Tips For Finding Peak Fall Colors

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Fall colors are in full swing, but to get the most out of your leaf peeping you have to know where to go and when.

The maple trees in Afton State Park are already turning hues of red and yellow.

"Our maple trees turn first," said Linda Radimecky, area naturalist for Afton State Park. "It's a little later here at Afton than it usually is, but I think color is going to be really nice this year."

Fall leaf colors are peaking in central Minnesota, (see map) with the twin cities expected to peak within the next couple of weeks.

But the coloring does not peak all at once, it progresses through the various species of plants.

"You go from prairies blooming and they reach their peak color," said Radimecky. "And the grasses and then the leaves start. Then you get to watch the whole progression through the tree species. It's fun to just watch the colors go through the different species of plants we have in Minnesota."

Leaves in Minnesota change with the temperature. The colors start turning as early as late September in the north, lasting until middle of October in the south. (See map)

"Opportunities to see leaf color, leaf change, if you want to travel you could do it for a long time," said Radimecky.