Peak color lands around Oct 12 in most of Wisconsin, but it moves 28 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.
Wisconsin fall color map for the week of Nov 9
When is peak fall color in Wisconsin in 2026?
Most of Wisconsin peaks between Oct 6 and Oct 18: the north first, around Oct 7, and the south last, around Oct 17. The first county to peak is Lincoln County, around Sep 27, and the last is Dane County, around Oct 25.
Lake Michigan does a lot of the work here. The Lake Michigan shore itself turns a week or more after the woods inland at the same latitude, and the counties along it run a few days behind, because water that soaked up a summer of heat gives it back all fall and holds the first hard frosts off. Beyond the water, latitude carries it: color moves south at about two days per degree, so the north of the state turns a week or more ahead of the south. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Lincoln County | Starting to turn |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Price County, Iron County, Oneida County and 1 more | Nearly peak |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Headwaters Wilderness, Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway and 27 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and 33 counties | Peak color |
| Oct 19 to Oct 25 | Kenosha County, Ozaukee County, Rock County and 4 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 13 long-running forest monitoring sites in this part of the country and publish what it got wrong.
7 of 72 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 106 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.
Late September in the Northwoods, mid-October in Door County, early-to-mid October in the Driftless Area, late October in the south is how Wisconsin is usually described.
Wisconsin’s season place by place
Every place we forecast in Wisconsin, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.
First: Blackjack Springs Wilderness, Oct 5. Last: Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge, Oct 18.
The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 13. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.
Where to go in Wisconsin
The destinations we cover in Wisconsin, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.
- Blackjack Springs WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 5 best Oct 4 to 7
- Porcupine Lake WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 5 best Oct 4 to 7
- Past peakPeak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
- Headwaters WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
- Whisker Lake WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
- Rainbow Lake WildernessPast peakPeak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
- Past peakPeak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
- Past peakPeak Oct 9 best Oct 8 to 11
- Necedah National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 12 best Oct 11 to 14
- Past peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Gaylord Nelson Wilderness AreaPast peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Trempealeau National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Green Bay National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Winnebago County Waterfowl Production AreaPast peakPeak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Horicon National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 14 best Oct 13 to 16
- Fox River National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 15 best Oct 14 to 17
- Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish RefugePast peakPeak Oct 17 best Oct 16 to 19
- Gravel Island National Wildlife RefugePast peakPeak Oct 18 best Oct 17 to 20
Questions people ask about Wisconsin fall colors
- When is peak fall color in Wisconsin?
Most of Wisconsin peaks between Oct 6 and Oct 18: the north first, around Oct 7, and the south last, around Oct 17. The first county to peak is Lincoln County, around Sep 27, and the last is Dane County, around Oct 25. This fall is running 3 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
- Where is the best fall color in Wisconsin right now?
Peak has passed in the places we cover in Wisconsin as of Nov 10. Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge and 18 more was the last, around Oct 18. The live map still shows where russet and late gold are holding.
- How long does peak last in Wisconsin?
In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Wisconsin as a whole, peak moves 28 days from Lincoln County to Dane County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 32 days.
- Is Wisconsin past peak?
Yes. As of Nov 10, every one of Wisconsin's 72 counties is past peak by our forecast. Dane County was the last, around Oct 25.
- How far along is Wisconsin's fall color today?
On Nov 10, no county in Wisconsin is at peak yet: 72 of Wisconsin's 72 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 Wisconsin?
The first color shows in Lincoln County around Sep 6 and peaks there around Sep 27. Dane County is the last of Wisconsin's 72 counties, peaking around Oct 25. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 12.
- What's the best time to visit Wisconsin for fall colors?
The week of Oct 12 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 11 to 14. That's the leaf peeping window for Wisconsin as a whole. For Lincoln County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Sep 27; for Dane County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 25.
What actually turns
Wisconsin's Northwoods produce vivid sugar maple orange against birch gold and the dark green of hemlock and spruce, while the Mississippi River bluffs add a warm oak-and-hickory palette.
- Sugar Maple
- Red Maple
- Quaking Aspen
- Paper Birch
- Red Oak
The Great River Road along the Mississippi bluffs from La Crosse to Prairie du Chien is one of the most underrated fall drives in the Midwest, with limestone bluffs backed by blazing oaks.
Worth the drive
La Crosse County on the Mississippi River in western Wisconsin sits where the Driftless Area's bluffs meet the river. This landscape was never glaciated, so the terrain is deeply carved and hilly in a way that the rest of the Midwest is not. The oak-hickory forest on the bluffs turns warm gold and russet, and the views from Grandad Bluff over the Mississippi are among the finest in the upper river valley.
Milwaukee County is an urban pick, but the Lake Michigan lakefront and the county park system's mature hardwood canopy produce a surprisingly vivid fall. The real reason to include it is proximity: most visitors to Wisconsin's fall color fly into Milwaukee, and the drive north up the lakeshore on I-43 through Sheboygan and Manitowoc counties is one of the most pleasant fall road trips in the Midwest.
Every county by peak week
Lincoln observed
Ashland, Florence, Forest, Iron regional, Langlade regional, Marathon, Oneida regional, Price observed, Sawyer regional, Taylor regional, Vilas regional
Adams, Barron, Bayfield, Buffalo, Burnett, Calumet regional, Chippewa, Clark, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac observed, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Marinette, Menominee, Monroe, Oconto observed, Outagamie, Pepin regional, Polk regional, Rusk regional, Shawano, St. Croix regional, Trempealeau, Vernon, Washburn, Washington regional, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago regional, Wood
Brown, Columbia regional, Crawford, Dodge, Door, Grant, Green regional, Green Lake, Iowa regional, Jefferson regional, Kenosha, Kewaunee, Lafayette regional, Manitowoc, Marquette, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Pierce regional, Portage observed, Racine, Richland regional, Rock regional, Sauk observed, Sheboygan regional, Walworth, Waukesha
Dane observed
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
The official Wisconsin report
Wisconsin publishes its own foliage report through the season, from Travel Wisconsin. That's the state tourism board. Useful and updated weekly, though they have some incentive to call peak early. Once the season starts it will be more current than any forecast, including ours.
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.