Autumn's colour show is on its way south, and forecasters say this year's display will be uneven but spectacular in the right places. The Old Farmer's Almanac and AccuWeather expect the change to run roughly on schedule — leaves start turning in the highest elevations and northern states in late September — but drought and wildfires will mute the show in Colorado, parts of the inland Northwest, the Mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. Elsewhere, conditions look close to ideal: a wet spring followed by cool, dry autumn evenings is exactly what trees need to produce deep reds and oranges.

New England once again leads the pack, with Vermont tipped as the best state in the country for foliage in 2026. Expect colour from late September, peaking in mid-October, with Maine nearly as strong — a simple drive through either state in that window should do the job.

Just west, upstate New York gets the same favourable weather. The Adirondacks, Catskills, Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes are all prime territory, and if you'd rather not drive, Amtrak's Adirondack Fall Foliage Experience runs a five-day route from New York City to Montreal through some of the continent's best autumn scenery.

In California, the Sierra Nevada turns fast — some years the golden leaves drop before you've booked a room. The 2026 peak is forecast for mid- to late October, and mild weather could stretch it longer. Two standout drives: the June Lake Loop outside Mammoth Lakes, and Highway 20 toward Nevada City, about an hour from Sacramento.

Despite drought and wildfire smoke across the Pacific Northwest, the Cascade Range should still deliver. Oregon's colour is expected to peak in mid-October around Mt. Hood, the Columbia River Gorge, Deschutes National Forest and the Willamette Valley. In Washington, head out earlier — Olympic National Forest is brightest from September into October.

The Upper Midwest holds its own too. Door County, Wisconsin has the famously winding Highway 42 (the Jens Jensen Curvy Road), while Michigan's Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore layers maple and aspen colour over Lake Superior cliffs.

For the longest season of all, drive the Blue Ridge Parkway — 469 miles from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. Colour starts at the high elevations in late September and works down to the foothills through October and into November, giving you the widest booking window in the country. The speed limit sits at 45 mph, there are 280 scenic overlooks and 26 tunnels, so plan for slow progress and frequent stops.

The practical takeaway: timing beats destination. Pick a region, then aim for its peak — mid-October for New England and Oregon, late September for Washington and high-elevation Blue Ridge, late October for the Sierra Nevada. And if you're flexible, the Blue Ridge corridor offers the best odds of catching colour across a multi-week trip.