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.  

A golden glow is taking over the ash and poplar trees. Some maple trees have pockets of bright yellow, orange or red leaves, and a few small maples are at peak fall color! The sumac and honeysuckle are a lovely crimson color. Along the north shore of Lake Superior, the birch trees are starting to turn yellow and a few of the maples are showing hints of red and orange. Any overlook will offer views of initial fall color change with the canopies of some trees now bright shades of yellow or orange. 

• Schoolcraft State Park, Deer River
• Savanna Portage State Park, McGregor
• St. Croix State Park, Hinckley

The yellows and reds of autumn are spreading rapidly across the landscape. Ash trees are enveloped in soft shades of green to bright yellow. The sumac and random red and sugar maples add pops of red and orange. The prairie grasses are a mix of rich reds and purples, and the bright blooms of goldenrod, purple blazing star and sunflowers are abundant.

• Lake Bronson State Park, Lake Bronson
• Old Mill State Park, Argyle
• Buffalo River State Park, Glyndon/Moorhead

The ash trees are a golden-yellow hue, and especially lovely when accented by scarlet sumacs. A few scattered maples are just beginning to display patches of orange and red. The prairie grasses are at the peak of their autumn glory with beautiful shades of bronze, gold, maroon and blue!

• Maplewood State Park, Pelican Rapids
• Glendalough Trail, Battle Lake
• Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area, Ironton

The sumac and goldenrod are displaying lovely shades of red and yellow. Hillsides are taking on a golden glow, and the prairies are filled with fall shades of purple, gold and rust. At the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, the Annual Garden is at its peak and the flowers should remain vibrant until first frost.

• Gateway State Trail, St. Paul/Stillwater
• Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chaska
• Luce Line State Trail, Plymouth/Winsted

Color is progressing in the trees and grasses throughout southern Minnesota. Ash and walnut trees are turning a golden-yellow, and the prairies are full of red and bronze grasses swaying in the wind. Color change is noticeable in some oaks and cottonwoods in southwestern Minnesota. In southeastern Minnesota, look for migrating waterfowl including thousands of tundra swans on the Mississippi River.

• Sakatah Lake State Park, Waterville
• Myre-Big Island State Park, Albert Lea
• Kilen Woods State Park, Lakefield