The overall forest canopy across the foothills and mountains of north-central Georgia is slowly beginning to fade and transition. Yellow-poplar, sourwood, dogwood, birch, blackgum, and red maple are rapidly transforming the landscape and showing some vivid and vibrant colors, ranging from dull yellow to bright yellow to bright red!

Yellow-poplar will soon be reaching peak and begin to fade. However, many tree species such as oaks, hickories, and American beech will begin to show their dazzling fall color splendor within the next two weeks or so.

The fall foliage season is slowly progressing this year compared to some recent years. With the lack of sustained cooler temperatures lately, it has put a temporary pause in the robust development of fall colors. As of now, peak fall color viewing looks to be in late October to early November.

PERCENTAGE OF LEAF CHANGE:

• Above 3000’ – 21%
• Below 3,000’ – 11%

WEATHER:

We received some very beneficial rainfall across the entire region over the past weekend, with most areas receiving 1.5- 3 inches! We had some wind gusts over 45 mph, but thankfully this did not negatively impact the overall season. This will surely help reduce leaf stress and drought stress and help to sustain a healthy forest canopy for a kaleidoscope of dazzling fall colors.

Much cooler temperatures are expected this upcoming
weekend with the first 30’s of the seasons possible for some mountain locations! This will allow for a rapid and robust display of fall color progression within 5-7 days of this substantial cold snap. This upcoming weekend will be much cooler with clear skies and breezy conditions which will usher in a true fall airmass across north-central Georgia! Visibility across the mountains should be great allowing for long range views from vista and overlook locations.

OUTINGS:

U.S. HWY 19 from Dahlonega to Blairsville is currently showing some noticeable fall colors from yellow-poplar, sourwood, blackgum, and dogwood. Also, S.R. 60 from Dahlonega to Morganton is displaying some early fall colors. These routes will only continue to become more pronounced and vivid with a plethora of vibrant fall
colors in the next two weeks!

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Higher elevations are showing much better color this week with birches, sourwood, maple, poplar, and dogwood being the best for show. Lower elevations are also good with the understory trees and some maples
exhibiting fair color.

The season is on track and peak should still fall on the last week of October or first week of November.

PERCENTAGE OF LEAF CHANGE:

• Above 3000’ – 21%
• Below 3,000’ – 11%

WEATHER:

With temperatures expected to drop this weekend prime leaf color season should get kicked off. Crisp nights not getting below freezing and daytime highs being mild it’s a perfect setup for trees to produce the best colors.

OUTINGS:

The best views this week will be the Richard Russell parkway and secondary roads with tree canopies covering them. These roads will give great views for black and yellow birches that are nearing peak over the next week.

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The same trends shown in previous weeks are holding strong, with the primary changing species being sumac, sweetgum, red maple, dogwood, sassafras, and tupelo. However, hickories have started to show some mild yellowing, affecting 5-20% of the crown.

The peak color change is expected around the first two weeks of November.

PERCENTAGE OF LEAF CHANGE:

• Above 3000’ – 11%
• Below 3,000’ – 9%

WEATHER:

Hurricane Isaias provided much needed rain which will reduce any negative effects of the previous droughty periods, thus allowing the leaves to maintain their leaves for a bit longer.

OUTINGS:

Driving west down HWY 136 towards Cloudland Canyon State Park allows you to be surrounded by changing hardwoods on both sides, paired with the fluctuating elevation, before reaching the park and having a variety of
beautiful overlook points to choose from.

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Click here to view all of this week’s photos and access our 2026 Leaf Watch map.

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