Minnesota DNR Launches Fall Color Finder For 2026
The signs of fall's arrival are all around us this time of year. Kids are back in school, the Vikings start their season this weekend and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has launched its annual Fall Color Finder on their website!
As of September 10th, most of the state is at 0-10% of peak fall color, with the St. Cloud area currently at 10-25% for the season.
The website also allows visitors to drag a slider before the map that predicts the fall colors as the season goes on, based on previous years' data.
According to the map, St. Cloud should be at 25-50% of its fall color peak on October 1st, 50-75% on October 10th and peak on October 16th before falling 'past peak' on October 21st.
In general, the leaves in Northern Minnesota change over first, with the process then sort of trickling down to the southern part of the state over time. Peak for the northern third of the state is predicted to begin on October 11th, so just a few days before us here in Central Minnesota.
The Minnesota DNR will update the map with the latest conditions each Thursday.
Track the gorgeous shift from summer green to autumn splendor with our iconic map! These subtle changes are observed by dedicated park staff across all Minnesota state parks and reported weekly to bring you the latest map every Thursday.If you want to dive deeper, you can even use the slider function on the webpage to move backwards or forwards to compare how the map looked in past years. It's like having a personal fall color guide right in your pocket!
The next time you see park staff while on the trails, give them a smile, wave or thank you—they make the beloved Fall Color Finder map what it is!
