Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
Weather Hard frost Tuesday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
Weather Wind to 28 mph Thursday. Color may come down before it turns.
1 report came in from Pierce County this week, 1 of them at peak. Our date held. See the county on the map.
When is peak fall foliage at Mount Rainier National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Mount Rainier National Park around Oct 4, and the four days to aim for are Oct 3 to 6.
The park runs from about 2,407 to 7,880 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 46 days: the high stands around Aug 24, the low ground around Oct 9. That's 2 days earlier than our model alone would say, because this season's reports from the ground moved it.
| Week | In the park | Elevation at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 10 to Aug 16 | Still green | |
| Aug 17 to Aug 23 | Still green | |
| Aug 24 to Aug 30 | Still green | 8,000 to 10,000 ft |
| Aug 31 to Sep 6 | Still green | |
| Sep 7 to Sep 13 | Starting to turn | |
| Sep 14 to Sep 20 | Starting to turn | 6,000 to 8,000 ft |
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Nearly peak | 4,000 to 6,000 ft |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Peak color | |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Peak color | 2,000 to 4,000 ft |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 this week | Just past peak | |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Fading |
- 8,000–10,000 ftLeaves downpeak Aug 245%
- 6,000–8,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 1511%
- 4,000–6,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 2648%
- 2,000–4,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 937%
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 earlier than our model alone would say. This season’s reports from the ground moved it, and they outrank us.
The place
Rainier is a 14,411-foot stratovolcano carrying 26 named glaciers, the most glaciated peak in the Lower 48. On a clear day it dominates the Seattle skyline from 60 miles away. The fifth national park, established in 1899, and still the one that makes you pull over on I-5.
Established 1899. About 2.3 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.
Saturday, October 3 to Sunday, October 4
You’ll find it fading up high, nearly peak lower down.
Up at 6,000 feet the stands peak around Sep 15; down at 4,000 feet they hold on until about Oct 9. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 6,000–8,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 15
- 4,000–6,000 ftJust past peakpeak Sep 26
- 2,000–4,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 9
- Where to drive
- Mountain Loop Highway, about 82 miles · Historic Columbia River Highway, about 90 miles
- What turns
- bigleaf maple, black cottonwood, red alder, vine maple, willow
- Entrance
- $30
What turns, and when
- bigleaf maple25%
- black cottonwood24%
- red alder17%
- vine maple16%
- willow14%
- red-osier dogwood4%
Also named across Washington, outside what the canopy read measures here: 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.
Questions people ask about Mount Rainier National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Mount Rainier National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Mount Rainier National Park around Oct 4, and the four days to aim for are Oct 3 to 6.
- Where is the best fall color at Mount Rainier National Park right now?
On Oct 13 the park is just past peak. The last band to peak was 2,000 to 4,000 feet, around Oct 9.
- How long does peak last at Mount Rainier National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 3 to 6, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 46 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 50 days.
- Is Mount Rainier National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 4, and on Oct 13 it's just past peak.
- What trees turn color at Mount Rainier National Park?
Vine Maple, Bigleaf Maple, Black Cottonwood, 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.
- Is there an entrance fee at Mount Rainier 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