File photo: a tundra swan floating on blue water. Photo: Dominic Sherony · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Birds
Tundra swan
A large white migrant whose family groups link Utah's wetlands with Arctic nesting country.
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Fall is the season locals guard. The canyons above the Wasatch Front turn from green to gold and scarlet, usually peaking in the last week of September and the first week of October, and the crowds that fill the national parks in summer thin out just as the desert finally cools off.
It is the best time of year to hike in southern Utah: daytime highs in Zion, Capitol Reef and Moab drop back into the 60s and 70s, and the light goes long and orange by late afternoon. Up north, the first snow usually dusts the peaks by late October, and resorts start making snow in November.
What to do
- Drive the Alpine LoopSR-92 climbs out of American Fork Canyon past Mount Timpanogos and drops to Sundance and Provo Canyon. Go on a weekday morning at peak color; it closes for the winter, usually by late October or early November.
- Hike the Mighty 5 without the heatAngels Landing, Delicate Arch and the Fairyland Loop are all far more pleasant in October than July. Book lodging early; fall weekends still sell out.
- Pick apples and peachesFruit stands along the Fruit Way (US-89) north of Brigham City and around Santaquin and Payson sell peaches into September and apples into October.
- Drive the Nebo Loop and Logan CanyonThe Nebo Loop Scenic Byway from Payson to Nephi and US-89 through Logan Canyon to Bear Lake are the two other great fall drives.
- Walk the corn mazesUtah County farms and Thanksgiving Point in Lehi put on corn mazes, pumpkin patches and harvest nights through October.
Fairways beneath the mountains at Mount Ogden Golf Course. File photo. Photo: Paul Ivinskas · Used with permission · View supplied photograph
A round among fall colors
Mount Ogden Golf Course is a good bet for fall colors. Check the course for current availability.
Good to know
- Peak color in the high canyons is usually the last week of September; lower canyons and the valleys peak a week or two later.
- Mountain roads like the Alpine Loop, Guardsman Pass and the Mirror Lake Highway close for the winter, often by early November. Check UDOT before you go.
- Hunting seasons run through fall. Wear something bright on national forest trails.
- Mornings in the desert can be near freezing even when afternoons are warm. Pack layers.
Wildlife and plants in fall
Autumn color reflects plant physiology. University of Utah scientist Eleinis Ávila-Lovera explains that shortening daylight starts the process and that deciduous trees shed leaves in a controlled way that conserves resources before winter. A golden hillside is therefore an opportunity to explain a plant's seasonal strategy, not just to list a scenic drive. Read the fall guide.
File photo: White quaking aspen trunks beneath yellow autumn leaves — Little Cottonwood Canyon, September 2005. Photo: Scott Catron · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Trees
Quaking aspen
Utah's state tree forms bright mountain groves whose separate trunks can share an underground root system.
Photo: National Park Service · Public domain · National Park Service
File photo: Leafy Gambel oak branches in a canyon — Johnson Lakes Canyon, Kane County, May 2016. Photo: Andrey Zharkikh from Salt Lake City, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Trees
Gambel oak
A thicket-forming native oak that links Utah's foothills with mountain woodlands and provides important wildlife food and cover.