Fall foliage in Alaska

Alaska’s fall is early and short. Tundra and willow on the high slopes redden in late August, and birch and aspen along the road corridors follow in the first half of September, from the Interior around Fairbanks and Denali south toward Anchorage and the Kenai. Because deciduous trees give way to spruce quickly with elevation, the color sits in the valleys and river flats rather than on the mountains. Most years it is finished by the third week of September.

Those are the months when color is present somewhere in Alaska, from its highest ground to its lowest. Any one location changes over a much shorter period than that.

Why the timing shifts from year to year

Shortening days start the process, so most places in Alaska change at close to their usual time each year. Within the state, elevation and latitude account for most of the difference: higher and more northern ground generally changes first, and lower, sheltered ground last. Weather has more effect on how strong the color is than on when it appears. Cool nights and sunny days favor the reds, a dry summer mutes them, and a hard freeze or a windstorm can strip a slope in a day. What determines the timing goes through this in detail.

Nearby states

Alaska shares no land border with another state. All 50 state guides are here.

Timing for a specific place

This page describes a whole state, which is about as precise as a season can be described in words. Conditions at one overlook on one weekend are a narrower question, and that is the one Fallcast answers: an expected period of color for a specific location, with a confidence attached, updated through the season as the trees change. It is coming to iPhone this fall.

Questions, or somewhere in Alaska you would like covered? Write to fallcastapp@gmail.com.