Fall foliage

Fall foliage in Illinois

Fall 2026 · updated daily

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Illinois runs north to south over roughly two weeks.

A wooded bluff of red, orange and gold trees above the Illinois River, with two boats on the water.
Starved Rock, above the Illinois RiverPhoto: Lotzman Katzman · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Tall hardwoods in bright yellow leaves above a forest floor of fallen yellow leaves, with a rock outcrop among the trees.
Near Dutchman Lake, in the Shawnee National ForestPhoto: Suzanne Hirsch, USDA Forest Service · Public domain · source
Yellow and gold trees over a sandstone ravine, with mossy boulders and fallen red leaves in the foreground.
The Rim Rock Trail, near Garden of the GodsPhoto: LoveThesePics · CC BY 3.0 · source

The sandstone canyons at Starved Rock lead in the third week of October, and the change travels down the river bluffs to the Shawnee National Forest, where Garden of the Gods, Giant City and Ferne Clyffe peak around the turn of the month;

the southern tip around Little Grand Canyon and Millstone Bluff closes in early November.

Maple and hickory carry the north. Oaks, sweetgum and black gum give the Shawnee a longer, warmer finish.

In a typical year

Bordering states

Color: Fallcast, the same map as the app. Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors, Protomaps. Place outlines: U.S. Census Bureau.