Fall Colors in Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains

Few destinations offer a more colorful autumn season than Gatlinburg, TN and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The glorious leaf season runs from September into November as the brilliant hues and colors travel down the mountainsides from the highest elevations to the low lying foothills.

The Smoky Mountain colors owe much of their magnificence to the huge diversity of trees. Nearly 100 species, mostly deciduous, thrive in the National Park. Although "peak" season varies from year to year and is difficult to predict, color displays above 4,000 feet usually start as early as mid-September with the turning of yellow birch, American beech, mountain maple, hobblebush, and pin cherry. These colors are particularly visible inside the park from Clingmans Dome Road.

Colors typically reach their peak at middle and lower elevations between mid-October and early November. This amazing display of color includes trees such as the sugar maple, scarlet oak, sweetgum, red maple and a variety of hickories.

The color season usually kicks off in late September as temperatures cool and sunny days mix with fall rains. As days grow shorter and nights grow longer and cooler, chemical processes in the leaves begin to create this annual wonder of color which also includes a variety of wildflowers such as the Cardinal flower, black-eyed Susan, coreopsis, great blue lobelia, skunk goldenrod, southern harebell, ironweed, and a variety of asters.

September's most popular scenic drives in Great Smoky Mountain National Park include Parsons Branch Road, Newfound Gap Road and Clingmans Dome Road. Favorite hiking spots include Albright Grove and the Sugarland Mountain Trail as well as high elevation hikes to Andrews Bald or Mt. LeConte.

In early October, trees in the high country are usually offering up bright yellows and various shades of red. Meanwhile, the lower elevations are just beginning to paint the landscape.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park includes a wide range of elevations between 875 and 6,643 feet. By mid-October at the lower elevations, fall color will gradually come to life. The best colors require a succession of warm, sunny days and cool crisp, but not freezing nights.

In the lower elevations, good spots to see the colors include Newfound Gap Road from Alum Cave Trailhead to Kephart Prong Trailhead, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Foothills Parkway East & West, and Heintooga Ridge Road to Balsam Mountain Campground.