During the week of Oct. 19, attention shifts toward elevations between approximately 3,000 and 4,000 feet, including mountain slopes surrounding Maggie Valley and Waynesville, North Carolina.
The Blue Ridge Parkway near Soco Gap and the mountain roads surrounding Maggie Valley offer opportunities to see color developing across the landscape. Visitors can also explore the Waynesville area, where changing leaves may become more noticeable across surrounding ridges and lower slopes.
The forecast calls for moderate color to become more widespread on the Tennessee side, while parts of Western North Carolina could approach peak color.
For travelers, this could be a good week to combine scenic drives with stops in mountain communities, where visitors can enjoy local shops, restaurants and outdoor attractions along the way.
The following week: Watch lower elevations around Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge
As October moves toward its final week, more attention will turn to lower elevations around the Tennessee side of the Smokies.
The outlook highlights elevations between approximately 2,000 and 3,000 feet, including mountain slopes and forested areas surrounding Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Color in the surrounding mountains may become more widespread, although the towns themselves sit at lower elevations and may follow a different timeline.
On the Tennessee side, visitors can explore the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, scenic sections of the Foothills Parkway and mountain roads inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Roaring Fork offers a wooded drive through the mountains, while the Foothills Parkway provides long-range views across ridges and valleys. Both can offer a different perspective as fall color spreads through the middle and lower elevations.
In Western North Carolina, color may be nearing or reaching peak in additional lower-elevation areas, although conditions will vary from one location to another.
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