Past peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Past peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
Also forecast in UtahArches National ParkBox-Death Hollow WildernessBryce Canyon National ParkCanyonlands National ParkCapitol Reef National ParkDesert Range Exp. Station Experimental AreaDixie National ForestGlen Canyon National Recreation AreaMount Timpanogos WildernessWellsville Mountain WildernessZion National Park
Questions people ask about Utah fall colors
- When is peak fall color in Utah?
Most of Utah peaks between Sep 27 and Oct 8: the high country first, around Sep 28, and the low ground last, around Oct 6. The first county to peak is Daggett County, around Sep 23, and the last is Wayne County, around Oct 11. This fall is running 2 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall color in Utah right now?
As of Nov 10, Rainbow Bridge National Monument is at peak.
- How long does peak last in Utah?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Utah as a whole, peak moves 18 days from Daggett County to Wayne County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 22 days.
- Is Utah past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 10, every one of Utah's 29 counties is past peak by our forecast. Wayne County was the last, around Oct 11.
- How far along is Utah's fall color today?
On Nov 10, no county in Utah is at peak yet: 29 of Utah's 29 counties (100 percent) are past peak. The county map above paints each one, and the live map lets you scrub the day.
- When do the leaves change in Utah?
The first color shows in Daggett County around Sep 2 and peaks there around Sep 23. Wayne County is the last of Utah's 29 counties, peaking around Oct 11. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 2.
- What's the best time to visit Utah for fall colors?
The week of Oct 2 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 1 to 4. That's the leaf peeping window for Utah as a whole. For Daggett County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Sep 23; for Wayne County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 11.
What actually turns
Utah's fall is a dual show: aspens turn gold on the high plateaus while bigtooth maples along the Wasatch Front go vivid scarlet, creating one of the most colorful mountain fronts in the West.
- Quaking Aspen
- Bigtooth Maple
- Gambel Oak
- Narrowleaf Cottonwood
- Rocky Mountain Maple
The Alpine Scenic Loop around Mount Timpanogos is draped in bigtooth maple scarlet and aspen gold, and it produces color intensity that surprises everyone expecting a monochrome western fall.
Worth the drive
Utah County contains the Alpine Scenic Loop around Mount Timpanogos, which produces the most intense fall color in Utah and arguably the most colorful mountain drive in the American West outside of Colorado. The secret is bigtooth maples, a species that turns vivid scarlet and rivals any eastern sugar maple for intensity. The maples line Provo Canyon and the American Fork Canyon slopes, peaking in early-to-mid October.
Every county by peak week
Beaver, Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne observed, Emery, Garfield, Piute, Summit, Uintah, Wasatch regional
Box Elder, Cache, Davis regional, Grand, Iron observed, Kane, Millard, Morgan regional, Rich, San Juan observed, Sanpete observed, Sevier corrected, Tooele regional, Utah regional, Weber
Juab observed, Salt Lake observed, Washington, Wayne corrected
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.