When you think of the best place to see the changing of the leaves each fall, forests in the upper Midwest, mountains in the West and coastlines in the Northeast may come to mind.
But, a southern state has taken the title for the best lake in the United States forfall foliage.
Lake Lanier, about an hour north of Atlanta, was ranked #1 in the U.S. for fall foliage by BoatBooker, a boat charter platform that operates in 1,140 destinations worldwide.
Here's why the largest lake in Georgia took the top spot.
Boat access combines with peak fall season
Lakes in 13 states from coast to coast were analyzed by BoatBooker for factors like public boat-ramp access, drive-time to a nearby city, fall foliage calendar predictions and peak fall season to pick the top spots to see fall colors from the water.
Lake Lanier was ranked first overall, with just an hour drive to one of the largest cities in the U.S., as well as "a foliage peak timed almost exactly to the middle of the season and strong national name recognition," according to BoatBooker.
The lake was previously deemed one of the "most-Instagrammed lakes" by Lake.com.
Lake Hartwell, on the Georgia/South Carolina border, also made the list at the third spot, and Clarks Hill Lake, also on the state border, was ranked sixth.
"Everyone thinks of fall foliage as something you drive to or hike into, but some of the best views in the country are only visible from the water," Vukan Simic, CEO of BoatBooker said in a release. "What surprised us most in this data was how far south the story extends, places like Georgia and the Carolinas aren't usually part of the fall foliage conversation, but the data says they should be."
What are the top lakes in the U.S. for fall foliage?
Here are the top lakes for fall foliage in 2026, according to BoatBooker:
- Lake Lanier, GA
- Rhinelander Flowage, WI
- Lake Hartwell, SC/GA
- Lake Erie (Ottawa Co.), OH
- Kentucky Lake, KY
- Clarks Hill Lake, GA/SC
- Lake Champlain, VT
- Fox Chain O'Lakes, IL
- Old Hickory Lake, TN
- Peabody WMA lakes, KY
- Smith Mountain Lake, VA
- Lake Arthur, PA
- Utah Lake, UT
- Lake Anna, VA
- Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
- Crane Prairie Reservoir, OR
When is the peak fall foliage season in North Georgia?
According to the fall foliage prediction map from Smokymountains.com, the peak days for the best fall colors in North Georgia is between Oct. 27 and Nov. 10.
While there is no way to predict the exact weekend the fall colors will be at their brightest, factors like temperature, seasonal trends, past peak weekends and more are used in the prediction.
Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lake Lanier ranked best in the U.S. for fall colors. Where is it?
