Western North Carolina Fall Color Reports

Fall is here, and that means it’s North Carolina’s time to shine! With more than 120 species of trees, NC turns into a brilliant palette of color each year as the autumn leisurely makes its way from the mountain peaks down to the coastal plains.

Here, you’ll find our Fall Color Forecaster and weekly foliage reports from our leaf experts. Bookmark this page and return every Tuesday for updates as the season progresses. Or, call the Fall Leaf Hotline 1-866-6LEAVES (866-653-2837). Looking for Fall Fishing reports? You'll find them here.

Insider Tip: Enjoy your NC leaf watching during the weekdays! The colors are just as spectacular, but hotel rooms and restaurant tables are more available, roads more wide open, and hiking trials more natural.

For the complete story and the "Fall Color Forecaster" click on the following link:"Fall Color Forecaster"

Week #5, October 13th

Mountain Region
Howard Neufeld, expert mountain reporter
(With help from fellow fall color predictors: Jonathan Horton, Beverly Collins, Jim Costa, Kathy Matthews, and Jesse Pope)

Fall color has literally exploded in the northern section of the mountains. A drive along the east flank of Grandfather Mountain (near Boone) on the Blue Ridge Parkway reveals breathtaking color diversity. In fact, color there is the best in this section of the state, with intense reds mixed with bright yellows, oranges and even brown. It should last through this week and maybe into next weekend, although as I’ve said in my reports this year, colors are somewhat early this year.

Interestingly, colors are strikingly different in Watauga and Ashe counties to the north. Here, yellow, orange and browns dominate, with fewer reds. Perhaps this is because there are more oaks, hickories and fewer maples there. Nevertheless, the colors are still striking and worth seeing. They’re peaking between 4,000 and 3,000 feet now, and moving downhill fast. I expect by next weekend that colors in the 2,000 to 3,000 feet range will be showing up nicely, even as far south as Highlands, especially if it doesn’t rain too hard, which could knock leaves off the trees. Despite early predictions of a bad color year, the color is in fact, excellent. People I polled on the Parkway were rating the colors 8.5 to 9 (one girl told me it was an 11 out of 10!) so they are definitely worth a trip out to see this year!

Color is developing rapidly in the mountains from Asheville down to Highlands, and probably beyond to Murphy also. This week and the coming weekend should be the peak at elevations near 3,000 feet in that section of the mountains. Maples, sourwoods, sumacs and black gum are showing up as the red trees, while birches, tulip trees, magnolias and some sugar maples are highlighting yellow. Good drives are US 64 from Hendersonville all the way to Highlands, and of course, on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville south into the Smokies. Highlands may be slightly ahead of Cullowhee and Waynesville in color development, and along the escarpment the views this week and weekend should be the best. A cold front (and more rain) is coming and should hasten color development, so it is best to get out this week and the following weekend.

Also, Clingmans Dome is at peak with yellows of birch, beach and maple and a little orange. There is some red at the highest Smokies elevations (4500-6500 feet). Mid-elevations with oaks are not at peak yet. Later this week or next week will probably have good color in the 3000-5000 foot level.

This year, red color is coming big time from red maples (Acer rubrum) along with sourwoods (Oxydendrum arboreum), huckleberrys (Gaylussacia baccata) and black gum (Nyssa sylvatica). Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) is turning a lovely yellow to bronze while the really big turners this week are the Fraser magnolias (Magnolia fraseri), going from yellow to a deep chocolate brown. Other yellows come from birches (Betula sp.) with even brighter yellow on the witch hazels (Hamamelis virginiana) and striped maples (Acer pensylvanicum). Scarlet and red oaks (Quercus coccinea and Q. rubra) are just beginning to turn a deep, maroon (but sometimes bright) red. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, many of the tulip poplars this year are going straight from green to brown, when usually they turn a golden yellow. Perhaps the excess soil moisture has affected them.

Other good drives in these areas are, US 64 from Brevard to Highlands which is spectacular now, mainly at the higher elevations. The Blue Ridge Parkway from the NC-VA border down to the Viaduct, and then beyond to Mt. Mitchell is great for fall color viewing. Highways 184 and 194 in Avery, Watauga and Ashe counties, and Highway 88 in Ashe County, offer beautiful backcountry drives away from the crowds. Enjoy!