Fall Colors Boost Minnesota Tourism

RED WING Minn. - It feels like fall and it might not be long before it starts looking like it. The latest fall color report from the Minnesota DNR shows some very early stages of leaf changes across the state.

In the metro Twin Cities, the colors generally peak from late September to mid-October. Weather plays a big role in the changing colors. Warm sunny days and cool crisp nights cause the best changes.

Eight years ago Elaine Kleffman's dream of owning her own bed and breakfast became reality.
One of the reasons why the Kleffman's Round Barn Farm Bed & Breakfast & Bread in Red Wing is so popular is the fall.

Come October, thousands will converge on Red Wing just to see those fall colors.

"There are always good color days and the people who know these Mississippi River bluffs plan take that last road trip before they hunker down for the holidays," said Kleffman.

Richard Gjertson has been studying the fall colors at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum for 15 years, is looking forward to the 2010 display in Minnesota.

"I have high hopes if you remember the spring was early two weeks I have a feeling that's what we'll see with the fall colors," Giertson.

He believes we'll start seeing those colors in the first week of October and could last the entire month.

"What we want to see to extend the fall color would be cool nights and sunny days we're having that right now"