National Park·Washington·501,251 acres
North Cascades National Park
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Photograph: More Than Just Parks
bigleaf maple and vine maple
willow and black cottonwood, peak Sep 29
Peak color should arrive around Sep 29 for the willow and black cottonwood, and around Oct 20 for the bigleaf maple and vine maple.
Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
4 reports came in from Whatcom County this week, 4 of them at peak. Our date held. See the county on the map.
When is peak fall foliage at North Cascades National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at North Cascades National Park around Oct 11, and the four days to aim for are Oct 10 to 13. willow and black cottonwood peak later, around Sep 29.
The park runs from about 2,043 to 6,766 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 23 days: the high stands around Sep 24, the low ground around Oct 10. That's 11 days later than our model alone would say, because this season's reports from the ground moved it.
| Week | In the park | Elevation at peak |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 7 to Sep 13 | Still green | |
| Sep 14 to Sep 20 | Starting to turn | |
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Starting to turn | 6,000 to 7,000 ft |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Nearly peak | 5,000 to 6,000 ft |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Peak color | 1,000 to 2,000 ft, 4,000 to 5,000 ft |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Peak color | 2,000 to 3,000 ft, 3,000 to 4,000 ft |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Just past peak | |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Fading |
- 6,000–7,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 2413%
- 5,000–6,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 3025%
- 4,000–5,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 624%
- 3,000–4,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1318%
- 2,000–3,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 1712%
- 1,000–2,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 105%
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 11 days later than our model alone would say. This season’s reports from the ground moved it, and they outrank us.
The place
More than 300 glaciers packed into some of the most violent topography in the Lower 48. North Cascades is what the Alps would look like if nobody built ski resorts on them. Peaks go from valley floor to summit in vertical miles, not horizontal ones, and getting deep into the backcountry requires actual effort.
Established 1968. About 1 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 10 to Sunday, October 11
You’ll find it fading up high, nearly peak lower down.
Up at 6,000 feet the stands peak around Sep 24; down at 3,000 feet they hold on until about Oct 17. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 6,000–7,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 24
- 5,000–6,000 ftJust past peakpeak Sep 30
- 4,000–5,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 6
- 3,000–4,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 13
- 2,000–3,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 17
- Where to drive
- Mountain Loop Highway, about 49 miles · Sherman Pass Scenic Byway (Route 20), about 126 miles
- What turns
- bigleaf maple, willow, vine maple, black cottonwood, red alder
- Entrance
- No entrance fee
What turns, and when
- bigleaf maple24%
- willow22%
- vine maple21%
- black cottonwood17%
- red alder13%
- narrowleaf cottonwood3%
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 North Cascades National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at North Cascades National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at North Cascades National Park around Oct 11, and the four days to aim for are Oct 10 to 13. willow and black cottonwood peak later, around Sep 29.
- Where is the best fall color at North Cascades National Park right now?
On Nov 10 the park is leaves down. The last band to peak was 2,000 to 3,000 feet, around Oct 17.
- How long does peak last at North Cascades National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 10 to 13, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 23 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 27 days.
- Is North Cascades National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 11, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.
- What trees turn color at North Cascades 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 North Cascades National Park?
Entrance fee Free.
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
Lake Chelan and Glacier Peak Wilderness and Okanogan-Wenatchee are on the map above, with their own date.
- Peak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Peak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
- Peak Oct 4 best Oct 3 to 6
Fall color roads near North Cascades National Park
Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the park, so allow more by road.
- Mountain Loop Highway
A loop through the Cascade foothills east of Everett. Bigleaf maples and vine maples color the narrow valleys.
- Sherman Pass Scenic Byway (Route 20)
The highest pass road in Washington. Western larch groves turn gold in mid-to-late October against dark subalpine fir.