The rapid greening up over the past two weeks and remaining islands of color have closed the door on the spring color season. This upcoming weekend (May 30th - June 1st) will offer a last gasp of pastels and lime greens, but it already feels more like summer than spring.

Final Spring Color Report

To close out the spring season we'll cover the remainder of color along the Southern Section; footage taken May 24th.

The lower elevations between 3000 - 4000' are fully leafed out and have nearly completed their summer green transition. As you pull up to the Mt Lyn Lowry Overlook, you'll notice the highest ridgelines above 5800' have yet to fully transition from spring to summer colors.

Roadside spring colors begin to kick-in around 5200', but you'll also notice the majority of coverage is a lime green and spring color coverage is fading, fast.

The Scott Creek Overlook is a good marker for this transition zone, with the best spring colors found between this overlook and Yellow Face Overlook.

We always recommend stopping at Fork Ridge Overlook, but be prepared for a packed overlook after the mid morning hours. Next best window is late evening.

Driving around several more bends you'll eventually encounter Yellow Face Overlook. This view is best enjoyed before noon to avoid looking directly into the sun, with the added benefit of the sunlight enhancing spring colors.

Season Report Card

Even with the road closure between Black Balsam Road and Beech Gap entrance, this season was enjoyable. The weather cooperated as best it could (it is spring after all), the colors steady and the rapid greening up at the end was a nice bonus.

That isn't to say we didn't encounter some bumps along the way. The wildfire outbreaks brought on by Helene (record level fuel supply brought on by downed trees) were impactful across the Southern Section, forcing many to evacuate.

How we rank each season:

• color coverage
• color timing (transition and overlap among different species)
• weather (rain, cold snaps, warm spells, snow)
• color itself (vibrant, rich, dull, faded, long lasting/short lived)

My favorite moment was early spring when we watched the ebb and flow of fog and rain at Standing Rock Overlook.

Below are the runner-up moments we simply couldn't file away without sharing one last time.

It has been a pleasure and privilege to provide ground truth color coverage for you all this spring season. I'm looking forward to the summer months and time spent on the water with family and friends.

A reminder we moved to a yearly subscription, only $5/year! Gift this to a friend or family member; Fathers Day is coming up!

Thank you again for following along, it means the world to me that these updates help you plan a better Parkway experience. Until next time!