Fall foliage

Fall foliage in Minnesota

Fall 2026 · updated daily

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Minnesota runs north to south, and the northern forest changes quickly.

Yellow aspen and birch among dark spruce on a hillside, lit by low sun.
Aspen and birch near the Boundary WatersPhoto: Superior National Forest, USDA Forest Service · Public domain · source
A forest of gold, orange and green trees seen from above, with a small lake in the distance under a pale sky.
Clarke Lake, in Itasca State ParkPhoto: Crown Star Images · CC BY 2.0 · source

The Boundary Waters, Ely, Voyageurs and Itasca lead in the first week of October;

A river bending through a hillside of orange and red birch and aspen with dark spruce, and a lake horizon at the far right.
The Gooseberry River, on the North ShorePhoto: Tony Webster · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
A hillside of orange, red and yellow forest sweeping down to a small deep blue lake framed by dark spruce branches.
Oberg Lake, from Oberg Mountain in the Superior highlandsPhoto: Superior National Forest, USDA Forest Service · Public domain · source

the North Shore and the Superior highlands follow through mid-month;

A hardwood forest of golden maple leaves with fallen leaves covering the trail and the river light showing through the trees.
The bluff trail at Frontenac State ParkPhoto: Tony Webster · CC BY 2.0 · source

the Twin Cities and the Mississippi bluffs near Frontenac close the season in the third week.

Aspen and birch make the northern forest gold with maple for the red; oaks and maples carry the south.

Along Lake Superior the color holds a little later than inland.

In a typical year

Bordering states

Color: Fallcast, the same map as the app. Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors, Protomaps. Place outlines: U.S. Census Bureau.