Fall color near Jacksonville
North Florida sees more autumn than people expect — this is not maple country, but sweetgum, hickory, and bald cypress bring rust and amber to the St. Johns bluffs very late in the year. The Jacksonville Arboretum and the Theodore Roosevelt Area hold the best of it, and the Okefenokee's cypress glow makes a fine day trip north.
Fall activities in Jacksonville
Little classic fall color reaches Jacksonville itself — these are the closest real shows, ranked by distance.
Florida
120 miPeak December 5
Florida offers only muted color, but bald cypress, sweetgum, and red maple along the Panhandle's river bluffs at Torreya State Park and Blackwater River turn rust and gold in late November into December.
Georgia
193 miPeak November 18
North Georgia's Blue Ridge foothills turn hickory, sourwood, and maple gold along the Richard Russell Scenic Highway and around Vogel State Park, with peak color typically arriving in late October to early November.
South Carolina
250 miPeak November 11
Upstate maples and oaks around Table Rock and Caesars Head State Parks turn by late October, while blackwater cypress-tupelo swamps at Congaree National Park hold muted color into November across the Lowcountry.
Alabama
337 miPeak November 16
Cheaha State Park and Little River Canyon on Alabama's southern Appalachian foothills turn oak, hickory, and sweetgum by late October, with milder color continuing into November across the rest of the state.
North Carolina
384 miPeak November 17
The Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park turn sourwood, maple, and hickory to scarlet by mid-October, while Piedmont oaks and the coastal plain hold color into November.
In Jacksonville itself
Peak: November 26–November 30
Color builds from November 13 · mostly bare by December 23
Method: daily ERA5 temperatures (Open-Meteo) drive a photoperiod + chilling phenology model, sampled at Jacksonville’s own coordinates rather than a regional average. Dates are computed for Jacksonville itself at 6 m elevation. Estimates, not promises — street trees vary block to block. Check locally before you plan around a weekend.
Where locals go
Things to do in fall in Jacksonville
Orchards, cider, haunts, and harvest season — the iconic fall stops within a day trip of Jacksonville.
Spooktacular at Jacksonville Zoo
Fall festivalColor nearby peaks November 27
The Jacksonville Zoo's long-running Spooktacular, in its 38th year, turns the grounds into an evening family Halloween festival with treat stations, carnival games and, for teens and up, the Lost Swamp scare zone in Riverview Gardens (ages 13+).
Don’t miss: 38th annual family Halloween festival · Treat stations and carnival games · Lost Swamp scare zone (13+)
13th Floor Haunted House Jacksonville
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks November 28
The Jacksonville outpost of the national 13th Floor haunt brand runs multiple themed walk-throughs on Arlington Expressway. Its 2026 line-up is already named, Detention of the Dead, The Siren's Wake and Black Hollow Asylum, though the select-night calendar hasn't been posted yet.
Don’t miss: Three named 2026 haunted houses · Polished, high-production scares · On Arlington Expressway
Amazing Grace Family Farms
29 miCorn maze
Color nearby peaks December 1
A Clay County farm on State Road 21, about 30 minutes south of Jacksonville, that opens a crop maze and pumpkin patch each autumn alongside a cow train and other farm attractions. The farm also runs a sunflower festival earlier in the year.
Don’t miss: Crop maze and pumpkin patch · Cow train and farm attractions · Half an hour from Jacksonville
in Florida
Ghosts & Gravestones St. Augustine
36 miGhost tour
Color nearby peaks December 2
A nightly 80-minute narrated trolley tour of the oldest city in the country, stopping at Tolomato Cemetery, the Old City Gates and the Old Jail, which the operator calls the town's most haunted building. Boards at the San Marco Avenue welcome centre.
Don’t miss: Tolomato Cemetery and the Old Jail · Chamber of Horrors at Potter's Wax Museum · Runs nightly, all year
in Florida
Guides
Frequently asked
- Does Jacksonville get fall colors?
- Some, but it's understated. North Florida sees more autumn than people expect — this is not maple country, but sweetgum, hickory, and bald cypress bring rust and amber to the St. Johns bluffs very late in the year. The Jacksonville Arboretum and the Theodore Roosevelt Area hold the best of it, and the Okefenokee's cypress glow makes a fine day trip north.
- Where's the closest good foliage to Jacksonville?
- Florida, about 120 mi away, peaking around December 5. Florida offers only muted color, but bald cypress, sweetgum, and red maple along the Panhandle's river bluffs at Torreya State Park and Blackwater River turn rust and gold in late November into December.
- When does Jacksonville see what color it gets?
- The model predicts the area's late-season change around November 26–November 30 — subtle in town, and no match for a trip toward Florida and Georgia.
- What are the best things to do in fall in Jacksonville?
- Beyond the leaves: Spooktacular at Jacksonville Zoo (5 mi); 13th Floor Haunted House Jacksonville (6 mi); Amazing Grace Family Farms (29 mi); Ghosts & Gravestones St. Augustine (36 mi). All of them are mapped on this page.
- What are the best things to do in autumn near Jacksonville?
- Come autumn — autumn (September–November) — locals head for Spooktacular at Jacksonville Zoo (5 mi); 13th Floor Haunted House Jacksonville (6 mi); Amazing Grace Family Farms (29 mi); Ghosts & Gravestones St. Augustine (36 mi). Each is on the map with the distance from Jacksonville.