National Park·Minnesota·130,153 acres
Voyageurs National Park
Forecast issued Nov 10, 7:57am ET
Photograph: More Than Just Parks
Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.
Weather Hard frost Wednesday night. Peak may come early and go fast.
23 reports came in from St. Louis County this week, 17 of them still green and 4 of them at peak. They moved our date 1 day later. See the county on the map.
When is peak fall foliage at Voyageurs National Park in 2026?
Our forecast puts peak color at Voyageurs National Park around Oct 8, and the four days to aim for are Oct 7 to 10.
That's 11 days later than our model alone would say, because this season's reports from the ground moved it.
| Week | In the park |
|---|---|
| Sep 21 to Sep 27 | Starting to turn |
| Sep 28 to Oct 4 | Nearly peak |
| Oct 5 to Oct 11 | Peak color |
| Oct 12 to Oct 18 | Just past peak |
That’s 11 days later than our model alone would say. This season’s reports from the ground moved it, and they outrank us.
The place
Forty percent of this park is water. Four big lakes connected by narrows and bays, accessible only by boat, stretching along the Minnesota-Canada border into a landscape the French-Canadian fur traders would still recognize. Voyageurs is the park system's best argument for learning to paddle. No roads reach the interior. You go by canoe or you do not go.
Established 1975. About 199,000/year visitors.
If you can only come on certain days
Set the days you can be here. Everything under them answers for those days, not for peak.
Wednesday, October 7 to Thursday, October 8
You’ll find it peak color.
That's the day our forecast puts peak color here.
- Where to drive
- Gunflint Trail (County Road 12), about 122 miles
- What turns
- paper birch, quaking aspen, sugar maple, red maple
- Entrance
- No entrance fee
What turns, and when
- paper birch38%
- quaking aspen37%
- sugar maple21%
- red maple5%
Also named across Minnesota, outside what the canopy read measures here: Tamarack.
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.
Across Minnesota as a whole: Late September inland in the Arrowhead, early October along the North Shore, early-to-mid October in the metro, late October for tamaracks.
Questions people ask about Voyageurs National Park
- When is peak fall foliage at Voyageurs National Park?
Our forecast puts peak color at Voyageurs National Park around Oct 8, and the four days to aim for are Oct 7 to 10.
- Where is the best fall color at Voyageurs National Park right now?
On Nov 10 the park is leaves down.
- How long does peak last at Voyageurs National Park?
About four days at the top, Oct 7 to 10, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive.
- Is Voyageurs National Park past peak?
Yes. Peak was around Oct 8, and on Nov 10 it's leaves down.
- What trees turn color at Voyageurs National Park?
Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Quaking Aspen, Paper Birch, Tamarack. 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.
- Is there an entrance fee at Voyageurs National Park?
Entrance fee Free.
This forecast is built from the species that stand here, their elevation and this September’s weather, and corrected in season by cameras, foresters and our own crew. We score it here against 13 long-running forest cameras: two dates in three land within 9 days of the camera’s own peak. How this map is made
Nearby, and when they turn
Superior is on the map above, with its own date.
- Peak Oct 2 best Oct 1 to 4
- Peak Oct 13 best Oct 12 to 15
- Peak Oct 7 best Oct 6 to 9
Fall color roads near Voyageurs National Park
Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the park, so allow more by road.
- Gunflint Trail (County Road 12)
Runs from Grand Marais to the Boundary Waters. The mix of birch, aspen, and spruce along Superior's ridgeline is world-class.