Fall foliage in Southeast

The Southern Appalachians hold some of the most biodiverse hardwood forest on Earth. The Smokies and Blue Ridge Parkway lead a season that starts at elevation in early October and runs toward the Gulf states into late November.

Autumn foliage at Blue Ridge Parkway (Graveyard Fields) — 📍 Blue Ridge Parkway (Graveyard Fields), North Carolina· Photo: Frankaustx / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

140 hand-picked fall stops in Southeast (leaves & views, farms & harvest, cider & donuts, Halloween haunts, towns & rides). Tap a 🍁 for its peak-color window, drag the date slider to watch the color arrive, or see every destination on the big map.

📍 Blue Ridge Parkway (Graveyard Fields)

North Carolina

Peak ~November 112026 forecast

The Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park turn sourwood, maple, and hickory to scarlet by mid-October, while Piedmont oaks and the coastal plain hold color into November.

📍 South Carolina State Fair

South Carolina

Peak ~November 92026 forecast

Upstate maples and oaks around Table Rock and Caesars Head State Parks turn by late October, while blackwater cypress-tupelo swamps at Congaree National Park hold muted color into November across the Lowcountry.

📍 Amicalola Falls State Park

Georgia

Peak ~November 172026 forecast

North Georgia's Blue Ridge foothills turn hickory, sourwood, and maple gold along the Richard Russell Scenic Highway and around Vogel State Park, with peak color typically arriving in late October to early November.

📍 Cades Cove

Tennessee

Peak ~November 22026 forecast

Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cades Cove turn sugar maple, tulip poplar, and sourwood in a slow cascade from ridge to valley, with the higher Smokies peaking in mid-October.

📍 Red River Gorge

Kentucky

Peak ~October 242026 forecast

Sandstone cliffs and arches at Red River Gorge and Cumberland Falls frame sugar maple, sassafras, and oak-hickory color across the Daniel Boone National Forest, typically peaking in mid-to-late October.

📍 DeSoto State Park

Alabama

Peak ~November 162026 forecast

Cheaha State Park and Little River Canyon on Alabama's southern Appalachian foothills turn oak, hickory, and sweetgum by late October, with milder color continuing into November across the rest of the state.

📍 Mississippi State Fair

Mississippi

Peak ~November 172026 forecast

Foliage is subtle here: sweetgum, hickory, and bald cypress along the Natchez Trace Parkway and Delta bottomlands turn bronze and rust rather than blazing red, with color lingering into late November.

📍 Whitaker Point (Hawksbill Crag)

Arkansas

Peak ~November 32026 forecast

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.

📍 Louisiana Renaissance Festival

Louisiana

Peak ~November 262026 forecast

Foliage here is subtle and subtropical: bald cypress in the Atchafalaya Basin turns rust and copper while sweetgum and hickory color the northern hill country. Color lingers later than most states, often into late November.

📍 Halloween Horror Nights

Florida

Peak ~December 42026 forecast

Florida offers only muted color, but bald cypress, sweetgum, and red maple along the Panhandle's river bluffs at Torreya State Park and Blackwater River turn rust and gold in late November into December.

Top fall stops in Southeast

140 hand-picked places across 10 regions, by what you go for.

Leaves & views

Farms & harvest

Halloween

Towns & rides

Cities in Southeast

Atlanta Miami Tampa Charlotte Orlando Nashville Jacksonville Raleigh Louisville Memphis New Orleans Birmingham

Guides & reading for Southeast

2026 Fall Foliage Forecast: When Leaves Peak in Every State

Our 2026 fall foliage forecast for the US and Canada, region by region, built from ERA5 weather data and a phenology model, with live peak dates on the map.

More United States

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