Fall colors across much of northern Minnesota are farther advanced than they were each of the past two years, the DNR reports.
According to Thursday’s fall color update from the DNR, fall colors along the northern tier of Minnesota from the Red River east nearly to the tip of the Arrowhead are near their fall peak at 75% to 100% color.
Last year at this time, fall colors were at 25% to 50% of peak across most of northwest Minnesota and as little as 10% to 25% color in some areas.
Parts of northern Minnesota were even farther behind in 2018.
“I’ve been keeping tabs with a couple of foresters in Bemidji, and I also have had some information from a friend whose cabin is in Mahnomen County, and they’re like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s peak right now,’” said Val Cervenka, forest health program consultant with the DNR in St. Paul. “Last week, not so much.”
The accelerated pace of fall colors results primarily from recent dry conditions and a couple of hard frosts that have combined to put trees under stress. The areas with the brightest fall colors also are the driest, based on the state’s drought monitor map, Cervenka said.
“Trees that are stressed will turn color, and people probably wouldn’t know they were stressed, and they don’t know the underlying condition that forced that tree to turn early,” she said. “And then with the frost, that seals it.”
The first part of the summer was wet across much of northwest Minnesota, but rain since mid-August has been relatively light. Parts of northeast Roseau County east through Lake of the Woods, Koochiching, Lake and Cook counties are rated as “abnormally dry,” and areas along the Canadian border from northern Koochiching County east to the Arrowhead are in “moderate drought.”
In northwest Minnesota, La Salle Lake State Recreation Area, Itasca State Park, Big Bog State Recreation Area, Hayes Lake State Park, Zippel Bay State Park, Lake Bronson State Park and Old Mill State Park all were approaching peak fall colors, the DNR said Thursday.
Red River State Recreation Area in East Grand Forks was at 50% to 75% color, while Lake Bemidji State Park was at 25% to 50% color. That’s similar to last year, but ahead of 2018, when Lake Bemidji State Park was only at 10% to 25% color on Sept. 24.
In North Dakota, fall colors in the northern Red River Valley are at 30% to 40% of peak, colors at Turtle River State Park are at about 50%, and about 80% of the trees in the Pembina Gorge are starting to change, with reds and yellows appearing prominently, North Dakota Tourism reported in its Sept. 23 update.
Why leaves turn color
Color changes occur as the days grow shorter and temperatures drop, Cervenka said, causing leaves to stop producing chlorophyll, the chemical responsible for the green color.
In response, carotenoids – a fancy name for yellows and oranges – become more apparent in trees, such as aspen, ash and basswood. Maples and some of the oak trees that turn red begin restricting the movement of sugar out of their leaves.
The sugars then combine with compounds in the leaves to produce the reddish- and purple-colored pigments, Cervenka said.
No two years are the same.
“Maples are extremely variable in the intensity of their color, and even when they turn, there's a lot of genetic variability with maple trees,” Cervenka said. “And that’s the classic red fall color that everybody wants to see.
“If you don’t have that perfect scenario of sunny, yet chilly, you’re not going to get the brilliance that you would if things are going perfectly.”
Fall color resources
The DNR offers a listing of a half-dozen recommended fall color drives through state forests across Minnesota, Cervenka said. In addition, Explore Minnesota Tourism and the DNR developed a listing of “Rainbow Routes” featuring 10 fall color drives from the North Shore of Lake Superior south to the Mississippi and Minnesota river valleys.
Both of those resources, available at mndnr.gov and exploreminnesota.com, offer ways to social distance and avoid the crowds that sometimes converge on state parks during peak fall color season, Cervenka said.
“Those are very great alternatives and they talk about exactly which roads to take,” she said.
For a complete look at the status of fall colors across Minnesota, check out the Fall Color Finder on the DNR website at mndnr.gov. In North Dakota, the Tourism Department publishes a weekly update at ndtourism.com; scroll down to the Foliage Report link on the home page.
Nemadji State Forest in eastern Minnesota. (Photo/ Tom Christensen, via Minnesota DNR)
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Fall colors approaching peak – ahead of recent years – across much of northern Minnesota - Grand Forks Herald
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