When do the leaves change in Florida?
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.
Peak: December 3–December 7
Color builds from November 20 · mostly bare by December 30
Method: daily ERA5 temperatures (Open-Meteo) drive a photoperiod + chilling phenology model; terrain shifts timing ~1 day earlier per 300 m of elevation. Temperature alone can’t tell a maritime autumn from a continental one — two places at the same latitude and the same September can peak weeks apart, because the trees differ — so each region is also calibrated against published peak dates. Estimates, not promises: typically within a few days, occasionally a week or more out. Check locally before you travel.
Known for
Things to do in fall in Florida
33 iconic stops — scenic drives, farms, haunts, and the views locals plan their October around.
Halloween Horror Nights
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks December 5
Universal's after-hours haunt takeover has run every fall since 1991, filling the Orlando park with a rotating slate of maze houses and scare zones built around horror franchises, typically running from late August through the first weekend of November.
Don’t miss: Held since 1991 · Multiple haunted houses and scare zones · Runs into November
Ghosts & Gravestones St. Augustine
Ghost tourColor nearby peaks December 2
A nightly 80-minute narrated trolley tour of the oldest city in the country, stopping at Tolomato Cemetery, the Old City Gates and the Old Jail, which the operator calls the town's most haunted building. Boards at the San Marco Avenue welcome centre.
Don’t miss: Tolomato Cemetery and the Old Jail · Chamber of Horrors at Potter's Wax Museum · Runs nightly, all year
Amazing Grace Family Farms
Corn mazeColor nearby peaks December 1
A Clay County farm on State Road 21, about 30 minutes south of Jacksonville, that opens a crop maze and pumpkin patch each autumn alongside a cow train and other farm attractions. The farm also runs a sunflower festival earlier in the year.
Don’t miss: Crop maze and pumpkin patch · Cow train and farm attractions · Half an hour from Jacksonville
Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks December 2
Busch Gardens' after-dark Halloween takeover, billed as Tampa Bay's most terrifying event, fills the animal-and-coaster park with haunted houses and roaming scare zones on select nights. The 2026 run is September 11 through November 1; gates open at 5 p.m. and the frights start at 7.
Don’t miss: Haunted houses and scare zones after dark · Coasters run into the night · Select nights, Sept 11-Nov 1
Scott's Maze Adventures at Long & Scott Farms
Corn mazeColor nearby peaks December 5
Long & Scott Farms opens its fall festival northwest of Orlando around a cut corn maze, a genuine rarity in a state with almost none. Alongside it: a jumping pillow, a super slide, a castle playground, hay rides and a pumpkin patch. The 2026 season runs September 26 through November 15.
Don’t miss: Cut corn maze, rare in Florida · Jumping pillow and super slide · Pumpkin patch and hay rides
Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Festival
Fall festivalColor nearby peaks December 3
For three October weekends this working farm east of Bradenton throws its long-running Pumpkin Festival, an old-school country fair of craft vendors, live music, hay rides, a petting zoo and a corn maze on the pasture. The 2026 dates are October 10-11, 17-18 and 24-25.
Don’t miss: Three October weekends · Craft vendors and live music · Hay rides and corn maze
Pinto's Farm Pumpkin Patch
Pumpkin patchColor nearby peaks December 1
A family entertainment farm in Miami's Redland, Pinto's turns fall into a pumpkin patch alongside its rides, goat yoga, dog-friendly weekends and an on-site brewery. It's one of the closest things South Florida has to a classic patch, minus the frost.
Don’t miss: Tropical Miami pumpkin patch · Farm rides and goat yoga · On-site brewery
House of Horror Haunted Carnival
Haunted attractionColor nearby peaks December 1
At the center of Halloween in Miami for over 25 years, this haunted carnival packs three walk-through haunted houses, including what it calls Florida's only 3D haunt, plus outdoor scare zones and a full ride midway. For 2026 it moves to Tropical Park in the heart of the city.
Don’t miss: Three haunted houses, incl. a 3D haunt · Full carnival ride midway · New 2026 home at Tropical Park
Frequently asked
- When do leaves peak in Florida in 2026?
- Peak color is predicted for December 3–December 7 (best estimate December 5). Color starts around November 20 and trees are mostly bare by December 30.
- How reliable is the Florida forecast?
- The forecast blends recent-year weather normals with photoperiod and elevation; it tightens as the season approaches. Against published peak dates the model lands within a few days for most regions, but it can be a week or more out — mountains and coastlines are the hardest. Higher elevations turn roughly one day earlier per 300 m.
- When is Florida's autumn season?
- Florida colors during autumn (September–November). 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.
- What are the best things to do in fall in Florida?
- The iconic stops: Halloween Horror Nights, Ghosts & Gravestones St. Augustine, Amazing Grace Family Farms, Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Scott's Maze Adventures at Long & Scott Farms, Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Festival. Every one is mapped on this page with its peak-color timing.
- What are the best things to do in autumn in Florida?
- Autumn — autumn (September–November) — is peak season here. Pair the color with Halloween Horror Nights, Ghosts & Gravestones St. Augustine, Amazing Grace Family Farms, Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Scott's Maze Adventures at Long & Scott Farms; each is on the map above with the window to catch it.
Nearby & similar
Cities in Florida
Local peak timing and things to do in fall, computed for each city.
Season by season
2026 (forecast)
Peak December 3–December 7
November 20 → December 30