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 Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Stevens County holds most of the recreation area and is nearly peak today. Lincoln County, to the south, is on the same day. Ferry County, to the northwest, is 5 days behind.By elevation The recreation area runs from about 1,329 to 3,983 feet. It turns together: there isn’t enough relief here for the color to come down in stages.
4,000–5,000 ftNearly peakpeak Sep 275%
3,000–4,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 313%
2,000–3,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 156%
1,000–2,000 ftNearly peakpeak Sep 2726%
SepOctNov
Height off 3DEP inside the recreation area’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the recreation area stands in it.
The place
The ancient geologic landscape of the upper Columbia River cradles Lake Roosevelt in walls of stone carved by massive ice age floods. Come explore the shorelines and learn the stories of American Indians, traders and trappers, settlers and dam builders who called this place home. Swim, boat, hike, camp, and fish at this hidden gem in Northeast Washington, created by the Grand Coulee Dam.
Set the days you can be here. Everything under them answers for those days, not for peak.
Sunday 27 September to Monday 28 September
You’ll find it nearly peak up high, peak color lower down.
Up at 3,000 feet the stands peak around Oct 3; down at 2,000 feet they hold on until about Sep 27. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
3,000–4,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 3
2,000–3,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 1
1,000–2,000 ftPeak colorpeak Sep 27
Where to drive
Sherman Pass Scenic Byway (Route 20), about 24 miles
What turns
quaking aspen, Rocky Mountain maple, serviceberry, huckleberry, black cottonwood
What turns, and when
quaking aspen48%
Rocky Mountain maple15%
serviceberry15%
huckleberry15%
black cottonwood4%
willow3%
Also named across Washington, outside what the canopy read measures here: Vine Maple, Bigleaf Maple, Red Alder, Western Larch.
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.
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
