Fall in the Smoky Mountains is one of the most beautiful times of the year. This is when the air begins to cool off a little and visitors from all across the country come to witness the Smoky Mountains' fall foliage transform from deep greens to vibrant shades of red, yellow, and orange. The tricky part about visiting this time of year, however, is planning your trip around the peak fall color times. You don’t want to come too early before the colors change, and you don’t want to come too late when the trees have already shed their leaves for the year.
Will Fall be your favorite time in the Smokies?
If you have never visited the area during the Fall in the Smoky Mountains, be prepared to be amazed by the beautiful colors and majestic scenery. Words cannot describe just how unbelievable the mountains look when the leaves change.
A bonus to the beautiful fall colors is that the color change makes it easy to identify trees in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Each species of tree adapts its own fall shade this time of year, and visitors can easily pick out their favorite based on the leaves.
Here is a quick cheat sheet of which leaves belong to which trees based on their fall color:
Tulip Poplar: golden yellow
Birch: bright yellow
Black Cherry: yellow
Dogwood: deep red
Sourwood: brick red
Shining Sumac: red
Hickories: golden-bronze
Oaks: red, brown, or russet
Maples:
Sugar Maple: orange-red
Black Maple: glowing yellow
Red Maple: bright scarlet or orange
You can hike many trails in the National Park to see the Fall colors, or just step out of the back door of Appalachian Escape Cabin to see the beauty of the Fall.