Where is the best fall foliage in Washington right now?

Peak has passed in the places we cover in Washington as of Nov 10. Olympic National Park and 23 more was the last, around Oct 3. The live map still shows where russet and late gold are holding.

How long does peak last in Washington?

In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Washington as a whole, peak moves 22 days from Douglas County to Yakima County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 26 days.

Is Washington past peak?

Yes. As of Nov 10, every one of Washington's 39 counties is past peak by our forecast. Yakima County was the last, around Oct 18.

How far along is Washington's fall foliage today?

On Nov 10, no county in Washington is at peak yet: 39 of Washington's 39 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 Washington?

The first color shows in Douglas County around Sep 5 and peaks there around Sep 26. Yakima County is the last of Washington's 39 counties, peaking around Oct 18. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 5.

What's the best time to visit Washington for fall foliage?

The week of Oct 5 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 4 to 7. That's the leaf peeping window for Washington as a whole. For Douglas County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Sep 26; for Yakima County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 18.

The sun setting behind a ridge of the Olympic Mountains from Hurricane Ridge, pink clouds overhead and a subalpine meadow in the foreground.

Back to the map

Washington Fall Foliage Map 2026

Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET

Photograph: More Than Just Parks

Peak color lands around Oct 5 in most of Washington, but it moves 22 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.

Washington fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9

Washington, Nov 10 Still green to peak to past peak, the map’s own scale. Open the live map to scrub the day, or save today’s leaf color map below.

When is peak fall foliage in Washington in 2026?

Most of Washington peaks between Oct 1 and Oct 11. The first county to peak is Douglas County, around Sep 26, and the last is Yakima County, around Oct 18.

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 early on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.

Washington, fall foliage week by week, 2026
Week	Where it peaks	Most of the state
Sep 21 to Sep 27	Douglas County	Nearly peak
Sep 28 to Oct 4	Idaho Panhandle National Forests, Colville National Forest, Olympic National Park and 17 counties	Peak color
Oct 5 to Oct 11	Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Gifford Pinchot National Forest and 19 counties	Peak color
Oct 12 to Oct 18	Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, William O. Douglas Wilderness, Mount Baker Wilderness and 2 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.

14 of 39 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 36 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.

The first half of October for the subalpine larches at treeline, mid-to-late October for the western larch in the Okanogan, mid-to-late October in the Cascade valleys, early November in the Puget Sound lowlands is how Washington is usually described.

Washington’s season place by place

The 24 places closest to their peak in Washington, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.

First: Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge, Sep 29. Last: Olympic National Park, Oct 3.

The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 2. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.

Where to go in Washington

The destinations we cover in Washington, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.

Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife RefugeWashington
Past peakPeak Sep 29 best Sep 28 to Oct 1
Noisy-Diobsud WildernessWashington
Past peakPeak Sep 29, maple Oct 8 best Sep 28 to Oct 1
Sulphur Creek Recreation AreaWashington
Past peakPeak Sep 29, maple Oct 10 best Sep 28 to Oct 1
Big Four Recreation AreaWashington
Past peakPeak Sep 30, maple Oct 15 best Sep 29 to Oct 2
Pasayten WildernessWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
Boulder River WildernessWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 1, maple Oct 10 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
Mount Skokomish WildernessWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 1, maple Oct 10 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
Pat's Prairie Botanical AreaWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
Tyler Peak Botanical AreaWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 1, maple Oct 7 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
Mirror Lake Recreation AreaWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
Sunnyside-Red Bridge Recreation AreaWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 1, maple Oct 12 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
Colville National ForestWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 2, larch Oct 11 best Oct 1 to 4
Daniel J. Evans Wilderness AreaWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 2, maple Oct 15 best Oct 1 to 4
Alpine Lakes WildernessWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 2, maple Oct 12 best Oct 1 to 4
Lake Chelan-Sawtooth WildernessWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
Wild Sky WildernessWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 2, maple Oct 14 best Oct 1 to 4
Columbia National Wildlife RefugeWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 2, maple Oct 15 best Oct 1 to 4
Wonder Mountain WildernessWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 2, maple Oct 16 best Oct 1 to 4
Toppenish National Wildlife RefugeWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 2, maple Oct 15 best Oct 1 to 4
Nez Perce National Historical ParkIdaho, Washington
Past peakPeak Oct 2, alder Oct 10 best Oct 1 to 4
Gold Basin Recreation AreaWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 2, maple Oct 9 best Oct 1 to 4
Dolly Varden Recreation AreaWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 2, maple Oct 11 best Oct 1 to 4
Wiley Creek Recreation AreaWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 2, maple Oct 10 best Oct 1 to 4
Olympic National ParkWashington
Past peakPeak Oct 3, maple Oct 12 best Oct 2 to 5

