New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
National park · West Virginia
Redesignated a full national park in 2020, this 876-foot-deep gorge is spanned by one of the highest bridges in the Americas; the Canyon Rim Visitor Center overlook is the classic vantage for the bridge and the sea of ridge-line color that peaks around mid-October, before Bridge Day draws crowds each fall.
Don’t miss
Peak: October 12–October 16
Color builds from October 6 · mostly bare by November 6
Sampled at New River Gorge National Park & Preserve’s own coordinates and elevation (527 m) rather than a regional average.
12 weather points cover West Virginia, and the model needs no correction to land on 1 published peak date from smokymountains.com. Against West Virginia's own climatology, the 2026 weather puts the peak 6 days earlier. How the forecast works
When to go to New River Gorge National Park & Preserve
The color window runs about 17 days, holding until around October 23. That is about 1 day earlier than West Virginia as a whole. Most of that is elevation. It sits at 1,729 ft.
New River Gorge National Park & Preserve on the map
Drag the date slider to see when color reaches this corner of West Virginia, or tap a pin for that stop’s own peak window.
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Frequently asked
- When does New River Gorge National Park & Preserve peak in 2026?
- Peak color is predicted for October 12–October 16 (best estimate October 14). Color starts around October 6 and is mostly bare by November 6.
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