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.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Grand Teton National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Grand Teton National Park around Sep 30, and the four days to aim for are Sep 29 to Oct 2.
The park runs from about 6,364 to 10,062 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 25 days: the high stands around Sep 5, the low ground around Sep 30. That's 4 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 17 to Aug 23 | Still green | |
| Aug 24 to Aug 30 | Still green | |
| Aug 31 to Sep 6 | Still green | 10,000 to 11,000 ft |
| Sep 7 to Sep 13 | Starting to turn | 9,000 to 10,000 ft |
| Sep 14 to Sep 20 | Starting to turn | 8,000 to 9,000 ft |
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Nearly peak | 7,000 to 8,000 ft |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Peak color | 6,000 to 7,000 ft |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Just past peak |
- 10,000–11,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 55%
- 9,000–10,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 1110%
- 8,000–9,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 1813%
- 7,000–8,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 2527%
- 6,000–7,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 3045%
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 4 days later than our model alone would say. This season’s reports from the ground moved it, and they outrank us.
The place
The Tetons rise more than 7,000 feet straight off the valley floor with almost no foothills. No gradual buildup, no warning. You drive north from Jackson and the 13,770-foot Grand Teton just appears above you like a wall. It is the most dramatic mountain front in the Lower 48.
Established 1929. About 3.3 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.
Tuesday, September 29 to Wednesday, September 30
You’ll find it fading up high, peak color lower down.
Up at 9,000 feet the stands peak around Sep 11; down at 7,000 feet they hold on until about Sep 30. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 9,000–10,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 11
- 8,000–9,000 ftJust past peakpeak Sep 18
- 7,000–8,000 ftJust past peakpeak Sep 25
- 6,000–7,000 ftPeak colorpeak Sep 30
- Where to drive
- Teton Park Road, about 4 miles · Teton Scenic Byway (ID 31, 32 and 33), about 25 miles · Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WY 296), about 91 miles
- What turns
- narrowleaf cottonwood, willow, quaking aspen, water birch, thinleaf alder
- Entrance
- $35
What turns, and when
- narrowleaf cottonwood38%
- willow25%
- quaking aspen22%
- water birch13%
- thinleaf alder2%
Every one of these turns yellow or gold here. The shades only tell the species apart.
Also named across Wyoming, outside what the canopy read measures here: Rocky Mountain Maple.
The Tetons rising above the golden cottonwoods of the Snake River flats is one of the most famous fall landscapes in the American West, and the aspen groves at elevation add hillsides of gold.
Questions people ask about Grand Teton National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Grand Teton National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Grand Teton National Park around Sep 30, and the four days to aim for are Sep 29 to Oct 2.
- Where is the best fall color at Grand Teton National Park right now?
On Oct 13 the park is fading. The last band to peak was 6,000 to 7,000 feet, around Sep 30.
- How long does peak last at Grand Teton National Park?
About four days at the top, Sep 29 to Oct 2, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 25 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 29 days.
- Is Grand Teton National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Sep 30, and on Oct 13 it's fading.
- What trees turn color at Grand Teton National Park?
Quaking Aspen, Narrowleaf Cottonwood, Rocky Mountain Maple, Water Birch, Willow. The Tetons rising above the golden cottonwoods of the Snake River flats is one of the most famous fall landscapes in the American West, and the aspen groves at elevation add hillsides of gold.
- Is there an entrance fee at Grand Teton National Park?
Entrance fee $35.
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