Three Trails Worth the Drive: October 28–November 4, 2026
Three hikes for the week of October 28–November 4, 2026 — north Georgia inside its colour peak, Utah's Devils Garden on the last two dry days before a cold front, and Vancouver Island's storm-watching coast — with the permit, the water release and the closed trail that decide each trip.
The colour is arriving in the Southeast on the schedule the state foresters set. In the desert, the first real cold front of the season lands on Sunday. Both are worth planning a day around.
Three trips make the cut this week: a gorge in north Georgia inside its peak fortnight, a sandstone garden in Utah with two dry days left, and a stretch of Vancouver Island coast that has turned stormy.
One trail we expected to recommend is not ready. Lost Maples in Texas still had green maples on October 21, its park's weekly report says, with only the sycamores turned gold. 1 That window comes later in November.
All three forecasts below run from daylight time into standard time, so the last of the light arrives an hour earlier than it did last Wednesday.
Quick comparison
| Trail and park | Route and difficulty | Why go this week | Parking, fees and access | Current gate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia | Gorge floor 2.5 miles round trip over rock, very difficult; rim trails 3 miles round trip, moderate. 2 | The state's foresters put northeast Georgia's peak in the last week of October into the first week of November. 3 | $10 a vehicle for a daily ParkPass; the gorge-floor permit is free, capped at 100 a day, issued in person. 4 | Water releases close the gorge floor on October 31 and November 1. 5 |
| Devils Garden, Arches National Park, Utah | 7.9 miles for the full circuit; 1.8 miles round trip to Landscape Arch; rock steps, ledges and deep sand. 6 | Two dry days near 61°F, then a front: Sunday 52 in rain, Monday and Tuesday 49. 7 | $30 a vehicle for seven days, cards only at the entrance station; campground $25 a night. 8 | No booking is needed, but after Sunday the highs stay under 50. 7 |
| Long Beach Unit, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, British Columbia | 12 km of trails and 22 km of beach; the rainforest loops are 1 km each, South Beach 800 m one way. 9 | Storm season: the park's summer units have closed and the coast is wet, mild and empty. 10 | $12.25 an adult for the day, $24.50 a family; a four-hour Beach Walk permit is $7.75. 11 | Schooner Cove is closed, two trails are on limited access, and every trail carries a wolf warning. 12 |
Tallulah Gorge State Park, Georgia
2.5 miles round trip to the gorge floor · all rock, very difficult · 3 miles of rim trail · 1,099 stairs
Tallulah Gorge runs two miles long and nearly 1,000 feet deep. Five waterfalls drop inside it, and a suspension bridge hangs 80 feet above the river bottom. 5
There are two ways to see it. The rim trails make 3 miles round trip on mulch and exposed roots, moderate, about two hours, with five overlooks on each side. 2
The gorge floor is 2.5 miles round trip over nothing but rock and boulders, rated very difficult. 2 Between the two sits the Hurricane Falls loop: about 2 miles, difficult, 1,099 stairs including the staircase down to the floor. 2
Pets are barred from the floor, the loop and the staircase. 5
Georgia's foresters measured northeast Georgia on October 21 at 41 percent colour change above 3,000 feet and 13 percent below it. 3 They put peak colour there in the last week of October into the first week of November. 3 The park is also on the state system's own short list of fall-colour parks. 13
Tallulah's rim sits below the foresters' line. The ridges around it turn first, and the gorge follows over the next ten days.
The access gate
Parking is $10 a vehicle for the day, bought at a kiosk, by QR code or at the park office; an annual ParkPass is $70. 4 The gorge floor costs nothing more, but it needs a permit.
Permits come from the Jane Hurt Yarn Interpretive Center in person, after a safety briefing, and only 100 are issued in a day. 5 Briefings start at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon, and on busy days the day's permits go early. 5
Proper footwear is a condition of getting one at all: no flip-flops, no Crocs. 5 The park does not recommend the floor trail for children 8 or younger. 2
Then the gate that decides this weekend. The park runs water releases on October 31 and November 1, and hiking and climbing in the gorge are barred on release dates. 5 The southside staircase closes to hikers too. 5
The forecast point at Tallulah Falls sits at 1,191 feet and was updated at 6:29 a.m. EDT on October 28. 14
Thursday is sunny at 74, Friday sunny at 78, Saturday mostly cloudy at 69. Sunday turns wet: showers likely after 8 a.m., a 70 percent chance, a high of 61. Monday and Tuesday keep a 40 percent chance. 14
Best plan: Friday, October 30, is the day that works — dry, warm, and the gorge floor open when the two days after it are shut. Be at the Interpretive Center before 8 a.m. and take the first briefing. Go with boots that grip wet rock, a quart of water for every hour on the floor, and a layer for the cold that sits in the gorge.
Devils Garden, Arches National Park, Utah
7.9 miles for the full circuit · 1.8 miles to Landscape Arch · sandstone, sand and ledges
Arches holds more than 2,000 natural stone arches. 15 Devils Garden is the longest trail system in the park, and the one that shows the range of it.
