When do the leaves change in Kansas City?
Kansas City wears autumn well — sugar maples and oaks color the boulevards, Loose Park and Ward Parkway glow, and the wooded bluffs above the Missouri River at Weston Bend add a wilder edge. It is one of the most satisfying leaf towns on the Plains, with the Ozarks within weekend reach.
Peak: October 20–October 24
Color builds from October 14 · mostly bare by November 13
Sampled at Kansas City’s own coordinates rather than a regional average. Dates are computed for Kansas City itself at 280 m elevation. Street trees vary block to block, so check locally before you plan a weekend around it.
This window comes from 31 weather points across Missouri, checked against 1 published peak date from smokymountains.com. Against Missouri's own climatology, the 2026 weather puts the peak 7 days earlier. Missouri does not turn all at once, and the gap from the earliest corner to the latest runs about 7 days. How the forecast works
Fall activities in Kansas City
Drag the date slider to see when color moves through the country around Kansas City, or tap a pin for that stop’s own peak window.
Clinton State Park
42 miState park
Typically October 18–November 3
Cottonwoods and bur oak line the north shore of Clinton Lake at the edge of Lawrence, a reservoir formed by damming the Wakarusa River a…
in Kansas
Where locals go
Things to do in fall in Kansas City
Orchards, cider, haunts, and harvest season. These are the iconic fall stops within a day trip of Kansas City.
The Beast
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks October 22
Full Moon Productions has been building fear in the West Bottoms since 1975, and its flagship walks you through voodoo curses, witch trials…
Cider Hill Family Orchard
OrchardColor nearby peaks October 22
A working orchard in Kansas City, Kansas, with apple season running from August into November, plus hayrides, a fire pit, and cider donuts…
Weston Red Barn Farm
25 miFarm
Color nearby peaks October 22
A turn-of-the-century working farmstead northwest of Kansas City that has run school tours for over 30 years and weddings for 25.
in Missouri
Weston
27 miHistoric town
Color nearby peaks October 22
Thirty minutes north of Kansas City, all 22 blocks of Weston's downtown sit on the National Register of Historic Places.
in Missouri
Orchard
Color nearby peaks October 23
A U-pick orchard and berry farm on the southwest edge of the Kansas City metro.
in Kansas
Louisburg Cider Mill
34 miCider mill
Color nearby peaks October 23
A 1977 roadside stand grown into a third-generation mill whose country store stays open year-round for signature cider and apple cider…
in Kansas
Frequently asked
- When do leaves peak in Kansas City in 2026?
- Peak color is predicted for October 20–October 24 (best estimate October 22). Color starts around October 14 and trees are mostly bare by November 13. These dates are computed for Kansas City itself, at 280 m elevation, using the same weather model as the tracker.
- When is fall foliage season in Kansas City?
- Kansas City 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 22.
- What's the best foliage near Kansas City?
- Clinton State Park (42 mi). For a longer trip: Missouri (125 mi, peak ~October 24); Iowa (208 mi, peak ~October 14); Kansas (210 mi, peak ~October 22).
- What are the best things to do in fall in Kansas City?
- Beyond the leaves: The Beast (1 mi); Cider Hill Family Orchard (17 mi); Weston Red Barn Farm (25 mi); Weston (27 mi); Gieringer's Family Orchard & Berry Farm (32 mi). All of them are mapped on this page.