National Park·Idaho, Montana, Wyoming·2,199,453 acres
Yellowstone National Park
Forecast issued Nov 11, 7:48am ET
Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
Weather Hard frost Thursday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
No new reports from the ground here this week.
When is peak fall foliage at Yellowstone National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Yellowstone National Park around Sep 28, and the four days to aim for are Sep 27 to 30.
The park runs from about 6,585 to 9,371 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 19 days: the high stands around Sep 10, the low ground around Sep 29. 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 24 to Aug 30 | Still green | |
| Aug 31 to Sep 6 | Still green | |
| Sep 7 to Sep 13 | Starting to turn | 9,000 to 10,000 ft |
| Sep 14 to Sep 20 | Nearly peak | 8,000 to 9,000 ft |
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Peak color | 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 |
- 9,000–10,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 1012%
- 8,000–9,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 1642%
- 7,000–8,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 2135%
- 6,000–7,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 2911%
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 first national park on earth sits on top of one of the largest active supervolcanoes on the planet, which is exactly the kind of decision you would expect from 1872. Over 10,000 geothermal features, hot springs, geysers, fumaroles, and mud pots, all powered by a magma chamber that starts about 5 miles below your feet. Yellowstone is the place where the ground itself is alive and actively reminding you of that fact.
Established 1872. About 4.9 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.
Sunday, September 27 to Monday, September 28
You’ll find it fading up high, peak color lower down.
Up at 9,000 feet the stands peak around Sep 10; down at 7,000 feet they hold on until about Sep 29. Pick your elevation for the day you come.
- 9,000–10,000 ftFadingpeak Sep 10
- 8,000–9,000 ftJust past peakpeak Sep 16
- 7,000–8,000 ftJust past peakpeak Sep 21
- 6,000–7,000 ftPeak colorpeak Sep 29
- Where to drive
- Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WY 296), about 53 miles · Teton Park Road, about 59 miles · Beartooth Highway (US 212), about 63 miles
- What turns
- narrowleaf cottonwood, quaking aspen, willow, water birch, thinleaf alder
- Entrance
- $35
What turns, and when
- narrowleaf cottonwood33%
- quaking aspen26%
- willow22%
- water birch11%
- thinleaf alder8%
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 Yellowstone National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Yellowstone National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Yellowstone National Park around Sep 28, and the four days to aim for are Sep 27 to 30.
- Where is the best fall color at Yellowstone National Park right now?
On Nov 11 the park is leaves down. The last band to peak was 6,000 to 7,000 feet, around Sep 29.
- How long does peak last at Yellowstone National Park?
About four days at the top, Sep 27 to 30, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the park's elevations the color moves over about 19 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 23 days.
- Is Yellowstone National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Sep 28, and on Nov 11 it's leaves down.
- What trees turn color at Yellowstone 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 Yellowstone 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
Nearby, and when they turn
North Absaroka Wilderness and Gallatin and Grand Teton and Jedediah Smith Wilderness are on the map above, with their own date.
- Peak Sep 30 best Sep 29 to Oct 2
- Peak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
Fall color roads near Yellowstone National Park
Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the park, so allow more by road.
- Chief Joseph Scenic Byway (WY 296)
Cody toward Cooke City, cottonwood in the Clarks Fork canyon and aspen on Dead Indian Hill.
- Teton Park Road
The cottonwoods along the Snake River flats with the Tetons behind them. This is the most famous fall landscape in the American West.
- Beartooth Highway (US 212)
Red Lodge to Cooke City. The aspen are in Rock Creek canyon before the switchbacks; above them it is tundra.
- Teton Scenic Byway (ID 31, 32 and 33)
Swan Valley to Ashton, aspen on the west side of the Tetons.
- Bighorn Scenic Byway (US 14)
Shell Canyon to Dayton, aspen in the canyon and around Burgess Junction.