As far as weather goes, it’s been a cold winter and an extremely hot summer throughout the Great Smoky Mountains. Still, there is one question that remains the same when the evenings start getting cooler and footballs are seen flying through the air: When do the leaves start changing colors in Sevierville and the surrounding areas?

This summer’s extremely heat was not exactly what everyone was looking for in hoping for an eventual vibrant autumn season. The good news, though, is that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is made up of 100′s of deciduous tree species and each are located in a variety of elevations.

So what does all this mean you ask? It means that there will still be more than enough color for you and everyone else visiting the Great Smoky Mountains this fall to see… Frankly, there is no such thing as a “bad” or “undesirable” fall in the Smokies!

Once the colder weather starts to arrive, the leaves will slowly start their autumn transformation. You can already see the vague hints of this annual event beginning to happen in the Smokies’ higher elevations with a multitude of tree species. Until mid October, if you’re coming through town expect to see mostly golden yellow colors mixed with some orange hues. These oranges and yellows will make their way down the mountains into the valley as the vibrant reds slowly follow before mixing in. If the cold weather sits in and autumn feels a bit more winter-ish, the colors will peak in the mountains and valley around the final week of October and throughout early November.

One suggestion I’d highly recommend, keep track of the official Great Smoky Mountains National Park website which follows the revolving colors of the fall foliage. They even have a page dedicated solely to fall foliage at: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/fallcolor.htm. Also, take a look at their webcams:

http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/WebCams/parks/grsmcam/grsmcam.cfm

http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/WebCams/parks/grsmpkcam/grsmpkcam.cfm

Finally, be sure to check out the Park’s tips for fall hiking and scenic drives: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/fall-suggestions.htm

Once again, the best time to see the fall colors is the last week of October and throughout early November. It’s our favorite time of the year in the Great Smoky Mountains… I hope you enjoy it as much as the locals do!