Where to See Fall Color in the Greenway NHA
Fall in the Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area brings a breathtaking transformation, with vibrant colors sweeping across the landscape. One of the season’s most special highlights is the stunning display of golden larches, a unique species of deciduous conifer found in select parts of the Pacific Northwest. Unlike most conifers, these trees shed their needles, turning a brilliant gold before blanketing the forest floor—creating a truly magical experience for hikers.
Fall is a shoulder season, which means that the weather and trail conditions can change quickly. It’s essential to be prepared and recreate responsibly, ensuring you’re equipped for sudden shifts in weather, trail, and road conditions. Proper planning helps keep you and the natural environment safe!
Itinerary
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Seattle Japanese Garden
The 3.5-acre Seattle Japanese Garden (inside the UW Arboretum) is a spectacular garden to experience at any time of year, but is particularly magical in the autumnal months. Enjoy the “stroll garden” and take in all of the many details including stones, water, lanterns, bridges, buildings, plants and animals.
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Kubota Garden
In the middle of Seattle’s Rainier Beach neighborhood sits a 20-acre-historic Japanese garden begun over 95 years ago by a self-taught gardener. Filled with ancient trees and bubbling waterfalls, the Kubota Garden is an oasis that is spectacular in every season and free for the public to explore.
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Cross Kirkland Corridor (Eastrail)
The corridor is a 5.75-mile crushed-gravel trail through the heart of Kirkland and part of the longer Eastrail. The corridor’s convenient serpentine route through the heart of Kirkland makes it easy to pull over for a bite or to enjoy a drink from nearly any point if you want to make a full outing of your leaf peeping! We recommend the ride from the South Kirkland Park and Ride to Totem Lake, where you’ll find plenty of great places to visit and can enjoy a cool bridge and great public art along the journey to get there.
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Bellevue Botanical Garden
Enjoy a free visit through 53 acres of cultivated gardens, restored woodlands, and natural wetlands. There’s plenty to explore here, but make sure you check out the Ravine Experience and the Yao Garden for some of the best color!
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Mercer Slough
Nestled in the heart of Bellevue, the 329-acre Mercer Slough Nature Park offers a tranquil setting for walking, biking, and observation. The slough is Lake Washington’s largest remaining wetland, containing hundreds of plant species and an abundance of water resources, including blueberry plants that turn vibrant red in the fall. Boardwalk and gravel trails offer access to the urban wetland, and the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center on site offers a wealth of relevant programming. This is a great spot for bird watching, too!
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Snoqualmie Valley
Take a scenic driving tour around the Valley or if you are feeling more outdoorsy, there are lots of access points along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail to spot some color. You’ll pass plenty of dog walkers, joggers, bikers and others also out enjoying the beauty of fall.
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Three Forks Natural Area & Reinig Bridge
The Three Forks Natural Area has more than 200 acres of open space situated at the confluence of the South Fork, North Fork, and Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River. With an astounding up-close view of Mount Si, it is dominated by riverine, riparian, and wetland habitat it’s a perfect place to take a walk!
Another classic stop in Snoqualmie is the Reinig Bridge, which is also part of the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. The moodiness of the bridge and the water is brightened by some of the colorful branches!
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Middle Fork Road
Drive along this 10-mile stretch of winding road and take in the fall color along the way, then take your color tour to the trails! There are great hike options along the Middle Fork Road including Oxbow Loop, Garfield Ledges, Camp Brown, Granite Creek Trail, and the Middle Fork Trail.
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Cathedral Rock Trailhead
The entire drive to this trailhead is beautiful in the fall with fantastic views of vine maple covered mountainsides and alpine bushes turning colors from dark purple to lime green. Often, you will see fireweed blooming alongside the fall colors.
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Carlson Canyon
A short walk from the West Fork trailhead in the Teanaway Community Forest, this old logging road brings you right up to a gorgeous hillside of intermixed Ponderosa pine and larches. There are also views of vine maple and waist-high grasses in oranges and lime green. This is also a known birding hot spot!
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Johnson Medra Trail
This quiet trailhead on the way to the overcrowded (but not overhyped) Ingalls Lake trailhead currently requires a stream crossing as the bridge is out. But it’s worth it with red huckleberry bushes, orange vine maples, and golden ferns. A couple of miles up the trail, there are even larches. This is also one of the best locations to see a variety of mushrooms from the trail.
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Coal Mines Trail
The riparian brush along the small stream and the golden leafed aspen are highlights and easy to reach on this rail trail.
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The Swauk Forest Discovery Trail & Blewett Pass
Walk among the vibrant yellow larches on the Swauk Forest Discovery Trail, and you can even enjoy them as you drive through Blewett Pass on your way there!
Looking for more ways to explore the Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area? Check out this page for tons of ideas to help you learn and connect with this incredible landscape.
