Field notes · 2026 estimate
When to see peak color at Sandia Mountains
Peak fall color is predicted around October 14. Plan for the strongest viewing window from October 9 to October 19.
The prediction is a 24-year climatology built from NASA MODIS MOD13Q1 vegetation-index data, with the definition of peak calibrated against PhenoCam ground cameras. 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.
Fall color at Sandia Mountains begins as early as October 8 in some spots and continues through October 30 in others — a 22-day window where you can catch peak color somewhere in the area regardless of when you visit.
Nearby locales
Other places to see color near Sandia Mountains
Driving distance and time by road, not straight-line.