Fall color near Dallas
North Texas colors late and quietly — red oaks, sweetgums and cedar elms around White Rock Lake and the Dallas Arboretum, usually well after the rest of the country has finished. The serious pilgrimage heads east and north: Daingerfield State Park and Oklahoma's Beavers Bend put on the region's best maple and cypress show.
Fall activities in Dallas
Little classic fall color reaches Dallas itself, so these are the closest real shows, ranked by distance.
Drag the date slider to see when color moves through the country around Dallas, or tap a pin for that stop’s own peak window.
Texas
171 miPeak November 16
Texas foliage varies wildly by region: bigtooth maples blaze red at Lost Maples State Natural Area in the Hill Country, East Texas Piney Woods hardwoods turn gold, and Davis Mountains aspens color the far west, mostly in November.
Oklahoma
212 miPeak November 3
Oak-hickory forests in the eastern hills flare red and orange along the Talimena Scenic Drive through the Winding Stair Mountains, with Beavers Bend State Park a favorite base. Peak color typically arrives in late October.
Arkansas
292 miPeak November 3
The Ozark and Ouachita Mountains fill with oak, hickory, and sweetgum color each fall, with sourwood adding early crimson. The Talimena Scenic Drive and Mount Magazine offer sweeping overlooks, typically peaking in late October.
In Dallas itself
Peak: November 12–November 17
Color builds from November 4 · mostly bare by December 8
Sampled at Dallas’s own coordinates rather than a regional average. Dates are computed for Dallas itself at 137 m elevation. Street trees vary block to block, so check locally before you plan a weekend around it.
This window comes from 115 weather points across Texas, nudged 1 day earlier to match 2 published peak dates from tpwd.texas.gov and explorefall.com. This year's weather has the peak running 4 days earlier than a normal year. Texas does not turn all at once, and the gap from the earliest corner to the latest runs about 14 days. How the forecast works
Where locals go
Things to do in fall in Dallas
Orchards, cider, haunts, and harvest season. These are the iconic fall stops within a day trip of Dallas.
State Fair of Texas
Fall festivalColor nearby peaks November 13
Big Tex looms over Fair Park for a 24-day run of fried everything, Midway rides, livestock barns and the Cotton Bowl.
Six Flags Over Texas Fright Fest
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks November 13
Fright Fest turns the Arlington park - home to more than 100 rides, shows and attractions including 14 roller coasters - over to scare…
Dark Hour Haunted House
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks November 12
A Plano warehouse haunt staffed by the Sisters of Mercy coven, running full-contact scare experiences through the fall.
Corn maze
Color nearby peaks November 12
A Grapevine pumpkin farm whose corn maze covers over 2 acres of twists, turns and dead-ends - walkable by day, or by flashlight after dark…
in Texas
Haunted attraction
Color nearby peaks November 13
Guinness World Record holder for the longest walk-through haunted house, set inside a 100-year-old abandoned meatpacking plant in Fort…
in Texas
Haunted attraction
Color nearby peaks November 14
Fifty haunted acres east of Dallas holding three attractions: Haunted Verdun Manor, Cassandra's House of Clowns and Sam Hain's Trail of…
in Texas
Frequently asked
- Does Dallas get fall colors?
- Some, but it stays understated. Expect scattered street trees rather than a hillside, with the color worth planning around out toward Texas and Oklahoma.
- Where's the closest good foliage to Dallas?
- Texas, about 171 mi away, peaking around November 16. Texas foliage varies wildly by region: bigtooth maples blaze red at Lost Maples State Natural Area in the Hill Country, East Texas Piney Woods hardwoods turn gold, and Davis Mountains aspens color the far west, mostly in November.
- When does Dallas see what color it gets?
- The model predicts the area's late-season change around November 12–November 17. It stays subtle in town, and it is no match for a trip toward Texas and Oklahoma.
- What are the best things to do in fall in Dallas?
- Beyond the leaves: State Fair of Texas (2 mi); Six Flags Over Texas Fright Fest (16 mi); Dark Hour Haunted House (17 mi); Hall's Pumpkin Farm & Corn Maze (20 mi); Cutting Edge Haunted House (30 mi). All of them are mapped on this page.