Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
Weather Hard frost Saturday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
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 New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Fayette County holds most of the park and is nearly peak today. That’s the county as a whole, which peaks 1 day earlier than the park’s own stands: the park is starting to turn. Raleigh County, to the southwest, is on the same day. Summers County, to the south, is 1 day behind.Save or share this mapToday’s New River Gorge National Park and Preserve fall foliage map as a picture, redrawn every morning. Free to reuse with credit to More Than Just Parks and a link back; the terms.Save the mapPin itFacebookXEmail
When is peak fall foliage at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve around Oct 22, and the four days to aim for are Oct 21 to 24.
The park runs from about 1,239 to 2,814 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 7 days: the high stands around Oct 19, the low ground around Oct 26. That's 4 days later than our model alone would say, because this September has been running warm.
New River Gorge, fall color week by week, 2026
Week
In the park
Elevation at peak
Oct 5 to Oct 11
Starting to turn
Oct 12 to Oct 18 this week
Nearly peak
Oct 19 to Oct 25
Peak color
1,500 to 2,000 ft, 2,000 to 2,500 ft, 2,500 to 3,000 ft
Oct 26 to Nov 1
Just past peak
1,000 to 1,500 ft
Nov 2 to Nov 8
Just past peak
By elevation The park runs from about 1,239 to 2,814 feet. That’s 7 days of season between the top and the bottom: the high stands peak around Oct 19, the low ground holds until about Oct 26, and the color comes downhill in between. The date at the top of this page is the 1,500 to 2,000 foot band.
2,500–3,000 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 1926%
2,000–2,500 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 2128%
1,500–2,000 ftStarting to turnpeak Oct 2331%
1,000–1,500 ftStarting to turnpeak Oct 2615%
SepOctNov
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.
See it now PhenoCam Network, Summit Bechtel Reserve camera, 10 km away, captured Oct 12.
That’s 4 days later than our model alone would say. This September has been running warm, which shifts peak color.
Set the days you can be here. Everything under them answers for those days, not for peak.
Wednesday, October 21 to Thursday, October 22
You’ll find it just past peak up high, nearly peak lower down.
Up at 2,500 feet the stands peak around Oct 19; down at 1,500 feet they hold on until about Oct 26. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
2,500–3,000 ftJust past peakpeak Oct 19
2,000–2,500 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 21
1,500–2,000 ftPeak colorpeak Oct 23
1,000–1,500 ftNearly peakpeak Oct 26
Where to drive
Highland Scenic Highway (Route 150), about 58 miles · Route 39 (Goshen Pass), about 85 miles · Hocking Hills Scenic Byway (Route 374), about 135 miles
What turns
white oak, northern red oak, red maple, shagbark hickory, blackgum
What turns, and when
white oak30%
northern red oak23%
red maple19%
shagbark hickory11%
blackgum4%
tulip poplar4%
Also named across West Virginia, outside what the canopy read measures here: Sugar Maple, American Beech.
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.
Questions people ask about New River Gorge National Park and Preserve
When is peak fall foliage at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve?
Our forecast puts peak color at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve around Oct 22, and the four days to aim for are Oct 21 to 24.
Where is the best fall color at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve right now?
On Oct 13 the park is starting to turn. The first band to peak is 2,500 to 3,000 feet, around Oct 19.
How long does peak last at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve?
About four days at the top, Oct 21 to 24, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 7 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 11 days.
Is New River Gorge National Park and Preserve past peak?
No. On Oct 13 it's starting to turn, and peak is around Oct 22, 9 days away.
What trees turn color at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve?
Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Red Oak, Tulip Poplar, American Beech. 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.
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. We score it here against 16 long-running forest cameras: two dates in three land within 7 days of the camera’s own peak. How this map is made
