Where is the best fall color in Minnesota right now?

Peak has passed in the places we cover in Minnesota as of Nov 10. Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge and 22 more was the last, around Oct 24. The live map still shows where russet and late gold are holding.

How long does peak last in Minnesota?

In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Minnesota as a whole, peak moves 28 days from Lake of the Woods County to Dakota County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 32 days.

Is Minnesota past peak?

Yes. As of Nov 10, every one of Minnesota's 87 counties is past peak by our forecast. Dakota County was the last, around Oct 27.

How far along is Minnesota's fall color today?

On Nov 10, no county in Minnesota is at peak yet: 87 of Minnesota's 87 counties (100 percent) are past peak. The county map above paints each one, and the live map lets you scrub the day.

When do the leaves change in Minnesota?

The first color shows in Lake of the Woods County around Sep 8 and peaks there around Sep 29. Dakota County is the last of Minnesota's 87 counties, peaking around Oct 27. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 9.

What's the best time to visit Minnesota for fall colors?

The week of Oct 9 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 8 to 11. That's the leaf peeping window for Minnesota as a whole. For Lake of the Woods County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Sep 29; for Dakota County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 27.

Ellsworth Rock Gardens in fall, Voyageurs, alt 'Voyageurs National Park More Than Just Parks'.

Back to the map

Minnesota Fall Color Map 2026

Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET

Photograph: More Than Just Parks

Peak color lands around Oct 9 in most of Minnesota, but it moves 28 days across the state. Here’s where, and when, and how sure we are.

Minnesota fall color map for the week of Nov 9

Minnesota, Nov 10 Still green to peak to past peak, the map’s own scale. Open the live map to scrub the day, or save today’s leaf color map below.

When is peak fall color in Minnesota in 2026?

Most of Minnesota peaks between Oct 3 and Oct 14: the north first, around Oct 4, and the south last, around Oct 13. The first county to peak is Lake of the Woods County, around Sep 29, and the last is Dakota County, around Oct 27.

Latitude does most of the work here: color moves south at about two days per degree, so the north of the state turns a week or more ahead of the south. This fall is running 3 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.

Minnesota, fall color week by week, 2026
Week	Where it peaks	Most of the state
Sep 28 to Oct 4	Superior National Forest, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Chippewa National Forest and 17 counties	Nearly peak
Oct 5 to Oct 11	Voyageurs National Park, Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway and 39 counties	Peak color
Oct 12 to Oct 18	Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge and 28 counties	Just past peak
Oct 19 to Oct 25	Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge and 2 counties	Just past peak
Oct 26 to Nov 1	Dakota County	Fading

Each date is the middle of the four days we’d aim a trip at, and each place page names them. We publish what the model got wrong, region by region.

9 of 87 counties here are corrected by people who have actually looked at the trees this season. 559 reports from official state sources have moved those dates off the model and narrowed their windows. Counties with neither keep the model forecast and say so. Which is which is marked in the table below.

Late September inland in the Arrowhead, early October along the North Shore, early-to-mid October in the metro, late October for tamaracks is how Minnesota is usually described.

Minnesota’s season place by place

Every place we forecast in Minnesota, each set on the calendar at its peak and painted by how far along it is today, Nov 10.

First: Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Sep 30. Last: Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Oct 24.

The dashed rule is today; the solid one is the median of the places on this chart, Oct 6. The date at the top of the page is the median county, which includes the low ground between them.

Where to go in Minnesota

The destinations we cover in Minnesota, in the order their color arrives. Each carries its own forecast and its own band, because a state isn’t one place.

Boundary Waters Canoe Area WildernessMinnesota
Past peakPeak Sep 30 best Sep 29 to Oct 2
Superior National ForestMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 1 best Sep 30 to Oct 3
Chippewa National ForestMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
Agassiz National Wildlife RefugeMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
Agassiz WildernessMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
Rydell National Wildlife RefugeMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 3, northern red oak Oct 12 best Oct 2 to 5
Tamarac National Wildlife RefugeMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 4 best Oct 3 to 6
Glacial Ridge National Wildlife RefugeMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 4, northern red oak Oct 12 best Oct 3 to 6
Tamarac WildernessMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 4 best Oct 3 to 6
Rice Lake National Wildlife RefugeMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 5 best Oct 4 to 7
Hamden Slough National Wildlife RefugeMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 5 best Oct 4 to 7
Grand Portage National MonumentMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
Otter Tail County Waterfowl Production AreaMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 6 best Oct 5 to 8
Saint Croix National Scenic RiverwayMinnesota, Wisconsin
Past peakPeak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
Crane Meadows National Wildlife RefugeMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
Voyageurs National ParkMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 8 best Oct 7 to 10
Sherburne National Wildlife RefugeMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 8 best Oct 7 to 10
Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife RefugeIowa, Minnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 9 best Oct 8 to 11
Big Stone National Wildlife RefugeMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 9 best Oct 8 to 11
Lower Saint Croix National Scenic RiverwayMinnesota, Wisconsin
Past peakPeak Oct 9 best Oct 8 to 11
Pipestone National MonumentMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 10 best Oct 9 to 12
Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish RefugeIowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Past peakPeak Oct 17 best Oct 16 to 19
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife RefugeMinnesota
Past peakPeak Oct 24 best Oct 23 to 26

