When is peak fall color at Mountain Lake Wilderness?

Our forecast puts peak color at Mountain Lake Wilderness around 21 Oct. The four days to aim for are 20 to 23 Oct. We publish our error rate.

Mountain Lake Wilderness Fall Foliage: 2026 Peak Color Forecast

Q: What trees turn color at Mountain Lake Wilderness?

Red Maple, Tulip Poplar, White Oak, Hickory, Sourwood. Shenandoah's overlooks reveal a warm mosaic of gold tulip poplars, scarlet maples, bronze hickories, and the deep wine of white oaks stretching along the Blue Ridge.

Peak color21 OctAim for 20 to 23 Oct

In the wilderness today, Sep 25Still green

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.

Still greenStartingNearly peakPeakPast peakNo fall canopy we forecastInside the line, each band of elevation is painted on its own date.

Around Mountain Lake Wilderness Craig County holds most of the wilderness and is still green today. Giles County, to the southwest, is 2 days ahead. Monroe County, to the northwest, is 1 day ahead.

By elevation The wilderness runs from about 2,042 to 3,850 feet. That’s 9 days of season between the top and the bottom: the high stands peak around Oct 16, the low ground holds until about Oct 23, and the color comes downhill in between. The date at the top of this page is the 2,500 to 3,000 foot band.

3,500–4,000 ftStarting to turnpeak Oct 1618%
3,000–3,500 ftStill greenpeak Oct 1923%
2,500–3,000 ftStill greenpeak Oct 2126%
2,000–2,500 ftStill greenpeak Oct 2330%

Height off 3DEP inside the wilderness’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the wilderness stands in it.

The latest daylight frame from the NEON.D07.MLBS.DP1.00033 camera, 6 km from Mountain Lake Wilderness — Latest daylight frame PhenoCam Network, Mountain Lake Biological Station camera, 6 km away, captured Sep 23.

That’s 5 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.

Plan this trip

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.

ArrivingLeaving

Tuesday 20 October to Wednesday 21 October

You’ll find it just past peak up high, nearly peak lower down.

Up at 3,500 feet the stands peak around Oct 16; down at 2,500 feet they hold on until about Oct 23. Pick your elevation for the day you come.

3,500–4,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 16
3,000–3,500 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 19
2,500–3,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 21
2,000–2,500 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 23

Where to drive: Highland Scenic Highway (Route 150), about 65 miles · Route 39 (Goshen Pass), about 66 miles · Skyline Drive, about 138 miles
What turns: northern red oak, white oak, red maple, shagbark hickory, sugar maple

What turns, and when

northern red oak30%
white oak30%
red maple19%
shagbark hickory15%
sugar maple3%
blackgum2%

Also named across Virginia, outside what the canopy read measures here: Tulip Poplar, Sourwood.

Shenandoah's overlooks reveal a warm mosaic of gold tulip poplars, scarlet maples, bronze hickories, and the deep wine of white oaks stretching along the Blue Ridge.

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. We score it here against 16 long-running forest cameras: two dates in three land within 7 days of the camera’s own peak. How this map is made

All of Virginia