Washington Nature Guide: October 2026
Data updated: August 2026Sources & method · Corrections
October is peak autumn across Washington — the western larch turns the eastern Cascades to gold, bigleaf and vine maple fire the westside forests, the wintering swans and Snow Geese pour back into the Skagit, and the salmon run up the rivers under returning rain.
Week by week in October
October 1–7
- Snow Geese, Trumpeter and Tundra Swans, and Cackling Geese flood back onto the Skagit and Stillaguamish flats for the winter.
- Washington apples reach their absolute peak across countless varieties, with winter squash, pumpkins, and cranberries for the season.
- Vine maple flares scarlet and orange in the westside understory as bigleaf maple drops its huge gold leaves.
October 8–14
- The western larch golds the eastern Cascades, Kettle Range, and Blue Mountains in shimmering spires — peak Northwest fall color.
- Prime planting month west of the Cascades — set in trees, shrubs, perennials, garlic, and bulbs while the soil is warm and moist.
- Sparrows arrive in numbers — Golden-crowned, White-crowned, Fox, and Lincoln's — and Varied Thrushes descend to the lowlands.
October 15–21
- Sea ducks and alcids return to the Salish Sea — scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, Barrow's Goldeneye, and Common Murres.
- The Pleiades rise in the east heralding winter, with Andromeda's galaxy nearly overhead from the dark Methow Valley sky.
- Anjou, Bosc, and Comice pears, concord grapes, and hazelnuts fill the autumn-peak markets across the state.
October 22–28
- The Orionid meteors, debris of Halley's Comet, peak around late October from rising Orion after midnight.
- The overwintering adults — Mourning Cloak, California Tortoiseshell, and commas — tuck into woodpiles and bark to pass the winter.
- Plant the last garlic and bulbs, sow cover crops on bare beds, and mulch perennials before the rains entrench.
Birds This Month
October is the great return of Washington's winter birds. Snow Geese, Trumpeter and Tundra Swans flood back onto the Skagit and Stillaguamish flats, and ducks pour into every wetland — American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, and the first diving ducks. Cackling Geese blanket the lowland fields. The salmon runs draw Bald Eagles to the rivers, and Sandhill Cranes stage in the Columbia Basin near Othello.
On the Salish Sea, the sea ducks and alcids return — scoters, Long-tailed Ducks, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Murres, and the bluffs fill with wintering loons and grebes. Sparrows arrive in numbers: Golden-crowned, White-crowned, Fox, and Lincoln's. Varied Thrushes and Dark-eyed Juncos descend to the lowlands and feeders for winter, and the last migrant warblers and raptors trickle south along the ridges.
What's Blooming
October's flowers are the last hardy holdouts. In the lowlands, Douglas aster, goldenrod, tansy, late yarrow, and naturalized roadside flowers fade as the autumn rains and cool nights take hold west of the Cascades. Gardens hold late dahlias, chrysanthemums, asters, and sedum until the first hard frost. The native witch hazel relatives and shrubs shift focus to fruit and color.
East of the Cascades, the gold rabbitbrush finishes its bright bloom over the shrub-steppe as the season closes. The real October show is foliage, not flowers, but the structure of the landscape carries seedheads and fruit: scarlet rose hips, the orange-red berries of Pacific madrone and mountain ash, the blue clusters of Oregon grape, and the white snowberries that feed and shelter wintering birds across the state.
Garden This Month
October is, with September, the Northwest's premier planting month west of the Cascades. The returned rain and warm soil are ideal for setting in trees, shrubs, perennials, and a new lawn, which root well before winter. Plant garlic and spring bulbs, sow cover crops (rye, crimson clover, fava) on bare beds, and harvest the maturing overwintering kale, chard, leeks, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and beets. Pull and store the last winter squash and potatoes, and rake and compost the falling leaves.
Mulch perennial and strawberry beds, clean up spent annuals, and protect tender plants from the first frosts. East of the Cascades, hard frosts now end the growing season — harvest everything tender, store the roots and squash in a cool cellar, plant garlic, and mulch heavily, as the eastern winter comes early and cold compared to the mild Puget lowland.
Zone 6a (eastern valleys & foothills): hard frosts arrive — clear the tender crops, store roots and squash, plant garlic and bulbs, and mulch perennials and strawberries heavily before the cold east-side winter sets in.
Zone 7b (Puget lowland & coastal valleys): the prime planting month. With the rains back, plant trees, shrubs, perennials, garlic, and spring bulbs, sow cover crops on empty beds, and harvest the overwintering greens, leeks, and the last root crops as they size up.
