By Late October, the Cherohala's Color Comes Down to Tellico Plains

Most fall plans for the Cherohala Skyway treat Tellico Plains as the place to get gas before the real drive. In the last two weekends of October that plan is usually backwards. The leaves change from the top of the mountain down. By the time the Charles Hall Museum hosts its festival on Oct. 24, the slopes worth seeing tend to sit much closer to town than to the state line.

The road gives you a lot of mountain to work with. Visit Monroe's Skyway guide puts it at 900 feet above sea level at the Tellico River and more than 5,400 feet at Haw Knob on the Tennessee–North Carolina line. That's a climb of about 4,500 feet over roughly 25 miles on the Tennessee side. That much elevation spreads the color season across about two months, and the peak moves downhill in a fairly steady pattern.

The color starts at the top and works its way down

The county's Skyway guide says leaves at the higher elevations can start turning as early as September, and the change continues through mid-November lower down. The kind of tree matters as much as the elevation. Dogwoods, poplars and sourwoods turn first. Red oaks, hickories and white oaks turn later and often keep their leaves until late fall.

Put together the published forecasts for this part of the mountains, and the usual order looks like this:

1. Above 5,000 feet, around Haw Knob. An Asheville-area 2026 forecast puts color above 5,000 feet in the first week of October.
2. 4,000 to 5,000 feet. The same forecast names the Cherohala Skyway for the second week of October.
3. 3,000 to 4,000 feet. That band is forecast for the third week of October.
4. Mid and lower elevations, down to the river. Tennessee's tourism guide, updated Aug. 27, 2026, lists the Cherohala as an October drive and says its mid and lower elevations generally peak in late October and through November.

The state guide gives the same order for East Tennessee as a whole. High elevations peak in late September to early October, and valleys peak in mid to late October. The Asheville forecast calls its own dates estimates. It also notes that areas at the same elevation can change at different times because of sun exposure, soil moisture, wind and local microclimates.

So in a typical year, the ridgeline overlooks are past their best by Oct. 23. The slopes along the lower Skyway and the Tellico River are just reaching theirs. That's a typical pattern, not a Cherohala-specific 2026 forecast. No one publishes a daily foliage report for this road.

This year may be running a little late

The closest current reading comes from across the state line. On Oct. 2, 2026, Grandfather Mountain's daily fall color report described North Carolina's High Country as mostly green, with color just starting to show. The mountain's Sept. 30 report blamed a warm September for a delayed season and estimated that mid elevations there would peak around Oct. 15 to 20.

That report covers mountains several hours northeast of Tellico Plains, so it can't tell you what Haw Knob looks like this week. It does lean one way, though. If the whole region is running late, the color line on the Cherohala could still be coming down the mountain through the end of the month. In that case the late-October weekends would catch the middle elevations as well as the lower ones.

The town's calendar lines up with the color

Tellico Plains has packed its own fall season into the same stretch of the month when the color typically reaches the bottom of the mountain. Monroe County Tourism and the museum list these for the last two weekends:

The festival is the biggest event on the list. The Advocate & Democrat's events roundup says it fills the museum and its grounds with live bluegrass, arts and crafts vendors, living history, food, horse-drawn wagon rides, tractor-pulled hayrides, a Kids Zone and a petting zoo. The museum sits at 229 Cherohala Skyway, and regular admission is free. That address puts the busiest Saturday of the month right at the bottom of the road everyone is driving up.

If you'd rather have a quieter visit before the leaves really turn, the museum's last Cars and Coffee of the season is Saturday, Oct. 10, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The two Saturdays play out differently on a busy weekend. On Oct. 24 the festival runs 10 to 5. On Oct. 31, Fall Fest runs until 8 p.m., so you can make the climb in the afternoon light and still come back down before the downtown day is over.

Plan the day from the bottom up

If the best color is low on the mountain, the day can start in town and treat the climb as one stretch of it. Here's one way to do it on either Saturday:

1. Start with breakfast at Tellico Grains Bakery. The bakery lists hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. It went back to its normal 2026 schedule on Tuesday, March 3. On festival day, those Saturday hours give you a bakery stop before the museum grounds fill up.
2. Stop at the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center before you head up. The county owns the center, which opened in September 2003. It has free maps and Skyway driving conditions. With no daily foliage report for the Skyway, the staff there are the most current source you'll find.
3. Drive only as high as the color. The full Tennessee-to-North Carolina crossing takes about two hours. The road has 15 scenic overlooks and grades as steep as 9%. In late October you don't have to reach Haw Knob for the drive to be worth it. If the ridges are already bare, turn back at the overlooks where the color looks best.
4. Spend the middle of the day at the museum. On Oct. 24 that means the festival grounds. On Oct. 31, Fall Fest picks up downtown.
5. Shop on the walk back. Tellico Goods & Gear calls itself a traditional general store with outdoor gear, apparel, handmade gifts and locally sourced goods. Tellico Outfitters runs its shop at 109 Scott Street, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. It's also advertising guided trips for fall and winter 2026.
6. Finish with dinner at Peach Street Grill. It's a downtown craft kitchen with cocktails and beer at 108 Peach Street, and it also does takeout.

The county's Tellico Plains itinerary also lists Trout Mountain Coffeehouse & Inn, Wren Rock Mercantile, The Bookshelf and Tellico Beach Drive-In. Check their hours directly before you plan around them.

Before you climb

Late October is still mountain driving, and a few details matter more on a busy weekend:

• Fill up in town. The county guide says food and fuel are available only in Tellico Plains and in Robbinsville, North Carolina, at the far end. Cell coverage along the way is minimal, and there are few restrooms.
• Expect all kinds of traffic. The same guide says you'll share the road with everything from motor homes to bicycles. Overlook parking fills on peak weekends.
• Bring layers. Fall highs on the Skyway run in the 70s, and nights drop into the 40s. The top of the road can feel a lot cooler than town.
• Know which closure applies to you. The Cherokee National Forest's road construction table, updated Oct. 2, 2026, lists a phased closure of Citico Creek Road, Forest Service Road 35-1 in Monroe County. It starts in fall 2026 and is scheduled to run through December 2027. That's a Forest Service road, not the Skyway. TDOT and NCDOT maintain the Skyway itself. The Forest Service also says its road projects can close a road at any time without notice.
• Check on Bald River Falls before you count on it. The Forest Service lists Bald River Falls as open, reached from TN-165 by Forest Road 210, with limited parking. That page was last updated June 10, 2025, so confirm access before you add the waterfall to the day.

The two Saturdays to circle are Oct. 24 for the Cherohala Skyway Festival and Oct. 31 for Tellico Plains Fall Fest. Both are within a short drive of the lower slopes, where the late-October color is usually best.

I've spent nearly 30 years helping families across Blount, Monroe and the surrounding East Tennessee counties, and a fall drive out to Tellico Plains is one of the season's best day trips. If that drive has you wondering what your own home might bring this fall, or what it's worth before you plan a move, I'm happy to help. Call me anytime with questions, or visit Robin L Skeen to Request Your Free Home Valuation.