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.

Fall color change is a bit late this year due to warm fall temperatures but recent cold snaps have caused a rapid change in the leaves. Many areas are now at or approaching peak fall color!

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.  

The forests are glowing with bright yellow aspen, birch, ash and poplar trees, punctuated by bursts of peach, orange and red in the maple trees. The moose maple and other small shrubs add lovely shades of red, rose and orange to the understory. Peak to near peak fall color conditions have arrived, with peak fall color to blanket the North Shore of Lake Superior shortly!

• Savanna Portage State Park, McGregor
• Bear Head Lake State Park, Ely
• Moose Lake State Park, Moose Lake

Most tree and shrub species are now at their peak! The basswood, quaking aspen, ironwood, and paper birch are displaying a range of yellow to rich gold tones. The red maples are filled with rich red leaves, and the orange, peach and yellow of the sugar maples drips down from the canopies. Salmon pink, gold, brilliant orange and rich red coat the big-tooth aspen, blue-beech and red oaks.

• Lake Bemidji State Park, Bemidji
• Itasca State Park, Park Rapids
• Red River State Recreation Area, East Grand Forks

The pace of fall color change has really picked up. Most maples are now at or near peak fall color, displaying brilliant shades of orange, yellow and red. The ash trees are full of marvelous golden yellow leaves. The sumac continues to add vibrant red and crimson color to the understory and forest edges, and prairies are beautiful shades of gold, maroon and purple. This coming weekend should be spectacular for fall color viewing!

• Lake Carlos State Park, Carlos
• Glendalough State Park, Battle Lake
• Cuyuna Country State Recreation Area, Ironton

The landscape is changing daily. Most ash, basswood, elm, cottonwood and hackberry trees are vibrant shades of yellow. The sugar maples and sumac are stunning shades of peach, orange and red. Fields and prairies are bursting with gold and red vegetation, and a mosaic of fall color blankets the St. Croix River Valley.

• William O'Brien State Park, Marine on St. Croix
• Interstate State Park, Taylors Falls
• Three Rivers Park District, parks in Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Scott and Wright counties

The leaves are changing color at an increasing pace. Bright yellow leaves fill the maple, basswood, aspen and ash trees. Splashes of orange and red can be found in the sumac and dogwood, along with some of the maples and oaks. Current cold temperatures will cause more of the vibrant red and orange fall colors to develop rapidly.

• Lac qui Parle State Park, Watson
• Frontenac State Park, Frontenac
• Whitewater State Park, Elba