The predicted color stage on the selected date, modelled from years of fall color records. A forecast, not a live observation.When each area's color is predicted to peak this season. The date doesn't change this view.
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Field notes · 2026 estimate
When to see peak color at Hope Valley & Carson Pass
Peak fall color is predicted around September 29. Plan for the strongest viewing window from September 24 to October 4.
- Predicted peak
- September 29
- Best window
- September 24 – October 4
- Confidence range
- ±5 days
The prediction comes from 14 years of fall color records at this spot, checked against what observers on the ground saw. Where state foliage spotters report peak (New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Missouri), it has landed inside our ±5-day window about two years in three. An unusual summer or autumn can still move it further. Explore fall color around South Lake Tahoe and across California.
That is 3 days earlier than usual (October 2): this spring (March to May) ran 3.5°F warmer than the 2001–2025 average, and in the western mountains a warm spring brings the color forward.
Nearby locales