Blue Ridge Parkway
Stretches 469 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains, providing a massive, continuous corridor of autumn color that slowly cascades southward and downward in elevation.
Forest Composition
Conditions & 5-Day Forecast
Field notes · 2026 estimate
When to see peak color at Blue Ridge Parkway
Peak fall color is predicted around October 27. Plan for the strongest viewing window from October 22 to November 1.
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 Asheville and across North Carolina.
That is 5 days later than usual (October 23): the six weeks to October 13 ran 5.1°F warmer than the 2001–2025 average, and a warmer run before peak delays the color. This will settle about ten days before peak, as the weather comes in.
Nearby locales
Other places to see color near Blue Ridge Parkway
30 to 60 minutes
1 to 2 hours
- Catawba Falls33 mi · 1 hr 6 minPeak: Oct 27Status: Early color
- Blue Ridge Parkway45 mi · 1 hr 12 minPeak: Oct 20Status: Moderate color
- Biltmore Estate49 mi · 1 hr 17 minPeak: Oct 28Status: Early color
- Grandfather Mountain45 mi · 1 hr 18 minPeak: Oct 20Status: Moderate color
- Roan Mountain State Park47 mi · 1 hr 18 minTennesseePeak: Oct 20Status: Moderate color
- South Mountains State Park48 mi · 1 hr 19 minPeak: Nov 3Status: Early color
- North Carolina Arboretum56 mi · 1 hr 26 minPeak: Oct 29Status: Moderate color