Fall Color Viewing in Washington

Washington isn’t typically associated with vibrant fall colors, but the Evergreen State has plenty to offer travelers in September and October, when the mountains burst with bright yellows, oranges and reds.

It’s important to know where to look, as fall color isn’t found everywhere in Washington. Your best bets are in urban areas, where maple and cherry trees are common among the evergreens. In Seattle, the Japanese Garden inside the Washington Park Arboretum is a great spot. Eastern Washington is mostly desert but there are areas with larch trees, which turn yellow in fall.

The Japanese Garden, Portland, Oregon © Jason Vandehey | Dreamstime

The mountains are a great place to search for fall color as well; plants like huckleberry bushes carpet the Cascade Mountains, providing plenty of excellent color.

For hiking opportunities, the Washington Trails Association (WTA) has you covered. Their search tool lets you find which hikes are offering fall color now; to access this, search recent Trip Reports for trails where hikers have recently reported color.

Each year, the WTA also lists hikes that are good bets for spotting color. They cover the entire state, so this is the best place to get comprehensive information.