Fall foliage

Fall foliage in Iowa

Fall 2026 · updated daily

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Iowa’s color runs north to south and concentrates along its rivers.

A forested bluff in russet and gold above a wide river with wooded islands under a pale sky.
The Mississippi River from Effigy Mounds National MonumentPhoto: Yinan Chen · Public domain · source
A narrow dirt trail winding along a ridge of golden prairie grass, with wooded hills beyond.
A ridge trail in Loess Hills State ForestPhoto: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Scenic Byways, via the National Archives · Public domain · source
A sandstone cliff beneath trees turning orange and yellow, above a dry creek bed with a hiker in the distance.
Ledges State Park, in the Des Moines River valleyPhoto: Carl Wycoff · CC BY 2.0 · source

The bluff country of the northeast around Decorah and the Upper Mississippi turns in the middle of October, with the Loess Hills in the west and the Des Moines River valley following in the third week.

The crown of a sugar maple in golden yellow and orange leaves against a deep blue sky.
A sugar maple at Effigy Mounds National MonumentPhoto: Mathieu Landretti · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Maple and basswood give the northeast its brightest color; oaks, walnut and cottonwood carry the rest of the state in gold and bronze into early November.

Away from the river corridors the landscape is mostly open.

In a typical year

Bordering states

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