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 3–November 7
Color builds from October 28 · mostly bare by November 29
Sampled at Memphis’s own coordinates rather than a regional average. Dates are computed for Memphis itself at 84 m elevation. Street trees vary block to block, so check locally before you plan a weekend around it.
This window comes from 19 weather points across Tennessee, nudged 1 day earlier to match 1 published peak date from smokymountains.com. Against Tennessee's own climatology, the 2026 weather puts the peak 7 days earlier. Across Tennessee the first place to turn and the last sit about 5 days apart. How the forecast works
Fall activities in Memphis
Drag the date slider to see when color moves through the country around Memphis, or tap a pin for that stop’s own peak window.
State park
Peak November 4
Nearly 7,000 acres of hardwood forest cover Crowley's Ridge at this park near Wynne, with 33 miles of trails that include a stretch of the…
in Arkansas
Where locals go
Things to do in fall in Memphis
Orchards, cider, haunts, and harvest season. These are the iconic fall stops within a day trip of Memphis.
Haunted Web Scream Park
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks November 6
Billed as Memphis's largest Halloween event, this scream park packs four separate haunted houses onto one lot along with live entertainment…
The Mid-South Maze
Corn mazeColor nearby peaks November 6
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…
Priddy Farms
Pumpkin patchColor nearby peaks November 5
Priddy Farms expanded onto 50 new acres north of Memphis, big enough for a genuinely challenging corn maze alongside the pumpkin patch…
Fall Fest Memphis
20 miFall festival
Color nearby peaks November 7
A church-run community festival in Collierville, southeast of Memphis, has grown into a genuine block party with a barbecue competition, a…
in Tennessee
Haunted attraction
Color nearby peaks November 7
Five night attractions on a working farm south of Memphis: a haunted hayride, a quarter-mile Trail of Terror through dark woods, the…
in Mississippi
Guides
Frequently asked
- When do leaves peak in Memphis in 2026?
- Peak color is predicted for November 3–November 7 (best estimate November 5). Color starts around October 28 and trees are mostly bare by November 29. These dates are computed for Memphis itself, at 84 m elevation, using the same weather model as the tracker.
- When is fall foliage season in Memphis?
- Memphis colors during autumn (September to November). Counting from the first turn to bare branches that is about 32 days, and the best of it falls in the week either side of November 5.
- What's the best foliage near Memphis?
- Village Creek State Park (39 mi). For a longer trip: Arkansas (134 mi, peak ~November 3); Mississippi (171 mi, peak ~November 17); Tennessee (215 mi, peak ~November 2).
- 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.