Foliage map › Destinations › West Virginia › Snowshoe
Snowshoe, West Virginia fall foliage
In a typical year, fall color in the Snowshoe area peaks around October 10, with the best viewing from roughly October 9 to October 17.
- Typical peak
- October 10
- Best viewing
- Oct 9 – Oct 17
- Color starts
- Around Sep 28
- Leaves mostly down
- Around Oct 23
- Elevation
- 4,800 ft
2026 foliage season
Typical season
Peak around October 10. 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 Snowshoe on the foliage mapWhere to see the color around Snowshoe
Snowshoe sits atop Cheat Mountain at about 4,800 feet, in the high Allegheny country of the Monongahela National Forest, where the color comes early and the views run across ridge after ridge. Below the mountain, Cass Scenic Railroad State Park preserves an old logging town and railroad. To the southwest, the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area protects about 750 acres of high mountain bogs, with a half-mile boardwalk through plants more often found far to the north, and nearby the Falls of Hills Creek drop through a narrow gorge.
Scenic drive
The Highland Scenic Highway runs 43 miles through the Monongahela National Forest between US 219 north of Marlinton and Richwood. Its high section, Route 150, climbs along the ridges to about 4,550 feet near Black Mountain, with four overlooks, Red Lick, Little Laurel, Big Spruce, and Williams River, looking out over the Allegheny Highlands and the Cranberry Wilderness. It comes down near the Cranberry Glades and the Falls of Hills Creek, and Route 39 continues west to Richwood.
If you arrive too early or too late
Too early? Still mostly green
Look for higher ground
None of the destinations we track within 150 miles of Snowshoe typically peaks much earlier. Look for higher ground nearby: in this part of the country, color tends to arrive about 4 to 5 days earlier for every 1,000 feet you climb.
Too late? Already past peak
Head lower
Davis (Blackwater Falls), WV (57 miles away, lower down) typically peaks about 7 days later, and Fayetteville (New River Gorge), WV (65 miles away, lower down) typically peaks about 14 days later.
National park and forest guide
Nearby destinations
- Davis (Blackwater Falls), WVTypical peak Oct 17, 7 days later. 57 miles away.
- Fayetteville (New River Gorge), WVTypical peak Oct 24, 14 days later. 65 miles away.
- Roanoke, VATypical peak Oct 29, 19 days later. 79 miles away.
- Deep Creek Lake, MDTypical peak Oct 20, 9 days later. 84 miles away.
- Blacksburg, VATypical peak Oct 24, 14 days later. 85 miles away.
Trees you’ll see turning
Common questions
When is peak fall foliage in Snowshoe?
In a typical year, fall color in the Snowshoe area peaks around October 10, with the best viewing from roughly October 9 to October 17. Weather can shift the timing by about a week either way.
How long does peak color last in Snowshoe?
Near-peak color usually holds for about 9 days. Color starts to show around September 28, and most leaves are down by about October 23.
Is Snowshoe early or late compared with the rest of West Virginia?
Snowshoe typically peaks about 7 days earlier than the West Virginia average of Oct 17. It ranks 1 of 3 West Virginia destinations from earliest to latest.
What trees color up around Snowshoe?
The main fall color in this area comes from sugar maple, red maple, black gum, and American beech. 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.