Foothills Parkway West
The overlook highway. Thirty-three miles of ridge-top driving with pull-offs looking straight into the park: the single best way to see the color line from outside it.
When do the leaves peak at Foothills Parkway West?
Foothills Parkway West sits at 2,100 ft, and this year the model puts peak color around Saturday, October 31, with a likely window of Oct 27 to Nov 5. The long-run median peak here is Oct 28, so conditions are running 3 days late. Today the canopy reads 14/100 (Summer green), and the peak window opens in 18 days. Drive time from Gatlinburg is about 55 minutes.
Color today · Oct 9
14/100
Only a few early turners
Summer green
Canopy is summer green with only scattered early turners.
Predicted peak
Oct 31
Window Oct 27 to Nov 5
Historical median
Oct 28
+2.9 day weather shift
Peak probability today
0%
97% model confidence · Very confident
Expected vibrancy
33/100 · Dull
0 cold nights, 0 frosts logged
This location vs. its own normal year
Foothills Parkway West is running 2.9 days late compared with its own ten-year day-by-day climate record from the ERA5-Land reanalysis, downscaled to this elevation.
- Timing shift
- +2.9d
- Daytime temperature
- +4.5°F
- Rainfall
- 65% of normal
- Cold nights logged
- 0
Peak pushed later
Warmer than normal here
3.0 in observed · 4.6 in typical
Nights below 45°F · air dryness 1.88 kPa
How far to trust this
Strong evidenceForecast-grade through Oct 27. After that the curve is this location's historical average, not a prediction of this year's weather.
- Numerical weather forecast through Oct 24
- Cloud-free satellite canopy scene 2 days old
- Scored camera frame today
- Timing corrected against 4 scored past seasons
Leaf-drop risk
Next 14 daysLow risk around Oct 11, with color on the ground rather than on the trees.
- High wind warning: ridges can strip in hours
- Wind advisory: exposed canopy will thin
Next three weeks here
Tap any day to see what to expect. Use the buttons to jump ahead a week at a time.
Friday, October 9
Color 14/100 · Summer green · 0% chance of peak
Peak dates, recent years
How this year's prediction compares with observed peaks here.
- 2022Oct 26
- 2023Nov 1
- 2024Oct 29
- 2025Oct 25
- 2026Oct 31
What turns here
- Sourwood
- Black gum
- Red maple
- Hickory
- Oak
Weather notes
- Running 4.5°F warmer than this location's measured normal, which pushes peak later.
- Rainfall is running 3.1" behind what the canopy has transpired away, so trees are drawing down soil water.
- Sunnier than usual, which builds the red pigments that make a vivid season.
- Satellite canopy is holding green longer than expected: peak pushed 2.2 days later.
- Past seasons scored here ran 2.7 days later than the model expected, so that correction is applied.
Plan around it
Summer greenScenic drive
Walland to Wears Valley section
The newest stretch, huge sweeping views and almost always moving traffic.
Overlook
Look Rock Tower
Short walk to a 360° observation platform above the haze layer.
Photography
Sunset pull-offs mile 12-17
West-facing, layered ridges, the shot that sells the Smokies.