Find This Week's Best Fall Color

This is your 2022 Minnesota Fall Color Update, brought to you by Explore Minnesota. You will receive an email each Thursday afternoon during the fall color season, making it easier than ever to plan a colorful fall adventure.

Plan ahead so you don't miss the fall color show!

Due to the current COVID-19 situation, please visit Explore Minnesota's COVID-19 Information page before traveling.

According to Val Cervenka, the forest health program consultant in the DNR’s Forestry Division, “While there have been occasional color changes already in some stressed trees, overall color this year should be as stunning as we have come to expect if there are sunny days and chilly but not freezing nights as we get more into the season.”

More seasonable temperatures and rainfall in mid- to late August are expected to rejuvenate trees in areas previously impacted by drought and flooding. Minnesota's fall color show should be magnificent this year!

Peak fall color typically washes across Minnesota from mid-September (along the Canadian border) to mid-October (along the Iowa border).

Below, see recommendations for three state parks or trails in each region of Minnesota. If you are out leaf peeping, please share your own photos and tag them #OnlyinMN.  

Vivid yellow, gold and orange fall color is taking over the smaller shrubs such as dogwood, spikenard, hawthorn and nannyberry. Asters, pearly everlasting and goldenrod add pops of color to the forest floor. The prairie grasses are rich shades of gold and rust.

• Franz Jevne State Park, Birchdale
• Bear Head Lake State Park, Ely
• Iron Range Off-Highway Vehicle State Recreation Area, Gilbert

The robust green of summer is fading. Hints of yellow, orange and red are becoming more visible in a variety of grasses, shrubs and occasional trees. Temperatures dropped to 35 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas this week so brilliant leaves are soon to come!

• Zippel Bay State Park, Williams
• Big Bog State Recreation Area, Waskish
• La Salle Lake State Recreation Area, Solway/southwest of Bemidji

Enjoy picturesque views of rolling prairies filled with the colorful yellow and purple blooms of goldenrod, blazing star, purple asters, Joe Pye Weed, sunflowers and other wildflowers. Adding to the beauty are the richly colored prairie grasses and the yellow tones developing in some elm and ash trees.

• Glendalough State Park, Battle Lake
• Glacial Lakes State Park, Starbuck
• Charles A. Lindbergh State Park, Little Falls

The sumac and ash trees are just starting to change color. The prairie areas are beautiful with blooming goldenrod and purple asters, and grasses turning shades of gold, rust and purple. Migratory birds including groups of waterfowl are a common sight as they stop to rest before making their way south for the season.

• William O’Brien State Park, Marine on St. Croix
• Afton State Park, Afton/Hastings
• Minnesota Valley State Recreation Area, Jordan

While the trees are mostly green in south central and southeastern Minnesota, the sunflowers, goldenrod, blazing stars and prairie grasses create splashes of yellow, amber and purple throughout the prairie. Further southwest, color change is noticeable in some oaks and cottonwoods.

• Nerstrand Big Woods State Park, Nerstrand
• Big Stone Lake State Park, Ortonville
• Lake Louise State Park, Le Roy