Zone 8a (Puget Sound shore & San Juan Islands): a long, mild autumn. Keep planting garlic, bulbs, and hardy ornamentals, mulch the overwintering vegetable beds, and protect any lingering tender crops from the first coastal frosts.
What's at the Farmers Market
October markets are deep autumn. Washington apples are at their absolute peak across countless varieties — Honeycrisp, Cosmic Crisp, Fuji, Cripps Pink, Jonagold, Braeburn, Cameo, and heirlooms — and storage stock is laid in for the year. Pears (Anjou, Bosc, Comice), winter squash and pumpkins, concord grapes, late plums, cranberries from the coastal bogs near Grayland and Long Beach, and the season's hazelnuts and chestnuts fill the stalls.
Root vegetables abound — carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, leeks, cabbage, and celeriac — and the fall salmon runs and returning Dungeness crab season supply the seafood tables. Choose apples that are firm and heavy and store them cold; pick winter squash with a hard rind and intact stem and cure it in a warm, dry spot, then store it cool and dry to keep for months. The harvest markets run rich across the state.
Night Sky This Month
October offers long, dark nights and, before the westside rains entrench, some superbly clear evenings. The dark-sky strongholds stay east of the Cascades — Goldendale Observatory State Park above the Columbia Gorge, Washington's flagship public observatory, plus Sun Lakes–Dry Falls and the Methow Valley — where the cool, dry autumn air gives excellent transparency. Westside observers seize clear nights between storms over the Olympics and Cascades.
The autumn sky stands out: the Great Square of Pegasus rides high, Andromeda and its galaxy hang nearly overhead, and the Pleiades rise in the east, heralding the return of winter stars. The Orionid meteors, debris of Halley's Comet, peak around late October from the rising constellation Orion after midnight. For this year's exact Orionid timing and planet positions, see the printable Washington night-sky guide.
Butterflies & Pollinators
October's cooling, wet weather closes most of Washington's butterfly season, though a few hardy species linger on warm afternoons. In the mild Puget lowland, late Cabbage Whites, the last Woodland Skippers, and stray painted and West Coast Ladies may still nectar at asters and ivy on sunny days early in the month.
The adults that overwinter are now seeking shelter: Mourning Cloaks, California Tortoiseshells, and anglewings (commas) tuck into woodpiles, bark crevices, and outbuildings to pass the winter, and may briefly stir on an unseasonably warm October day. The rest of the state's species have settled into their winter stages — swallowtails as chrysalids on twigs, fritillary and admiral caterpillars dormant in the leaf litter and along willows. East of the Cascades, the last monarchs have departed the Columbia Basin southward.
What to plant for them is in the Washington native plants guide
Trees This Month
October is Washington's peak fall color, and it comes in two great waves. East of the Cascades, the deciduous western larch — the "tamarack" of the Northwest — golds the high slopes of the eastern Cascades, Kettle Range, and Blue Mountains in shimmering spires, the signature October spectacle of routes like the North Cascades and Stevens Pass. The quaking aspen and riverside black cottonwood glow yellow in the valleys.
West of the Cascades, the lowland forests turn: bigleaf maple drops huge gold leaves, vine maple flares scarlet and orange in the understory, and red alder and cottonwood yellow along the rivers. The evergreen backbone — Douglas-fir, western redcedar, western hemlock, and coastal Sitka spruce — holds dark green, shedding old inner needles, while the Pacific madrone keeps its leaves and ripening orange-red berries on the bluffs.
The Washington native plants guide covers what grows with them
Weather & Daylight
Across Washington, a typical October day averages a high near 57°F and a low near 38°F, with about 4.1 inches of precipitation — statewide averages from the 1991–2020 U.S. climate normals.
Crisp fall air, highs near 57F and chilly mornings in the upper 30s, with rain picking up noticeably again.
| Average high | 57°F |
|---|---|
| Average low | 38°F |
| Precipitation | 4.1 in |
| Sunrise (mid-month) | 7:22 PT |
| Sunset (mid-month) | 18:18 PT |
Figures are statewide averages over the 1991–2020 U.S. climate normals; local conditions vary with elevation and distance from the coast. Sunrise and sunset are computed for a midstate point on the 15th (PT).
Next month's version of this page, by email
One short note when Washington's next month turns — what's arriving, blooming, and worth a night outside.
Go deeper with the Washington guides
The complete Washington birding, native-plant, and night-sky references — or the whole year, week by week, in one book.
Same month elsewhere: October in West Virginia · October in Wisconsin · October in Wyoming