When do the leaves change in Salt Lake City?
Salt Lake City may have the best foliage-to-driveway ratio in the West. Bigtooth maples ignite the Wasatch canyons minutes from downtown — reds on the lower slopes, aspen gold higher up — while the valley's own street trees carry color for weeks after the peaks fade.
Peak: October 6–October 15
Color builds from September 27 · mostly bare by November 1
Sampled at Salt Lake City’s own coordinates rather than a regional average. Dates are computed for Salt Lake City at 1302 m, about 0.7 day later than the surrounding terrain. Street trees vary block to block, so check locally before you plan a weekend around it.
46 weather points cover Utah, and the model shifts their answer 5 days earlier, which is what it takes to match 1 published peak date from smokymountains.com. Peak dates spread about 6 days inside Utah, so the high ground turns well before the valleys. How the forecast works
Fall activities in Salt Lake City
Drag the date slider to see when color moves through the country around Salt Lake City, or tap a pin for that stop’s own peak window.
Guardsman Pass
20 miScenic drive
Peak September 30
A steep, narrow road switchbacks to 9,717 feet between Big Cottonwood Canyon and the Heber Valley, linking Brighton to Midway through some…
in Utah
Scenic drive
Peak October 5
A 20-mile paved loop climbs American Fork Canyon past Timpanogos Cave and over an 8,000-foot summit between Mount Timpanogos and Cascade…
in Utah
Where locals go
Things to do in fall in Salt Lake City
Orchards, cider, haunts, and harvest season. These are the iconic fall stops within a day trip of Salt Lake City.
Nightmare on 13th
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks October 11
Utah's longest-running indoor haunted attraction, going on 35 years of Hollywood-quality sets in a warehouse south of downtown Salt Lake.
Fear Factory SLC
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks October 11
A haunt built into a derelict cement plant in Salt Lake's industrial west side: six buildings, some six stories high, plus two underground…
Cross E Ranch Fall Festival
Fall festivalColor nearby peaks October 12
A working ranch on Salt Lake City's north edge that turns over to an adventure farm each fall: corn maze, pumpkin patch, pig racing, zip…
Snowbird Oktoberfest
Fall festivalColor nearby peaks October 3
Snowbird resort claims the biggest Oktoberfest in North America, with more than 50 beers, Bavarian food, and live music running most…
Park City
22 miHistoric town
Color nearby peaks October 2
Park City's Main Street still runs through a row of 19th century mining buildings, now holding galleries, restaurants and ski shops, with…
in Utah
Rowley's Red Barn
55 miCorn maze
Color nearby peaks October 4
A Utah County fruit farm at the foot of the Wasatch running a fall festival built around a corn maze that gets a new design every year…
in Utah
Guides
Frequently asked
- When do leaves peak in Salt Lake City in 2026?
- Peak color is predicted for October 6–October 15 (best estimate October 10). Color starts around September 27 and trees are mostly bare by November 1. These dates are computed for Salt Lake City itself, at 1302 m elevation, using the same weather model as the tracker.
- When is fall foliage season in Salt Lake City?
- Salt Lake City colors during autumn (September to November). Counting from the first turn to bare branches that is about 35 days, and the best of it falls in the week either side of October 10.
- What's the best foliage near Salt Lake City?
- Guardsman Pass (20 mi); Alpine Loop Scenic Byway (24 mi). For a longer trip: Utah (102 mi, peak ~October 14); Wyoming (274 mi, peak ~October 8); Idaho (286 mi, peak ~October 11).
- What are the best things to do in fall in Salt Lake City?
- Beyond the leaves: Nightmare on 13th (1 mi); Fear Factory SLC (1 mi); Cross E Ranch Fall Festival (6 mi); Snowbird Oktoberfest (17 mi); Park City (22 mi). All of them are mapped on this page.