13 places, each with its window to go.
Fall Foliage Around the World: Where and When the Leaves Turn
Autumn color travels. Follow it from Lapland in September to Kyoto in late November, then south to Patagonia in April.
The straight answer
Fall color moves around the world on a predictable schedule: Lapland and Hokkaido in September, Colorado, Vermont, and Quebec around early October, the Smokies and Nikko in late October, Kyoto in late November, and Patagonia and New Zealand in April.
Fall color is not a single season, it is a wave. It starts at high latitudes and high elevations in early September, rolls south and downhill through October, and finishes in the warmer lowlands of Japan in early December. Then the Southern Hemisphere takes its turn in April.
Timing depends on the weather each year, but the order barely changes. Finnish Lapland and Hokkaido turn first. Colorado's aspens, northern New England, and Quebec peak around the start of October. Acadia, Korea's mountains, and Scotland follow, then the Great Smoky Mountains and Nikko later in October, and finally Kyoto's temple maples in the second half of November.
Peak color at any one spot lasts about one to two weeks. Build a few days of flexibility into your plans and watch the local foliage reports, which most of these places publish every autumn. And book early: the famous peak weekends in Vermont and Kyoto fill hotels months ahead.
01Ruska in Finnish Lapland
Pallas-Yllastunturi and Urho Kekkonen National Parks, Finland
The Finns have a word, ruska, for the brief blaze of red bilberry, orange dwarf birch, and golden birch that sweeps across the northern fells, and it often lines up with the first northern lights of the season. It is short and early, so plan around the first half of September.
02Daisetsuzan
Central Hokkaido, Japan
Japan's fall color begins here, on the slopes of Asahidake and around the Ginsendai area, often by mid to late September, weeks before the rest of the country. Ropeways and trails let you walk through red and gold alpine shrubs with volcanic steam venting nearby.
Colorado aspens
Maroon Bells, Kebler Pass, and the San Juan Mountains, Colorado
Whole mountainsides of quaking aspen turn gold together, because each grove is often a single organism sharing one root system. The Maroon Bells near Aspen is the most photographed view in the state and requires advance shuttle or parking reservations in peak season.
Vermont
Green Mountains, Vermont
Sugar maples produce New England's most intense reds, and Vermont's covered bridges, white steeples, and back roads like Route 100 frame them perfectly. Color starts in the north and at elevation in late September and works south into mid October.
05The Laurentians and Mont-Tremblant
Quebec, Canada
The maple forests north of Montreal peak around the turn of September into October, and the Mont-Tremblant gondola lifts you above a sea of red and orange. It pairs naturally with Montreal and Quebec City, which have their own color in parks and on Mount Royal.
06Seoraksan
Gangwon Province, South Korea
Korea's first and most famous fall color, with granite peaks rising out of red maple forest, usually peaking in mid October. In Seoul, the palace gardens and ginkgo-lined streets turn gold a few weeks later, into early November.
07Acadia National Park
Mount Desert Island, Maine
Red maples and golden birches against pink granite and the Atlantic, best seen from the Park Loop Road or the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Peak usually lands in early to mid October, and the carriage roads are ideal for cycling through it.
08Scottish Highlands
Perthshire and the Cairngorms, Scotland
Perthshire markets itself as Big Tree Country, and in October its beech, larch, and birch woods glow along the rivers Tay and Tummel. The Hermitage near Dunkeld, with its waterfall and giant Douglas firs, is the classic walk.
09Great Smoky Mountains
Tennessee and North Carolina
The park holds more than 100 native tree species, which gives it one of the longest and most varied color seasons in the US, starting at the high elevations in early October and reaching the valleys by late October and early November. Drive the Newfound Gap Road or walk up to Kuwohi, the summit formerly called Clingmans Dome.
10Nikko
Tochigi Prefecture, Japan
The switchback Irohazaka road, Lake Chuzenji, and Kegon Falls turn red and gold from the high Okunikko area down to the ornate Toshogu Shrine over a few weeks. It is an easy trip from Tokyo, which also means weekends are packed; go midweek.
11Kyoto temple maples
Kyoto, Japan
Kyoto's koyo peaks in the second half of November into early December, when the maples at Tofuku-ji, Eikan-do, and the Arashiyama hills turn deep red. Several temples hold special evening illuminations during peak season. It is one of the busiest times of Kyoto's year, so book early.
12Arrowtown
Near Queenstown, New Zealand
Poplars, oaks, and sycamores planted by gold-rush settlers turn the historic main street and Arrow River gold every April, one of the Southern Hemisphere's best fall displays. The town usually holds its Arrowtown Autumn Festival in April.
13Patagonia's lenga forests
Torres del Paine, Chile, and El Chalten, Argentina
Native lenga beech forests turn red and orange across the Patagonian Andes in April, and the trails around Torres del Paine and Fitz Roy are far emptier than in summer. The trade-off is shorter days and colder nights, with some lodges starting to close for winter.
Quick answers
When is peak fall foliage?
It depends on where you are. In the northern US and Canada, peak is late September to mid October. The Great Smoky Mountains peak later, from mid October into early November. In Japan, it runs from mid September in Hokkaido to early December in Kyoto. In the Southern Hemisphere, April is peak.
Where is the best fall foliage in the world?
New England, especially Vermont, and Quebec have the most intense reds because of sugar maples. Japan offers the best combination of color and culture, with maples framing temples in Kyoto and Nikko. For something different, the golden aspens of Colorado and the lenga forests of Patagonia are hard to beat.
Where can I see fall colors in November?
Kyoto and much of central Japan peak in November, the lower elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains carry color into early November, and Seoul's ginkgo trees turn in late October and early November.
How long does peak fall color last?
Usually one to two weeks in any given spot, and a single storm or hard frost can end it early. Because color moves downhill and south, a road trip through a region can extend your window to three or four weeks.
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