Field notes · 2026 estimate
When to see peak color at Pilot Mountain State Park
Peak fall color is predicted around November 4. Plan for the strongest viewing window from October 30 to November 9.
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 Surry County and across North Carolina.
That is 5 days later than usual (October 30): 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. This will settle about ten days before peak, as the weather comes in.
Nearby locales
Other places to see color near Pilot Mountain State Park
1 to 2 hours
2 to 3 hours
- Boone & Blowing Rock82 mi · 2 hr 2 minPeak: Oct 20Status: Moderate color
- Uwharrie National Forest88 mi · 2 hr 6 minPeak: Oct 31Status: Early color
- Freedom Park & Little Sugar Creek Greenway95 mi · 2 hr 8 minPeak: Nov 2Status: Early color
- Hungry Mother State Park99 mi · 2 hr 8 minVirginiaPeak: Oct 23Status: Moderate color
- Pandapas Pond108 mi · 2 hr 18 minVirginiaPeak: Oct 26Status: Moderate color
- Grayson Highlands State Park88 mi · 2 hr 24 minVirginiaPeak: Oct 19Status: Moderate color