Landscape Arch is 1.8 miles round trip on pavement and bedrock. 6 Double O Arch is a 4-mile round trip from the same trailhead. 6 The primitive return through the fins finishes a circuit the park measures at 7.9 miles. 6
The middle stretch is the demanding part: steep climbs, rock steps, ledges with drop-offs, and deep sand on the way back. 6 Cairns mark the route across open rock, and stepping off the trail breaks the living soil crusts the park is protecting. 15
This week is decided by the forecast. The point five miles northwest of Moab sits at 4,797 feet, was updated at 10:57 a.m. MDT on October 28, and runs to November 3. 7
Thursday and Friday are both 61 and dry. Friday night brings showers at 60 percent, Saturday is 59 with a 30 percent chance and thunderstorms possible after noon. Sunday drops to 52 in rain. 7
Monday and Tuesday top out at 49. 7 That is a season turning inside one weekend: two dry days in the low 60s, then a wet weekend and highs that stop reaching 50.
The access gate
One pass covers the car and everyone in it: $30 for seven days. 8 The annual version is $55 and also covers Canyonlands, Natural Bridges and Hovenweep. 8 The entrance station takes cards only. 8
Water is the second gate. The park asks for at least a gallon, or 4 litres, a person a day, and the taps are only at the visitor center and at Devils Garden. 15
There is no cell service, and rangers respond to hundreds of search-and-rescue calls a year, many for heat, twisted ankles or lost routes. 16 Campsites at Devils Garden Campground are $25 a night. 8
Best plan: take Thursday or Friday, the two dry days, and walk to Landscape Arch before deciding whether the fins and the sand suit you. Go with 4 litres each, a windproof layer for the open rock, and a paper map, because cairns are the only markers out there.
Long Beach Unit, Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, British Columbia
12 km of trails and 22 km of beach · boardwalk loops and beach access · open all year
Pacific Rim lies on the west coast of Vancouver Island, in Nuu-chah-nulth territory. Its Long Beach Unit, between Tofino and Ucluelet, stays open all year. 10
Half the park has shut for the season. The West Coast Trail and the Broken Group Islands only run from May 1 to September 30. 10
What is left is rainforest and surf. Rainforest Trails A and B are 1-km boardwalk loops through old-growth western red cedar and hemlock, which the park calls a good walk rain or shine. 9
South Beach is 800 m one way from behind the Kwisitis Visitor Centre, and the park describes it as spectacular but potentially dangerous wave watching. 9 That is the reason to come now: the Long Beach Unit lists storm watching as one of its activities. 10
The access gate
Entry is $12.25 an adult for the day and $24.50 for a family or group of up to seven in one vehicle. Youth 17 and under are free. 11
There is a cheaper option for a short stop: a Beach Walk permit at $7.75 an adult, $15.50 a family, good for four hours at the Long Beach, Kwisitis, Incinerator and Wickaninnish lots. 11
The dated condition list is the real planning tool. Rainforest Trail A was open on October 21 with uneven boardwalk; Halfmoon Bay open on October 19, with no RV parking. 12
Schooner Cove is closed until further notice. Shorepine Bog and Willowbrae are both on limited access, for trail work and for a boardwalk in poor condition. Combers Beach carries a caution and a boardwalk in disrepair. 12
Every trail in the unit carries a wolves-in-the-area warning, and several are closed to dogs. 12 Creeks along this coast can be impossible to cross at high tide or after heavy rain. 9
The Tofino forecast was issued at 5 a.m. PCT on October 28. Thursday is 8°C with showers. Friday is 11 with a mix of sun and cloud and a 30 percent chance of showers. 17
Saturday is 11 and cloudy; Sunday 10 and cloudy, with rain arriving at night; Monday 11 in rain. Sunrise is 8:05 and sunset 18:09. 17
Best plan: Friday is the driest day of the week, and the one to spend on the boardwalks. Take the Beach Walk permit if you only want the sand. Go with a waterproof shell, a spare layer for the wind off the water, and the trail-conditions list open before you leave the highway.
The pick
Choose Tallulah Gorge if colour is the reason for the trip. Friday is dry, the peak fortnight is now, and the gorge floor is open that day and shut the two after it. 314
Choose Devils Garden if you want the largest landscape for the least planning: no booking, one $30 pass, and two dry days before the weather turns. 78
Choose Pacific Rim if the weather is the attraction rather than the risk. The coast has emptied out, the rainforest loops hold up in rain, and the dated trail list says exactly what is shut. 12
References
- 12026 Fall Foliage Color Report — Texas Parks & Wildlife
tpwd.texas.gov
- 2
- 3
- 4ParkPass — Georgia State Parks
gastateparks.org
- 5
- 6
- 75 Miles NW Moab, Utah — 7-day forecast — National Weather Service
forecast.weather.gov
- 8
- 9Hiking — Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
parks.canada.ca
- 10Pacific Rim National Park Reserve — Parks Canada
parks.canada.ca
- 11Fees — Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
parks.canada.ca
- 12Trail conditions — Pacific Rim National Park Reserve
parks.canada.ca
- 13Leaf Watch 2026 — Georgia State Parks
gastateparks.org
- 14Tallulah Falls, Georgia — 7-day forecast — National Weather Service
forecast.weather.gov
- 15
- 16
- 17
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