Tomorrow, the arrival of September kicks off the meteorological fall in the Northern Hemisphere, and on September 23, astronomical fall arrives.
That means that over the next several weeks—and well into October and November—most of the United States will begin to see an explosion of colors as leaves make their annual change from green to golden orange and red.
But precisely when the leaves will change in your area depends on where in the country you are located.
Thankfully, there’s a captivating interactive map that shows you just when you can expect to see peak fall colors on your street. Here’s how to use it.
Explore Fall’s 2026 map shows when autumn’s colors arrive
Explore Fall has launched its annual interactive map that shows when autumn colors will arrive in your area.
The map covers the contiguous 48 states and features a slider that allows you to advance through the remaining dates of the year, from September 1 to December 31.
As you move the slider, the map updates, sending what looks like a descending curtain of green, yellows, oranges, reds, and browns down across the U.S. Those colors correspond to the leaf color in a given area on a given date.
This year, Explore Fall has also launched a tool that lets you see a location-specific fall forecast.
Simply enter a U.S. city, and you’ll be presented with a dashboard of data showing the current foliage conditions, the peak fall foliage color times, and even advice on when to plan trips to see the changing leaves in all their glory.
When will fall colors be at their peak in 2026?
When fall colors will be at their peak this year heavily depends on the elevation and latitude of any given area.
For example, the Explore Fall interactive Fall Foliage Map 2026 shows that as early as September 24, parts of Wyoming will begin to display peak fall colors. However, in a city like Dallas, peak colors aren’t expected to arrive until the final days of November.
Some of the most popular areas for viewing fall colors in America are, of course, towns and forests in the Northeast, particularly parts of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. This year, peak season in those areas runs from around October 7 to October 16.
As for peak fall colors across the United States, Explore Fall says that parts of Wyoming and Colorado will see colors peak first—in September.
After that, it’s the northernmost states, including Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Maine, that should peak in early October.
The colors then begin their southward expansion.
States including New York, South Dakota, Iowa, Ohio, and Pennsylvania will see their peak in mid- to late-October.
Missouri, southern Illinois, and Tennessee will peak in early November, followed by the northern parts of Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia in mid-November.
Late November will bring peak colors to the southern parts of those states, plus the central part of Texas.
And in December, peak colors will finally arrive in southern Texas and Louisiana, and Florida.
Autumn is good for business, too
Of course, while the splendor of autumn itself is enough for most people, for businesses it also ushers in new sales opportunities.
Fashion giants generally use the beginning of autumn to switch over from their summer lines to their winter wares, home goods retailers stock up on seasonal items, and coffee and food chains go all-in and bring pumpkin spice to nearly every edible thing you can imagine.
And when it comes to the holiday most people associate with autumn, Halloween, consumer spending has only been increasing in recent years despite consumers generally cutting back on discretionary items.
According to data from email marketing firm Sender, Halloween spending reached $13.1 billion in 2025. That’s an increase of nearly $1.5 billion over 2024’s $11.6 billion haul.