Also forecast in WashingtonColumbia River Gorge National Scenic AreaGifford Pinchot National ForestGlacier Peak WildernessHenry M. Jackson WildernessIdaho Panhandle National ForestsLake Chelan National Recreation AreaLake Roosevelt National Recreation AreaMount Baker National Recreation AreaMount Rainier National ParkMt. Baker-Snoqualmie National ForestNorth Cascades National ParkOkanogan-Wenatchee National ForestOlympic National ForestRoss Lake National Recreation AreaUmatilla National Forest

Questions people ask about Washington fall foliage

When is peak fall foliage in Washington?: Most of Washington peaks between Oct 1 and Oct 11. The first county to peak is Douglas County, around Sep 26, and the last is Yakima County, around Oct 18. This fall is running 2 days early on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
Where is the best fall foliage in Washington right now?: Peak has passed in the places we cover in Washington as of Nov 10. Olympic National Park and 23 more was the last, around Oct 3. The live map still shows where russet and late gold are holding.
How long does peak last in Washington?: In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Washington as a whole, peak moves 22 days from Douglas County to Yakima County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 26 days.
Is Washington past peak?: Yes. As of Nov 10, every one of Washington's 39 counties is past peak by our forecast. Yakima County was the last, around Oct 18.
How far along is Washington's fall foliage today?: On Nov 10, no county in Washington is at peak yet: 39 of Washington's 39 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 Washington?: The first color shows in Douglas County around Sep 5 and peaks there around Sep 26. Yakima County is the last of Washington's 39 counties, peaking around Oct 18. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 5.
What's the best time to visit Washington for fall foliage?: The week of Oct 5 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 4 to 7. That's the leaf peeping window for Washington as a whole. For Douglas County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Sep 26; for Yakima County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 18.

What actually turns

Vine maples turn scarlet in the Cascade understory, bigleaf maples go gold in the lowlands, and the western larches in the Okanogan and Wenatchee forests turn amber on the high slopes.

Vine Maple
Bigleaf Maple
Black Cottonwood
Red Alder
Western Larch

The Leavenworth area along US 2, with the Tumwater Canyon's vine maples and the larch-covered slopes above, produces the most concentrated fall color in Washington.

Every county by peak week

Sep 26

Douglas regional

Sep 30 to Oct 6

Adams, Benton, Clallam, Ferry corrected, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island regional, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Kittitas observed, Klickitat observed, Lincoln, Mason, Okanogan observed, Pend Oreille corrected, Pierce observed, Skagit regional, Skamania, Snohomish, Spokane observed, Stevens, Walla Walla observed, Whitman

Oct 7 to Oct 12

Asotin, Chelan observed, Clark corrected, Columbia regional, Cowlitz regional, Lewis regional, Pacific, San Juan corrected, Thurston corrected, Wahkiakum, Whatcom observed

Oct 18

Yakima observed

Next door todayIdaho leaves downOregon leaves down

How this map is madeThe trees, the elevation, this September’s weather and reports from the ground, scored against 68 forest cameras. Median error 6 days.

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.