Fall Foliage in Ellicottville 2026: Peak Week and 5 Hikes for Color

For a few weeks each October, the hills around Ellicottville put on the best show in Western New York. The hardwood ridges turn gold, orange, and deep red, and the higher you climb, the wider the view. This guide does two things: it tells you which week to come, and it tells you where to stand once you get here.

Peak week 2026, one week at a time

Ellicottville sits at about 1,500 feet in the hardwood hills of Cattaraugus County, which is why the color here runs a little ahead of the Lake Erie shoreline and a little behind the Adirondacks. In most years the peak lands in the second week of October, and the hills stay worth the drive for roughly two weeks either side of it.

Here is how a normal season unfolds. Treat it as the shape of the season, not a forecast:

• Late September, roughly Sep 25 to Oct 3. First turn. Maples on the high ridges and along the wet drainages go early, and the hills read as green with orange edges. A good week for a long hike, because it is quiet and the tread is usually dry.
• The first week of October, Oct 3 to Oct 10. Climbing fast. Ridge tops are often well ahead of the valley floor, so the payoff is all in elevation. This is the week to take the chairlift.
• The second week of October, Oct 10 to Oct 17. The usual peak, and it is also Fall Festival weekend, Oct 10 and 11. Ridge, valley and the maples on Washington Street all go at once. Book lodging early; this is the busiest weekend of the Ellicottville fall.
• The third week, Oct 17 to Oct 25. Past peak on the ridges, still good lower down. The oaks hold their rust after the maples drop, and the back roads photograph better than the summits.
• After Oct 25. Bare ridges, leaves on the ground, and the first real cold. This is when the steelhead run takes over as the reason to be here.

Where to stand when it turns

1. McCarty Hill Loop

Moderate · Ridge views · State forest

The signature foliage hike right outside town. The McCarty Hill loop climbs through hardwoods to open ridge lines that look out over rolling, color-soaked hills. It shares ground with the mountain bike network, so keep an ear out for riders and step aside on blind corners.

2. Art Roscoe Trails, Allegany State Park

Easy to moderate · 20+ miles of trail · Allegany State Park, 20 minutes south

The Art Roscoe area offers more than 20 miles of wide, forested trail cut through high ridges inside the largest state park in New York. Note that it is not in Ellicottville. It is about twenty minutes south, inside Allegany State Park, and it deserves its own day rather than an afternoon squeezed onto a resort trip. The grades are gentle and the tread is smooth, which makes it a great pick for families or anyone who wants a long, relaxed walk under a canopy of color.

3. A Lift-Assisted Ridge Walk at Holiday Valley

Easy · Big views for little effort · Holiday Valley

You do not always have to climb for the view. On fall weekends you can ride a chairlift up the mountain and walk the open slopes and ridge trails at the top. It is the lowest-effort way to get a summit view of peak color, and a favorite for photographers.

4. Rock City State Forest Wander

Moderate · Forest & rock features · State forest

Rock City rewards a slower pace. Wind through the hardwoods and past the mossy rock formations that give the forest its name, with color overhead the whole way. Trails here are shared with bikes, so keep an ear out for riders and stay alert.

5. The Backroads Loop by Car

Any ability · Scenic drive · In & around town

Not every leaf-peeping day needs boots. The county roads around Ellicottville string together some of the best drive-up views in the region. Roll the windows down, stop often, and end back in the village for something warm.

The same weeks that turn these hillsides over are the weeks the steelhead push into the Lake Erie tributaries north of town. If part of your group would rather be standing in a creek, see our fall fly fishing basecamp guide.