Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Peak color lands around Oct 22 in most of West Virginia, but it moves 13 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
West Virginia fall foliage map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall foliage in West Virginia in 2026?
Most of West Virginia peaks between Oct 18 and Oct 26: the high country first, around Oct 19, and the low ground last, around Oct 25. The first county to peak is Randolph County, around Oct 14, and the last is Lincoln County, around Oct 27.
Elevation does most of the work here. Color runs down a mountain at roughly a day and a half per 100 meters, so a ridge and the valley below it can be two weeks apart in the same county. This fall is running 3 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
| Week | Where it peaks | Most of the state |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Monongahela National Forest, Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area, Cranberry Wilderness and 6 counties | Nearly peak |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park and 40 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 26 to Nov 1 | Jefferson County, Kanawha County, Mason County and 6 more | 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 score the model against 16 long-running forest monitoring sites in this part of the country and publish what it got wrong.
1 of 55 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 3 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.
Early October at the highest elevations, mid-to-late October statewide is how West Virginia is usually described.
West Virginia’s season place by place
Every place we forecast in West Virginia, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Dolly Sods Wilderness, Oct 10. Last: George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Oct 25.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 15. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in West Virginia
The destinations we cover in West Virginia, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Dolly Sods WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 10 best Oct 9 to 12
- Roaring Plains West WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 10 best Oct 9 to 12
- Dolly Sods Scenic AreaPast peakPeak Oct 11 best Oct 10 to 13
- Gaudineer Scenic AreaPast peakPeak Oct 11 best Oct 10 to 13
- Canaan Valley National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Laurel Fork South WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Laurel Fork North WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Past peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Past peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Otter Creek WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Cranberry Glades Botanical AreaPast peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Falls of Hill Creek Scenic AreaPast peakPeak Oct 15 best Oct 14 to 17
- Past peakPeak Oct 16 best Oct 15 to 18
- Past peakPeak Oct 17 best Oct 16 to 19
- Spice Run WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 19 best Oct 18 to 21
- Big Draft WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 20 best Oct 19 to 22
- Past peakPeak Oct 22 best Oct 21 to 24
- Ohio River Islands National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Past peakPeak Oct 23 best Oct 22 to 25
- Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical ParkPast peakPeak Oct 24, oak Oct 28 best Oct 23 to 26
- Past peakPeak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26
- Harpers Ferry National Historical ParkPast peakPeak Oct 24, oak Oct 27 best Oct 23 to 26
- Past peakPeak Oct 25 best Oct 24 to 27
Questions people ask about West Virginia fall foliage
- When is peak fall foliage in West Virginia?
Most of West Virginia peaks between Oct 18 and Oct 26: the high country first, around Oct 19, and the low ground last, around Oct 25. The first county to peak is Randolph County, around Oct 14, and the last is Lincoln County, around Oct 27. This fall is running 3 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall foliage in West Virginia right now?
Peak has passed in the places we cover in West Virginia as of Nov 10. George Washington and Jefferson National Forests and 22 more was the last, around Oct 25. The live map still shows where russet and late gold are holding.
- How long does peak last in West Virginia?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across West Virginia as a whole, peak moves 13 days from Randolph County to Lincoln County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 17 days.
- Is West Virginia past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 10, every one of West Virginia's 55 counties is past peak by our forecast. Lincoln County was the last, around Oct 27.
- How far along is West Virginia's fall foliage today?
On Nov 10, no county in West Virginia is at peak yet: 55 of West Virginia's 55 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 West Virginia?
The first color shows in Randolph County around Sep 23 and peaks there around Oct 14. Lincoln County is the last of West Virginia's 55 counties, peaking around Oct 27. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 22.
- What's the best time to visit West Virginia for fall foliage?
The week of Oct 22 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 21 to 24. That's the leaf peeping window for West Virginia as a whole. For Randolph County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Oct 14; for Lincoln County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 27.
What actually turns
West Virginia is almost entirely forested, and when the sugar maples, oaks, and tulip poplars turn, the entire state becomes a continuous canopy of orange, gold, burgundy, and bronze.
- Sugar Maple
- Red Maple
- Red Oak
- Tulip Poplar
- American Beech
The Highland Scenic Highway (Route 150) in the Monongahela National Forest runs above 4,000 feet through one of the wildest and most beautiful fall landscapes east of the Mississippi.
Worth the drive
Pocahontas County in the heart of the Monongahela National Forest is one of the wildest places east of the Mississippi. The Cranberry Wilderness, the Highland Scenic Highway, and the headwaters of eight major rivers all lie within the county. Fall color here is unhurried and uncrowded, peaking in mid-October with a vast canopy of hardwoods that extends unbroken to the horizon in every direction.
Every county by peak week
Barbour, Grant, Greenbrier, Hardy, Pendleton, Pocahontas observed, Preston, Raleigh regional, Randolph, Tucker, Upshur, Webster
Berkeley regional, Boone, Braxton, Brooke regional, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Hampshire, Hancock regional, Harrison regional, Jackson, Jefferson regional, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Marion regional, Marshall regional, Mason, McDowell, Mercer regional, Mineral, Mingo, Monongalia regional, Monroe, Morgan regional, Nicholas, Ohio regional, Pleasants, Putnam, Ritchie, Roane, Summers regional, Taylor, Tyler, Wayne, Wetzel regional, Wirt, Wood, Wyoming
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.