Leaf Day 2026 starts Nov. 9, with 29 fewer zones. Your gutters were never on the list.

Portland, Ore. — Oct. 27, 2026. Portland’s Leaf Day returns Monday, Nov. 9, and runs through Dec. 21, according to the Portland Bureau of Transportation. Crews will sweep more than 50 zones with the heaviest concentration of mature street trees, the leaves that clog storm drains and flood intersections in heavy storms. The service is free and there’s nothing to sign up for.

What’s new is a smaller map. The 29 zones PBOT added as a pilot in 2025 are off Leaf Day this year and moving to regular street cleaning, KOIN 6 reported on Oct. 6. Leaf Day brochures were due in mailboxes by mid-October.

The 2026 schedule

Leaf Day 2026 at a glance

1. Nov. 9

   Leaf Day begins

   Scheduled sweeps start. Many zones get two pickups.

2. Nov. 19

   First tow day

   Moving your car is required in tow zones from here on.

3. Dec. 17

   Last tow day

   Final enforced clean-sweep date of the season.

4. Dec. 21

   Last scheduled sweep

   Crews keep working hot spots and school areas through December.

Tow zones are NW 2, NW 3, NW 4, NW 6, NW 7, NW 8 and NW 9 in Northwest, SW 1 and SW 2 in Goose Hollow, and NE 14 in Sullivan’s Gulch. PBOT lists a $85 citation plus $337 in tow fees ($433 for larger vehicles). Check your exact address with the city’s Leaf Day lookup. Many neighborhoods are split into more than one zone.

What changed

Why 29 zones dropped off the map

Those 29 zones joined Leaf Day for the first time in 2025. PBOT spokesperson Hannah Schafer told KOIN 6 that budget cuts had left them uncleaned for three years. “We had plenty to clean after three years without service,” she said. “However, our crews saw relatively few leaves of the type that both cause the most safety issues for the traveling public and clog our drains in heavy storms in these areas.”

Those streets now get regular street cleaning instead. The city’s current budget covers cleaning every city-maintained street twice a year, with a goal of four times a year as funding, staffing and equipment allow. Busy arterials get far more attention.

The angle most coverage missed

Leaf Day cleans the street. The roof is a different job.

Leaf Day coverage is about piles, parking and tow trucks. It skips the leaves that never reach the street. In Leaf Zones, by PBOT’s own description the most leaf-heavy blocks in the city, a good share of each tree’s drop lands on roofs and runs into gutters with the first rain. The city clears its storm drains. It doesn’t touch the gutters and downspouts that feed them.

There’s also a practical catch. PBOT’s rules say to put out loose tree leaves only, with pine and fir needles allowed, and no other yard debris. What comes out of a gutter in November is rarely loose. It’s a wet, packed, half-composted mix of leaves, needles and moss, often with roof grit in it. That doesn’t match “loose tree leaves,” so don’t dump a gutter’s worth of sludge on your Leaf Day pile.

1. Street pile

   Leaf Day

   Loose tree leaves raked into the street a day before your date, one foot off the curb. Pine and fir needles are okay.

2. Green cart

   Curbside compost

   Leaves, weeds, plant clippings and branches under 4 inches thick and 36 inches long. Extra leaf bags are $4.30 each.

3. Neither

   Keep it out

   Roof grit and shingle granules aren’t on the city’s compost list. Shovel heavy grit out separately.

The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability’s Oct. 7 reminder covers the green cart side. The 60-gallon cart has a 135-pound limit, extra yard waste bags max out at 40 pounds, and wet leaves hit that weight long before the cart looks full. Gutter debris is about as wet as leaves get.

What to do

A simple Leaf Day plan for homeowners

• Look up your zone and dates on PBOT’s Leaf Day page and subscribe to the reminders if you’re in a tow zone.

• Rake loose leaves to the street the day before, one foot off the curb. Trim low street-tree limbs to 11 feet so the sweepers can reach the curb.

• Schedule your gutter cleaning in Portland once the maple and oak drop is mostly done. In many Leaf Zones that lines up with the second sweep date.

• Keep the storm drain in front of your house clear between sweeps. For a clogged drain that won’t clear, PBOT’s 24/7 maintenance dispatch is 503-823-1700.

• If the same tree fills the same gutter every year, compare gutter guard options or read our gutter guard brand guide.

Our crew clears gutters by hand and clears each downspout until water runs through. You can get a price range from the free virtual estimate without talking to anyone, book online, call (503) 860-6950 or contact us. See our Portland gutter services page for everything we do across the city.