Foliage map › Destinations › Wisconsin › Madison
Madison, Wisconsin fall foliage
In a typical year, fall color in the Madison area peaks around October 12, with the best viewing from roughly October 11 to October 19.
- Typical peak
- October 12
- Best viewing
- Oct 11 – Oct 19
- Color starts
- Around Sep 30
- Leaves mostly down
- Around Oct 25
- Elevation
- 870 ft
2026 foliage season
Typical season
Peak around October 12. 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 Madison on the foliage mapWhere to see the color around Madison
Madison is built on an isthmus between two lakes, Mendota and Monona, with the dome of the State Capitol at the center. On the University of Wisconsin campus, the Lakeshore Path follows the south shore of Lake Mendota out to Picnic Point, a wooded peninsula reaching into the lake with views back to the city. On the south side of town, the UW–Madison Arboretum covers about 1,200 acres of woods, wetlands, and Curtis Prairie, one of the oldest restored prairies in the world.
Scenic drive
US 12 heads northwest from Madison to the Baraboo Hills, where Devil’s Lake State Park sits between quartzite bluffs about 500 feet high. Trails climb the bluffs to views down onto the lake and across the oak and maple woods of the surrounding hills.
If you arrive too early or too late
Too early? Still mostly green
Nothing nearby turns earlier
None of the destinations we track within 150 miles of Madison typically peaks much earlier.
Too late? Already past peak
Head farther south
Milwaukee, WI (76 miles away) typically peaks about 5 days later, and Chicago, IL (122 miles away, farther south) typically peaks about 10 days later.
Nearby destinations
- Galena, ILTypical peak Oct 16, 4 days later. 69 miles away.
- Milwaukee, WITypical peak Oct 17, 5 days later. 75 miles away.
- Decorah, IATypical peak Oct 11, about the same time. 121 miles away.
- Chicago, ILTypical peak Oct 22, 10 days later. 122 miles away.
- Sturgeon Bay (Door County), WITypical peak Oct 9, 3 days earlier. 158 miles away.
Trees you’ll see turning
Common questions
When is peak fall foliage in Madison?
In a typical year, fall color in the Madison area peaks around October 12, with the best viewing from roughly October 11 to October 19. Weather can shift the timing by about a week either way.
How long does peak color last in Madison?
Near-peak color usually holds for about 9 days. Color starts to show around September 30, and most leaves are down by about October 25.
Is Madison early or late compared with the rest of Wisconsin?
Madison typically peaks about 3 days later than the Wisconsin average of Oct 9. It ranks 3 of 4 Wisconsin destinations from earliest to latest.
What trees color up around Madison?
The main fall color in this area comes from sugar maple, northern red oak, bur oak, 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.