Questions people ask about Minnesota fall colors

When is peak fall color in Minnesota?: Most of Minnesota peaks between Oct 3 and Oct 14: the north first, around Oct 4, and the south last, around Oct 13. The first county to peak is Lake of the Woods County, around Sep 29, and the last is Dakota County, around Oct 27. This fall is running 3 days late on September's temperatures, and the dates here already include it.
Where is the best fall color in Minnesota right now?: Peak has passed in the places we cover in Minnesota as of Nov 10. Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge and 22 more was the last, around Oct 24. The live map still shows where russet and late gold are holding.
How long does peak last in Minnesota?: In any one place, about four days at the top, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across Minnesota as a whole, peak moves 28 days from Lake of the Woods County to Dakota County, so there's peak color somewhere in the state for about 32 days.
Is Minnesota past peak?: Yes. As of Nov 10, every one of Minnesota's 87 counties is past peak by our forecast. Dakota County was the last, around Oct 27.
How far along is Minnesota's fall color today?: On Nov 10, no county in Minnesota is at peak yet: 87 of Minnesota's 87 counties (100 percent) are past peak. The county map above paints each one, and the live map lets you scrub the day.
When do the leaves change in Minnesota?: The first color shows in Lake of the Woods County around Sep 8 and peaks there around Sep 29. Dakota County is the last of Minnesota's 87 counties, peaking around Oct 27. Most of the state turns through the weeks around Oct 9.
What's the best time to visit Minnesota for fall colors?: The week of Oct 9 catches the most of the state at once, and the four days we'd aim at there are Oct 8 to 11. That's the leaf peeping window for Minnesota as a whole. For Lake of the Woods County and the counties around it, aim for the week of Sep 29; for Dakota County and its neighbors, the week of Oct 27.

What actually turns

The Boundary Waters and North Shore produce a mosaic of aspen gold, birch yellow, and maple scarlet against the dark boreal backdrop of spruce and fir.

Sugar Maple
Red Maple
Quaking Aspen
Paper Birch
Tamarack

The Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais into the Boundary Waters is Minnesota's premier fall drive, and Superior National Forest's mix of birch, aspen, and maple is world-class.

Worth the drive

Cook County

Cook County at the tip of Minnesota's Arrowhead is the wildest county on the North Shore, containing the eastern end of the Boundary Waters and the most remote stretches of the Superior Hiking Trail. Up the Gunflint Trail the color peaks early, often by the last week of September, while the lake holds the shore into October, and the combination of boreal forest, lake-studded wilderness, and ridgeline views is extraordinary.

Lake County

Lake County on Minnesota's North Shore of Lake Superior is the gateway to the Boundary Waters and one of the most spectacular fall destinations in the Midwest. The Sawtooth Mountains rise directly from the lake, and the mix of birch, aspen, and maple on the slopes above Superior produces vivid color from late September through mid-October. The Gunflint Trail begins in Grand Marais and climbs into the BWCA.

Every county by peak week

Sep 29

Lake of the Woods

Sep 30 to Oct 6

Aitkin, Becker, Beltrami, Carlton, Cass, Clearwater, Cook, Crow Wing, Hubbard, Itasca observed, Kittson, Koochiching, Lake regional, Mahnomen, Marshall, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Norman, Otter Tail, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, Roseau, Wadena

Oct 7 to Oct 13

Anoka observed, Benton, Big Stone, Brown, Chippewa, Chisago regional, Clay regional, Cottonwood, Douglas, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue observed, Grant, Hennepin corrected, Houston, Isanti regional, Jackson, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, McLeod regional, Meeker, Mower, Murray, Nobles, Olmsted, Pine, Pipestone regional, Pope, Redwood, Renville, Rice corrected, Sherburne regional, St. Louis observed, Stearns, Steele regional, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Traverse, Wabasha regional, Watonwan, Wilkin, Winona, Wright regional, Yellow Medicine

Oct 14 to Oct 16

Blue Earth regional, Carver regional, Dodge regional, Faribault, Le Sueur regional, Nicollet regional, Rock regional, Sibley regional, Waseca regional, Washington regional

Oct 22 to Oct 27

Dakota observed, Ramsey observed, Scott observed

Next door todayIowa leaves downNorth Dakota leaves downSouth Dakota leaves downWisconsin leaves down

How this map is madeThe trees, the elevation, this September’s weather and reports from the ground, scored against 68 forest cameras. Median error 6 days.

Every date on this site is a forecast: a model corrected by ground reports, carrying a measured error, published in full. Check conditions with the land manager before you travel. Last reviewed September 2026. Open the live map

See it on the map

The live map covers every county in the country, with a timeline you can scrub through the season, the nearest forest monitoring camera, and the long-term record where we hold one. If you’re going this weekend, the weekend report names where color is at peak right now, region by region.

Before you drive, it’s worth checking fire and smoke conditions for the same forests. A perfect color week is no good under a smoke plume.