Fall Color

Posted 11-13-25

We hope you’ve been keeping warm during this shift to cooler weather! Just as we predicted, fall color peaked at the end of last week, and the landscape is turning to browns, rusts, and bland oranges. The overnight freezes zapped the leaves of many trees, and those leaves are now withering, drying, and starting to drop. Many oaks, however, continue to deepen their colors; they are usually the last to change. Unfortunately, many of the mid-season color changers are fading or dropping their leaves, so they and the oaks are not overlapping very much. Burning bush (winged euonymus) is bright pinkish red in landscape plantings and where it is, unfortunately, growing invasively in natural habitats. Understory thickets of invasive bush honeysuckle are easy to spot thanks to their still green leaves.

There are still opportunities for enjoying the remaining color, but it’s clearly not as vibrant and is fading fast.

Fall Color Hot Spots

As color fades and we shift from the bright part of autumn to its drab, rusty-gray phase, it’s appropriate to cultivate a sense of perspective. Look for places to take in sweeping landscapes.

From a car, the south- and west-facing bluffs north of Jefferson City, where US 63, US 54, and MO 94 come together, are always a good index to how fall color is progressing — or, as it is now, fading.

Hart Creek and Grand Bluffs conservation areas both have wooded trails that lead up and along a bluff, and both have overlooks where you can enjoy a view of the Missouri River and its bottomlands. Shuffling through the leaves is part of the fun.

There’s still good fall color around the Lake of the Ozarks. Ha Ha Tonka State Park, as you look south from the castle ruins, offers beautiful views down into a wooded gorge with a beautiful turquoise spring at the bottom. The hiking trails reverse the perspective, letting you view the spring up close and the castle ruins in the distance. Near the park, Camden County Route D provides a scenic drive through wooded Ozark hills.

Posted 11-13-25

We are still enjoying much fall color, although for many trees, more leaves are now on the ground than in canopies. We’ve noticed that pin oaks are more reddish than what is typical this year. Maples, sweet gums, and white ashes are still showing off. Oaks and hickories along the highways display countless shades of brown, yellow, and red.

Fall Color Hot Spots

Take a scenic drive up to Weston, or walk around at Powell Gardens. For more ideas in and around Kansas City, Visit KC has several additional suggestions. Also, you can discover new public lands in the form of MDC Conservation Areas and DNR’s Missouri State Parks.

Posted 11-13-25

Fall color is past peak. There are some trees still holding on with small pockets of rusty reds, yellows, and oranges along roadsides and in river hills. Bottomland forest didn’t come out strong this year, and most trees in that habitat have lost most of their leaves. Most oaks have settled into brown, dark red, and even orange while the hickories have lost all their leaves. Some urban trees are still holding on to their leaves, but their color is not as bright as it once was. We have noticed Japanese zelkova trees still holding on to their leaves and being the brightest this late in the year. We have gotten significant winds recently that have knocked off leaves throughout the region and the state. Expect more leaf drop with these winds and fall thunderstorms.

With all this leaf drop, you can really see the nonnative invasive bush honeysuckle, Callery pear, and autumn olive in the understory along roadsides and creek in the cities. These bushes will be the last to lose their leaves and one of the first to get them back.

Fall Color Hot Spots

Some notable conservation areas are listed below. Note that the multi-use trails in some areas are closed to bicycles and horses during firearms deer season; visit the web pages to check the status for your favorite activity. Also, be sure to wear orange for safety.

Posted 11-13-25

As fall colors start to disappear, we are also seeing more trees losing their leaves. Oaks and hickories are retaining some of their golden and yellow colors in some areas. Recent heavy winds and much cooler nights have triggered the loss of leaves. However, there are pockets of maples here and there mixed with oaks and hickories that are still showing some vibrant colors, but the leaves of sumacs, elms, honey locust, and many others have left the canopy and are now building up this year’s quota of good leaf litter.

Fall Color Hot Spots

Time to get in a nice park stroll, or take a drive and look for the pockets of color that are still left before the color is completely faded. It’s hunting season, so take care, and wear orange, as the deer and other wildlife are on the move!

