Field notes · 2026 estimate
When to see peak color at City of Rocks National Reserve
Peak fall color is predicted around September 29. Plan for the strongest viewing window from September 24 to October 4.
Predicted peakSeptember 29
Best windowSeptember 24 – October 4
Confidence range±5 days
This site sits in a satellite cell without its own usable observations, so the prediction is interpolated from the nearest cells that do have them, using NASA MODIS MOD13Q1 vegetation-index data. 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.
Nearby locales
Other places to see color near City of Rocks National Reserve
Driving distance and time by road, not straight-line.
Over 3 hours
- Sawtooth Range & Sun Valley159 mi · 3 hr 45 minPeak around Sep 26
- Millcreek CanyonUtah174 mi · 3 hr 45 minPeak around Oct 13
- Red Butte GardenUtah170 mi · 3 hr 47 minPeak around Oct 9
- City Creek CanyonUtah169 mi · 3 hr 56 minPeak around Oct 8
- Cress Creek Nature Trail183 mi · 3 hr 58 minPeak around Sep 29
- Big Cottonwood Canyon (Donut Falls, Dog Lake)Utah186 mi · 4 hr 4 minPeak around Oct 1
- Little Cottonwood CanyonUtah191 mi · 4 hr 11 minPeak around Sep 29Just starting
- Silver Lake Loop TrailUtah194 mi · 4 hr 17 minPeak around Sep 28