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Blowing Rock, North Carolina fall foliage
In a typical year, fall color in the Blowing Rock 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
- 3,570 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 Blowing Rock on the foliage mapWhere to see the color around Blowing Rock
Blowing Rock sits right on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the edge of the Blue Ridge escarpment. Just outside town, Moses H. Cone Memorial Park has about 25 miles of old carriage roads around the grounds of a historic estate, including an easy walk of about a mile around Bass Lake, with the old manor house on the hill above. A few miles farther along the Parkway, Julian Price Memorial Park surrounds Price Lake, which reflects the hills around it. Beyond that, Grandfather Mountain rises above the road.
Scenic drive
Head south on the Blue Ridge Parkway from Blowing Rock past Moses H. Cone Memorial Park and Price Lake to the Linn Cove Viaduct, where the road curves around the slopes of Grandfather Mountain on a bridge built to protect the mountainside. The views stretch east toward the Piedmont. Sections of the Parkway can close, so check its status before you go. Boone is just a few miles north of Blowing Rock.
If you arrive too early or too late
Too early? Still mostly green
Head higher
Mount Mitchell, NC (42 miles away, higher up) typically peaks about 12 days earlier, and Kuwohi (Clingmans Dome), TN (109 miles away, higher up) typically peaks about 11 days earlier.
Too late? Already past peak
Head lower
Asheville, NC (62 miles away, lower down) typically peaks about 7 days later, and Charlotte, NC (78 miles away, lower down) typically peaks about 14 days later.
National park and forest guides
Scenic drive guide
Nearby destinations
- Boone, NCTypical peak Oct 20, about the same time. 6 miles away.
- Mount Mitchell, NCTypical peak Oct 7, 12 days earlier. 42 miles away.
- Asheville, NCTypical peak Oct 26, 7 days later. 61 miles away.
- Charlotte, NCTypical peak Nov 2, 14 days later. 78 miles away.
- Greenville, SCTypical peak Nov 1, 13 days later. 97 miles away.
Trees you’ll see turning
Common questions
When is peak fall foliage in Blowing Rock?
In a typical year, fall color in the Blowing Rock 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 Blowing Rock?
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 Blowing Rock early or late compared with the rest of North Carolina?
Blowing Rock typically peaks about 3 days earlier than the North Carolina average of Oct 22. It ranks 3 of 7 North Carolina destinations from earliest to latest.
What trees color up around Blowing Rock?
The main fall color in this area comes from red maple, sourwood, tulip tree, 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.