Season planner
Peak fall color dates in the Smokies, 1970
Color moves down the mountain roughly 100 vertical feet a day. This page ranks all 13 tracked locations by the date our model expects peak color, from the high country to the valley floor. Updated daily from live weather.
This season the first peak lands at Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome) around Sunday, October 4, and the last at Pigeon Forge around Thursday, November 5.
Week by week across the range
Week of Sep 28 – Oct 4
Week of Oct 5 – Oct 11
Mount LeConte
6,593 ft · High country · 25 min from Gatlinburg
Predicted peak
Monday, October 5
Window Oct 1 – Oct 10
Historical median
Oct 5
On schedule
Newfound Gap
5,046 ft · Upper slopes · 40 min from Gatlinburg
Predicted peak
Sunday, October 11
Window Oct 7 – Oct 16
Historical median
Oct 11
On schedule
Week of Oct 19 – Oct 25
Chimney Tops Overlooks
3,400 ft · Mid elevation · 20 min from Gatlinburg
Predicted peak
Monday, October 19
Window Oct 15 – Oct 24
Historical median
Oct 19
On schedule
Cataloochee Valley
2,650 ft · Mid elevation · 110 min from Gatlinburg
Predicted peak
Wednesday, October 21
Window Oct 17 – Oct 26
Historical median
Oct 24
3 days early
Week of Oct 26 – Nov 1
Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail
2,600 ft · Mid elevation · 5 min from Gatlinburg
Predicted peak
Monday, October 26
Window Oct 22 – Oct 31
Historical median
Oct 26
On schedule
Little River Gorge
1,700 ft · Lower coves · 35 min from Gatlinburg
Predicted peak
Thursday, October 29
Window Oct 25 – Nov 3
Historical median
Oct 29
On schedule
Cades Cove
1,800 ft · Lower coves · 75 min from Gatlinburg
Predicted peak
Friday, October 30
Window Oct 26 – Nov 4
Historical median
Oct 30
On schedule
Foothills Parkway West
2,100 ft · Lower coves · 55 min from Gatlinburg
Predicted peak
Saturday, October 31
Window Oct 27 – Nov 5
Historical median
Oct 28
3 days late
Wears Valley
1,400 ft · Valley floor · 30 min from Gatlinburg
Predicted peak
Sunday, November 1
Window Oct 28 – Nov 6
Historical median
Nov 1
On schedule
Week of Nov 2 – Nov 8
Townsend & Little River
1,050 ft · Valley floor · 45 min from Gatlinburg
Predicted peak
Monday, November 2
Window Oct 29 – Nov 7
Historical median
Nov 2
On schedule
Gatlinburg
1,289 ft · Valley floor · 0 min from Gatlinburg
Predicted peak
Tuesday, November 3
Window Oct 30 – Nov 8
Historical median
Nov 3
On schedule
Pigeon Forge
1,010 ft · Valley floor · 20 min from Gatlinburg
Predicted peak
Thursday, November 5
Window Nov 1 – Nov 10
Historical median
Nov 5
On schedule
How to read these dates
Elevation drives the calendar. Spruce-fir and northern hardwoods above 5,500 ft turn first, usually in the last week of September. Mid-slope maples and birches follow through mid-October, and the valley floors around Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Cades Cove finish the season in late October and early November.
Weather shifts the calendar. Warm nights delay color, a run of clear days with cold (but frost-free) nights deepens reds, and drought or a hard early freeze can shorten the show. Each row above already includes this year's weather shift against the long-run median.