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 Craggy Gardens
Peak fall color is predicted around October 23. Plan for the strongest viewing window from October 18 to October 28.
Predicted peakOctober 23
Best windowOctober 18 – October 28
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 Black Mountain and across North Carolina.
That is 5 days later than usual (October 18): the six weeks to October 13 ran 3.7°F warmer than the 2001–2025 average, and a warmer run before peak delays the color.
Nearby locales
Other places to see color near Craggy Gardens
30 to 60 minutes
1 to 2 hours
- Catawba Falls38 mi · 1 hr 10 minPeak: Oct 27Status: Early color
- Mount Mitchell State Park53 mi · 1 hr 26 minPeak: Oct 24Status: Moderate color
- Graveyard Fields54 mi · 1 hr 31 minPeak: Oct 24Status: Moderate color
- Pisgah National Forest58 mi · 1 hr 31 minPeak: Oct 25Status: Moderate color
- Black Balsam Knob56 mi · 1 hr 34 minPeak: Oct 23Status: Moderate color
- Blue Ridge Parkway61 mi · 1 hr 34 minPeak: Oct 27
- Chimney Rock State Park48 mi · 1 hr 35 minPeak: Oct 29Status: Early color