When do the leaves change in Memphis?
Memphis holds one of the last old-growth forests inside any American city — Overton Park's Old Forest goes deep yellow and russet late in the season. Shelby Farms spreads big skies over turning hardwoods, and the bluffs of Meeman-Shelby Forest color up above the Mississippi. Autumn arrives late here, but it arrives.
Peak: November 9–November 13
Color builds from October 27 · mostly bare by December 5
Method: daily ERA5 temperatures (Open-Meteo) drive a photoperiod + chilling phenology model, sampled at Memphis’s own coordinates rather than a regional average. Dates are computed for Memphis itself at 84 m elevation. Estimates, not promises — street trees vary block to block. Check locally before you plan around a weekend.
Fall activities in Memphis
Where locals go
Things to do in fall in Memphis
Orchards, cider, haunts, and harvest season — the iconic fall stops within a day trip of Memphis.
Haunted Web Scream Park
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks November 12
Billed as Memphis's largest Halloween event, this scream park packs four separate haunted houses onto one lot along with live entertainment and a horror boutique. There is not much scenery between haunts, just four scares stacked back to back so you are not driving across town four separate times.
Don’t miss: Four haunted houses on one lot · Live entertainment · Horror boutique
The Mid-South Maze
Corn mazeColor nearby peaks November 12
The Mid-South Maze has cut a new corn maze into this East Memphis field for 25 seasons now, with a haunted version after dark, a jumping pillow and a corn cannon for the kids to fire off between laps. It is the closest real corn maze to downtown Memphis, so you do not have to drive into the countryside for one.
Don’t miss: 25 seasons running · Haunted maze after dark · Corn cannon and jumping pillow
Jones Orchard
OrchardColor nearby peaks November 11
Started in 1940 by H. L. "Peaches" Jones and still supplying Memphis eight decades on, this 600-acre Millington orchard grows 110 acres of peaches across 25 varieties, plus apples, pears, plums, berries and pumpkins for pick-your-own.
Don’t miss: Pick-your-own apples and pears · 25 peach varieties on 110 acres · Farm market and country kitchen
Priddy Farms
Pumpkin patchColor nearby peaks November 11
Priddy Farms expanded onto 50 new acres north of Memphis, big enough for a genuinely challenging corn maze alongside the pumpkin patch, barrel train and hayrides the family has run for years. A haunted house takes over the grounds on October weekends for anyone who wants to end the day with a scare.
Don’t miss: 50-acre corn maze and pumpkin patch · Barrel train and hayrides · October haunted house
Fall Fest Memphis
20 miFall festival
Color nearby peaks November 13
A church-run community festival in Collierville, southeast of Memphis, has grown into a genuine block party with a barbecue competition, a car show, carnival rides and live music. The 2026 main festival runs Friday, October 16 through Saturday, October 17, with the vendor fair and rides open both days.
Don’t miss: BBQ competition and car show · Carnival rides · Live music
in Tennessee
Cedar Hill's Haunted Farm
27 miHaunted attraction
Color nearby peaks November 13
Five night attractions on a working farm south of Memphis: a haunted hayride, a quarter-mile Trail of Terror through dark woods, the Sensturbia barn, a 2.5-acre flashlight corn maze and mounted-gun zombie paintball.
Don’t miss: Quarter-mile Trail of Terror in dark woods · 2.5-acre flashlight corn maze · Zombie paintball target shoot
in Mississippi
Guides
Frequently asked
- When do leaves peak in Memphis in 2026?
- Peak color is predicted for November 9–November 13 (best estimate November 11). Color starts around October 27 and trees are mostly bare by December 5. These dates are computed for Memphis itself — at 84 m elevation — from the same weather model as the tracker.
- When is fall foliage season in Memphis?
- Memphis colors during autumn (September–November). Memphis holds one of the last old-growth forests inside any American city — Overton Park's Old Forest goes deep yellow and russet late in the season. Shelby Farms spreads big skies over turning hardwoods, and the bluffs of Meeman-Shelby Forest color up above the Mississippi. Autumn arrives late here, but it arrives.
- What's the best foliage near Memphis?
- Village Creek State Park (39 mi). For a longer trip: Arkansas (134 mi, peak ~November 10); Mississippi (171 mi, peak ~November 19); Tennessee (215 mi, peak ~November 8).
- What are the best things to do in fall in Memphis?
- Beyond the leaves: Haunted Web Scream Park (9 mi); The Mid-South Maze (12 mi); Jones Orchard (15 mi); Priddy Farms (16 mi); Fall Fest Memphis (20 mi). All of them are mapped on this page.
- What are the best things to do in autumn near Memphis?
- Come autumn — autumn (September–November) — locals head for Haunted Web Scream Park (9 mi); The Mid-South Maze (12 mi); Jones Orchard (15 mi); Priddy Farms (16 mi); Fall Fest Memphis (20 mi). Each is on the map with the distance from Memphis.