Leaf season brought visitors to the mountains, and Downtown’s businesses lean on these weeks more than most. Here is how this October 2026 faired.
Downtown recorded approximately 1.2 million non-resident visits in October, up 5.7% from October 2025, when Downtown was one year out from the storm and still recovering. Compared with October 2023, the last October before Helene, visitation was 4.5% higher. That puts Downtown ahead of its pre-Helene benchmark during its most important visitor season, an encouraging sign that visitors are coming back.
The two busiest days of the month were both Saturdays, October 17 and October 24, at roughly 58,000 and 56,000 non-resident visits. Both fell in the stretch when fall color is typically at its peak. Every Saturday ran high, with October 9 and 10 also reaching around 50,000 visits, and October 31 finishing near 53,000.
Saturday was the busiest day of the week on average, with Friday close behind. Sunday landed near the Thursday level, and Monday through Wednesday ran lowest.
The hourly pattern was steady. Downtown stayed close to its busiest from noon through about 8 PM, so the afternoon carried as much activity as the evening.
October gave Downtown a hopeful marker two years after Helene, with visitors returning during leaf season, a strong Saturday every week, and an afternoon that stayed as busy as the evening.
