Foliage map › Destinations › Massachusetts › Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts fall foliage
In a typical year, fall color in the Worcester area peaks around October 19, with the best viewing from roughly October 17 to October 26.
- Typical peak
- October 19
- Best viewing
- Oct 17 – Oct 26
- Color starts
- Around Oct 7
- Leaves mostly down
- Around Nov 1
- Elevation
- 480 ft
2026 foliage season
Typical season
Peak around October 19. Turn on JavaScript to see today’s estimated status and the five-week outlook.
The season at a glance
Bar height shows how good the viewing typically is on each day, from September 1 through November 30. Colors show the stage, from green through peak red to bare.
Open Worcester on the foliage mapWhere to see the color around Worcester
Worcester sits among the wooded hills of central Massachusetts. In the city, Elm Park, set aside in 1854, is one of the oldest public parks in the country. To the north, a road and trails climb Wachusett Mountain, the highest point in the state east of the Connecticut River, with views on clear days to the Boston skyline and Mount Monadnock. To the south in Sutton, Purgatory Chasm is a narrow granite gorge with walls up to about 70 feet high and a trail along its floor.
Scenic drive
Route 9 runs west from Worcester through farm towns and woods to Belchertown and Quabbin Park, at the southern end of the Quabbin Reservoir. Roads in the park lead across the Winsor Dam and up to the Enfield Lookout, which looks out over the reservoir and its wooded islands.
If you arrive too early or too late
Too early? Still mostly green
Head higher or farther north
Lenox, MA (76 miles away, higher up) typically peaks about 5 days earlier, and Bennington, VT (83 miles away, farther north) typically peaks about 5 days earlier.
Too late? Already past peak
Try these nearby
Providence, RI (36 miles away) typically peaks about 5 days later, and Boston, MA (39 miles away) typically peaks about 5 days later.
Nearby destinations
- Natick, MATypical peak Oct 22, 3 days later. 23 miles away.
- Wellesley, MATypical peak Oct 22, 3 days later. 26 miles away.
- Providence, RITypical peak Oct 24, 5 days later. 36 miles away.
- Milton, MATypical peak Oct 24, 5 days later. 38 miles away.
- Boston, MATypical peak Oct 24, 5 days later. 39 miles away.
Trees you’ll see turning
Common questions
When is peak fall foliage in Worcester?
In a typical year, fall color in the Worcester area peaks around October 19, with the best viewing from roughly October 17 to October 26. Weather can shift the timing by about a week either way.
How long does peak color last in Worcester?
Near-peak color usually holds for about 10 days. Color starts to show around October 7, and most leaves are down by about November 1.
Is Worcester early or late compared with the rest of Massachusetts?
Worcester peaks close to the middle of the Massachusetts season, about Oct 20 on average across the 9 Massachusetts destinations we track.
What trees color up around Worcester?
The main fall color in this area comes from red maple, northern red oak, sugar maple, and shagbark hickory. See the leaf guide to identify them.
Estimates come from the Leaves.com model of typical years, based on latitude, elevation, and distance from large bodies of water. They are not live observations. How it works.