When do the leaves change in Denver?
Denver's street maples and the cottonwoods along the South Platte turn gold in mid-October — a week or two after the famous aspen show sweeps the high country an hour west of town.
Peak: September 29–October 11
Color builds from September 27 · mostly bare by October 27
Sampled at Denver’s own coordinates rather than a regional average. Dates are computed for Denver at 1599 m, about 1.6 days later than the surrounding terrain. Street trees vary block to block, so check locally before you plan a weekend around it.
This window comes from 54 weather points across Colorado, nudged 2 days earlier to match 2 published peak dates from csfs.colostate.edu and smokymountains.com. This year's weather has the peak running 4 days earlier than a normal year. Colorado does not turn all at once, and the gap from the earliest corner to the latest runs about 17 days. How the forecast works
Fall activities in Denver
Drag the date slider to see when color moves through the country around Denver, or tap a pin for that stop’s own peak window.
National park
Peak September 21
Bull elk bugle across Moraine Park's meadows through the September rut while aspen gild the slopes above Bear Lake at 9,450 feet.
in Colorado
Where locals go
Things to do in fall in Denver
Orchards, cider, haunts, and harvest season. These are the iconic fall stops within a day trip of Denver.
Denver Oktoberfest
Fall festivalColor nearby peaks October 5
Denver's Ballpark neighborhood shuts down Larimer Street for the longest running Oktoberfest in the country, now more than five decades…
13th Floor Haunted House Denver
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks October 6
Denver's long-running haunt, run by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group - the outfit behind over 15 haunted houses nationwide.
Chatfield Farms
FarmColor nearby peaks October 3
Denver Botanic Gardens' working farm south of the city spreads a pumpkin patch across ten acres and cuts a new corn maze into the fields…
Cottonwood Farms
21 miPumpkin patch
Color nearby peaks October 3
A Boulder County pumpkin patch and corn maze on Isabelle Road, run by Bob and Amy, whose family has farmed in Colorado since the 1850s.
in Colorado
Anderson Farms
25 miPumpkin patch
Color nearby peaks October 5
A multi-generation family farm in Erie with over 7 miles of corn maze trails cut at three difficulty levels, plus 40-odd acres of pumpkin…
in Colorado
Estes Park
52 miHistoric town
Color nearby peaks September 25
Rocky Mountain National Park's eastern gateway fills with visiting elk that wander onto golf courses and downtown lawns each fall rut…
in Colorado
Guides
2026 Fall Foliage Forecast: When Leaves Peak in Every State
Our 2026 fall foliage forecast for the US and Canada, region by region, built from ERA5 weather data and a phenology model, with live peak dates on the map.
5 Leaf-Peeping Road Trips for 2026
Five real fall road trips for 2026, from Vermont's Route 100 to Germany's Alpine Road, with route feel, standout stops, and how many days to plan for each.
Frequently asked
- When do leaves peak in Denver in 2026?
- Peak color is predicted for September 29–October 11 (best estimate October 5). Color starts around September 27 and trees are mostly bare by October 27. These dates are computed for Denver itself, at 1599 m elevation, using the same weather model as the tracker.
- When is fall foliage season in Denver?
- Denver colors during autumn (September to November). Counting from the first turn to bare branches that is about 30 days, and the best of it falls in the week either side of October 5.
- What's the best foliage near Denver?
- Bear Lake Corridor, Rocky Mountain National Park (53 mi). For a longer trip: Colorado (58 mi, peak ~October 10); Wyoming (260 mi, peak ~October 8); Nebraska (293 mi, peak ~October 15).
- What are the best things to do in fall in Denver?
- Beyond the leaves: Denver Oktoberfest (1 mi); 13th Floor Haunted House Denver (4 mi); Chatfield Farms (14 mi); Cottonwood Farms (21 mi); Anderson Farms (25 mi). All of them are mapped on this page.