Cades Cove
Scenic drive · Tennessee
An 11-mile one-way loop circles this pastoral valley ringed by 5,000-foot peaks in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where October brings elk bugling in the fields and yellow poplar and sourwood coloring the surrounding slopes.
Don’t miss
Peak: October 25–October 29
Color builds from October 15 · mostly bare by November 19
Sampled at Cades Cove’s own coordinates and elevation (526 m) rather than a regional average.
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 5 days earlier. How the forecast works
When to go to Cades Cove
You get about 21 days of color here, from the first turn through to roughly November 5. Against Tennessee overall, that is 8 days earlier. Height explains the gap, since this sits at 1,726 ft. The elevation is 1,726 ft, which pulls the turn earlier.
Cades Cove on the map
Drag the date slider to see when color reaches this corner of Tennessee, or tap a pin for that stop’s own peak window.
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Frequently asked
- When does Cades Cove peak in 2026?
- Peak color is predicted for October 25–October 29 (best estimate October 27). Color starts around October 15 and is mostly bare by November 19.
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