Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Before you drive inA timed-entry ticket is required to enter during the day. Through October, in the daytime hours; outside them the gate is open. The park’s own page on it.
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 Arches National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Arches National Park around Oct 30, and the four days to aim for are Oct 29 to Nov 1.
The park runs from about 4,148 to 5,239 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 10 days: the high stands around Oct 21, the low ground around Oct 30. That's 2 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 | 4,750 to 5,000 ft, 5,000 to 5,250 ft, 5,250 to 5,500 ft |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Peak color | 4,000 to 4,250 ft, 4,250 to 4,500 ft, 4,500 to 4,750 ft |
| Nov 2 to Nov 8 | Just past peak | |
| Nov 9 to Nov 15 this week | Just past peak |
- 5,250–5,500 ftFadingpeak Oct 214%
- 5,000–5,250 ftFadingpeak Oct 2316%
- 4,750–5,000 ftFadingpeak Oct 2533%
- 4,500–4,750 ftFadingpeak Oct 2625%
- 4,250–4,500 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 2814%
- 4,000–4,250 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 306%
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 2 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
The place
Over 2,000 natural stone arches in 76,519 acres of southeast Utah. The highest concentration on Earth, and it is not particularly close. Delicate Arch gets all the attention (65 feet of freestanding sandstone, Utah license plates, sunset crowds shoulder to shoulder) but the place rewards you most when you wander away from the trail and find one nobody else bothered to visit.
Established 1971. About 1.8 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.
Thursday, October 29 to Friday, October 30
You’ll find it just past peak up high, peak color lower down.
Up at 5,000 feet the stands peak around Oct 23; down at 4,500 feet they hold on until about Oct 28. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 5,000–5,250 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 23
- 4,750–5,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 25
- 4,500–4,750 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 26
- 4,250–4,500 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 28
- Where to drive
- Grand Mesa Scenic Byway (CO 65), about 85 miles · Dallas Divide (CO 62), about 100 miles · Last Dollar Road, about 103 miles
- What turns
- quaking aspen, Gambel oak, bigtooth maple, serviceberry
- Entrance
- $30
What turns, and when
- quaking aspen42%
- Gambel oak29%
- bigtooth maple14%
- serviceberry14%
Also named across Utah, outside what the canopy read measures here: Narrowleaf Cottonwood, Rocky Mountain Maple.
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.
Questions people ask about Arches National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Arches National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Arches National Park around Oct 30, and the four days to aim for are Oct 29 to Nov 1.
- Where is the best fall color at Arches National Park right now?
On Nov 9 the park is just past peak. The last band to peak was 4,000 to 4,250 feet, around Oct 30.
- How long does peak last at Arches National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 29 to Nov 1, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 10 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 14 days.
- Is Arches National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 30, and on Nov 9 it's just past peak.
- What trees turn color at Arches National Park?
Quaking Aspen, Bigtooth Maple, Gambel Oak, Narrowleaf Cottonwood, Rocky Mountain Maple. 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.
- Is there an entrance fee at Arches 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
Canyonlands and Manti-La Sal are on the map above, with their own date.
- Peak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Peak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26
- Peak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
- Peak Oct 17 best Oct 16 to 19
Fall color roads near Arches National Park
Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the park, so allow more by road.
- Grand Mesa Scenic Byway (CO 65)
Cedaredge up and over Grand Mesa, aspen around the lakes on top.
- Dallas Divide (CO 62)
Ridgway to Placerville. The Sneffels Range over a hillside of aspen at the divide, the most photographed fall view in Colorado.
- Last Dollar Road
Telluride to Ridgway on gravel through the aspen under the Sneffels Range.
- Boulder Mountain (UT 12)
Torrey to Boulder over the aspen plateau, with Capitol Reef below.
- Owl Creek Pass
Ridgway to Silver Jack Reservoir on gravel, aspen under Chimney Rock and Courthouse Mountain.
- Million Dollar Highway (US 550)
Between Silverton and Ouray. The aspen-covered slopes above the road at Red Mountain Pass are among the most photographed fall scenes in America.