Chasing the First Autumn Color: Mount Mitchell and Graveyard Fields

WNC Fall Color Watch (Week 1) -- August 26, 2026: Autumn in the Blue Ridge Mountains begins not down in the valleys, but along the highest windswept peaks. Elevations above 5,000 to 6,000 feet experience shorter daylight hours and crisp mountain breezes weeks ahead of the foothills, igniting the region’s earliest wave of fall foliage across Western North Carolina in mid-to-late September. For anyone eager to catch the first hints of crimson, gold, and bronze, Mount Mitchell State Park and Gravey