When do the leaves change in St. Louis?
St. Louis gets a full Midwestern autumn: sugar maples, sweetgums and oaks fill Forest Park and Tower Grove Park, and the Missouri Botanical Garden's Japanese Garden is one of the country's great maple scenes. Downriver bluffs at Pere Marquette stretch the season with sweeping Mississippi views.
Peak: October 23–October 27
Color builds from October 17 · mostly bare by November 16
Sampled at St. Louis’s own coordinates rather than a regional average. Dates are computed for St. Louis itself at 145 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 St. Louis
Drag the date slider to see when color moves through the country around St. Louis, or tap a pin for that stop’s own peak window.
Missouri
127 miPeak October 24
Oak-hickory ridges and sugar maple hollows along the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and Ha Ha Tonka State Park turn color through the Ozark Plateau, generally peaking in mid-to-late October.
Illinois
109 miPeak October 23
Shawnee National Forest's Garden of the Gods and the bluffs of Starved Rock State Park turn oak-hickory and sugar maple gold, with peak color reaching most of Illinois by mid-to-late October.
Arkansas
284 miPeak November 3
The Ozark and Ouachita Mountains fill with oak, hickory, and sweetgum color each fall, with sourwood adding early crimson. The Talimena Scenic Drive and Mount Magazine offer sweeping overlooks, typically peaking in late October.
Where locals go
Things to do in fall in St. Louis
Orchards, cider, haunts, and harvest season. These are the iconic fall stops within a day trip of St. Louis.
The Darkness
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks October 25
In its 33rd year of fear next to historic Soulard Market, this two-floor St.
Best of Missouri Market
Fall festivalColor nearby peaks October 24
Missouri Botanical Garden's fall marketplace fills the grounds with food, crafts, and farm goods from small Missouri producers for one…
Ste. Genevieve
45 miHistoric town
Color nearby peaks October 28
Missouri's oldest town keeps its French colonial houses standing along Market and Main streets, an hour south of St.
in Missouri
Frequently asked
- When do leaves peak in St. Louis in 2026?
- Peak color is predicted for October 23–October 27 (best estimate October 25). Color starts around October 17 and trees are mostly bare by November 16. These dates are computed for St. Louis itself, at 145 m elevation, using the same weather model as the tracker.
- When is fall foliage season in St. Louis?
- St. Louis 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 25.
- What's the best foliage near St. Louis?
- Missouri (127 mi, peak ~October 24); Illinois (109 mi, peak ~October 23); Arkansas (284 mi, peak ~November 3).
- What are the best things to do in fall in St. Louis?
- Beyond the leaves: The Darkness (1 mi); Best of Missouri Market (3 mi); Brookdale Farms (25 mi); Bloomsdale Fun Farm (42 mi); Ste. Genevieve (45 mi). All of them are mapped on this page.