Fall Foliage 2019 Blue Ridge Parkway Predictions

The fall foliage 2019 Blue Ridge Parkway predictions are in from the fall foliage experts. The experts are reporting a great fall foliage season this year. The warmer than normal temperatures this past summer along with a warmer than usual September and warmer than usual forecast for October as well all point to an exciting and colorful fall foliage show for 2019. The recent cooler nights and the warm sunny days in Western North Carolina and Virginia are already affecting the development of color along the parkway. The first area already to start seeing some color is, of course, Graveyard Fields. Graveyard Fields is located at Milepost 418.8 south of Asheville. This area has a high elevation (just over 5,000 feet) and is one of the very first places on the parkway to develop color. Reports are already coming in about the pretty and colorful show of leaves and wildflowers along this section of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.

The fall foliage 2019 Blue Ridge Parkway season should be a good one this year. Nice weather all summer and into the start of fall should make for a great showing of color. The western portion of North Carolina is experiencing some drought conditions. Hopefully, the cold front in the forecast for the first weekend of October will really get the fall foliage show started. A little rain with the cold front would bring a little relief from the dry conditions.

Travel Blue Ridge Parkway Weekly Fall Foliage Reports and Update Are Here!

9/27/2019: Fall arrived on September 23 but the 90-degree temperatures are still here for some. By the first weekend of October the forecast is pointing toward much cooler temperatures. Those cooler temperatures at night with those sunny days are part of what starts that color development each year in the fall. The dogwood trees are already turning red but this is due to the shorter daylight and the normal growing season for the dogwood. There is also some hint of color just starting to appear in the sugar and mountain maples, sourwoods, sassafras, and black birch. Tulip poplar trees are also turning yellow.

 

The first areas along the Blue Ridge Parkway to show color is in North Carolina. These areas have the highest elevations. Grandfather Mountain is predicted to peak first because of the elevation of 5946 feet. Mount Mitchell and Craggy Gardens are included in the first to peak locations along the parkway. These highest elevations typically peak the first week of October. Rough Ridge will also be another location to have color by the first of October. Color then spreads and peaks into the mid-elevations usually about the second week of October.

Weekly reports are underway. Check Travel Blue Ridge Parkway for our weekly fall foliage reports. Find out where the color is, when to go, and where to go. Check out our tips page and other information about the fall foliage season along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia. We also include Skyline Drive in our reports.

Fall Foliage Season Along the Blue Ridge Parkway