Posted 11-13-25

It’s rifle deer season, and in addition to all the reasons to hunt, enjoying fall color is one of the seasonal pleasures everyone likes. This year in the Ozarks, we’re enjoying the majority of peak fall color during hunting season. Sometimes the cool weather starts earlier and brings (and ends) the fall color faster. Some species that still had green leaves may have lost them during last week’s hard frost. Recent strong winds have knocked off many leaves, too.

The best color right now is from the various oak species; their different hues indicate the diversity of oaks on a hillside. Mature white oaks are still maintaining a rusty yellow. Black oaks are putting on their dark cherry red. And the aptly named scarlet oak will be showing its brilliant scarlet. Hickories are quickly fading to brown but can still be found with shades of yellow and orange. No single species obeys a single rule about color change; depending on varying genetics, topography, soils, and light exposure, some may be completely bare, brown, in full color, or still in early change. Overall, the landscape has taken a more copper and chestnut tone, but fall color hasn’t quite left us yet.

Fall Color Hot Spots

If you aren’t enjoying the woods from a deer stand, it’s still not a bad time for drives along scenic byways. We’re coming to the end of fall color season, so enjoy the colors while we still have them. It’s also not too late for a fall color float down one of our cool clear rivers, such as the Jacks Fork, Current, Black, and Eleven Point. While cold-weather floating has challenges, it can be a very peaceful and serene way to see the river corridor at a less traveled time of year. Also, this is a great time to check out any nearby state recreation areas where deer hunting is not allowed. Don’t forget to wear orange if you venture into the woods.

Posted 11-13-25

Fall colors are dwindling after a blustery, cold weekend. It’s amazing how many trees still have fall color holding on, likely due to the unusual warmer weather pattern this fall. Temperatures will rebound to above average this weekend, but the recent cold snap signaled the end of peak fall color and the transition into winter dormancy. In urban areas, several red maples are still dazzling scarlet, and sugar maples continue to be the fall color winner this year. Flowering dogwoods bring magenta hues, while redbud trees lend warm yellows. Hickories still show strong golden hues, as do elms, hackberry, mulberry, and sycamore. Oaks are converting to their coffee and tawny hues, and chinquapin, post, bur, and pin oaks are showing their special colors. Colors wane over time and the leaves gradually find their new home on the forest floor, so get outside before they are gone!

Fall Color Hot Spots

The brisk temperatures signify the time deer hunters get ready for fall firearms season. Please be aware of hunters as they set up in their favorite hunting spots; wear hunter orange if you are venturing into the woods. While there are still fall colors all over the region, this week we’re suggesting conservation areas in the meanders of the Mississippi River:

Posted 11-13-25

The two nights of freezing temperatures stopped many trees from changing color and caused them to start dropping leaves. A few trees still have some color, but these are scattered. Think of it as an early (or late) egg hunt. Many trees that were still green went directly to brown. Leaf drop has been dramatic, especially with the high winds experienced after the freeze.

Fall Color Hot Spots

It is still a great time to get out and enjoy the outdoors. If you’re going to a rural area, wear bright orange for safety. Rifle deer season opens this weekend. Be courteous to the hunters enjoying their time outside.

Posted 11-13-25

We remain in peak color in St. Louis, and the range of colors from red to yellow is breathtaking! The maples have been eye-catching; sugar maples are showcasing their yellow and orange foliage, and red maples add richness with their deeper red. Oaks have been slow but steady with their yellows in our forests.

Fall Color Hot Spots

The presence of oaks, in their various hues, makes a drive down I-44 and I-64 a beautiful cascade of color, with pops of bright yellow from the hickories and lingering green from our evergreens. You may even catch a burst of color from sugar maples along your drive. A few places to visit for swaths of fall color are Saint Stanislaus Conservation Area and LaBarque Creek Conservation Area.

In our urban areas, black tupelo and sweet gums have a beautiful red that is breathtaking to see. Ginkgoes with their fan-shaped leaves bring a vibrant yellow in our cities that complements our lingering ashes with their yellows, reds, and purples. Some places to check out beautiful fall colors are Tower Grove Park, Forest Park, and Lafayette Park.