Find Foliage: Hipcamp Launches Interactive Leaf-Peeping Map to Plan Fall Camping Trips

Fall is one of the best times of year for camping road trips. The weather is cool, campgrounds are less busy, and of course, autumn colors are popping off, painting the landscape in vivid hues of orange, red, and yellow.

But if you’re traveling somewhere, choosing your route and where to stay can be a bit of a crapshoot. Unless you’re familiar with an area and know when its colors peak, it can be hard to plan your route.

That’s why Hipcamp created its new interactive fall leaf peeping map. This tool not only shows you some of the best campgrounds for checking out fall foliage, but it also has a function that allows users to see where and when leaves are changing. It’s supposed to take the guesswork out of planning a leaf-peeping road trip. With it, you can hit those peak colors no matter where you’re headed.

“With the fall foliage map, we hope to make it simpler to plan a camping trip among peak fall foliage — so campers can see both when and where to go for the best views,” Dan Tomko, Hipcamp lead data analyst, told GearJunkie. “Our mission is to get more people outside, and fall is prime time for campers to make our mission a reality.”

Whether you’re using the leaf-peeping map to pick campsites or just plan a road trippin’ route, this looks like a useful tool for leaf-peepers all over the continental U.S.

Hipcamp Leaf-Peeping Map: How It Works

When you visit Hipcamp’s webpage for the Best Fall Camping Destinations, you are taken directly to the map. As you zoom in on different areas, you’ll see some of the recommended campgrounds and campsites. Hipcamp selected these for their proximity to leaf peeping areas based on user photos and reviews. You’ll also see icons indicating different national parks.

The real magic of the map is its “Fall Foliage Forecast” function. A slider bar at the top right allows you to select dates, and the map changes color accordingly. The different hues of orange indicate where the leaves are changing, aligning with early, middle, or late-season colors.

Hipcamp said it analyzed a lot of data and factors to compile this map. Its team looked at temperature, precipitation, satellite image data, and more.

“We pull all of this data into a machine learning algorithm to predict the optimal time of year to experience fall colors for each county within the contiguous U.S.,” Tomko said.

If you don’t see a campsite in the area you’re hoping to visit, you can use the “Search Near Me” button or Hipcamp’s regular search function. Cross-check the results with the foliage forecast to find campsites and make reservations at the right time.

“Fall foliage can be found across the country. But because it’s so fleeting, it can be difficult to know how to time your trip to take advantage of peak leaf peeping,” Tomko said. “With this map, you can plan your fall trip around peak foliage and find a Hipcamp perfect for leaf peeping.”