Peak fall colors have arrived - and it is turning Minnesota parks into weekend parking lots.
Minnesota’s state parks are swapping quiet trails for bumper-to-bumper leaf-seeker lines as the fall color craze begins. So far at least, it is far busier than you may be ready for.
The Department of Natural Resource's Lauren Peck says that while staff are ready, the sheer number of weekend visitors means popular park parking lots, like those at Jay Cooke and Gooseberry Falls, are quickly reaching full capacity.
"Because when they're full, they're full," says Peck. "And people are having full days at the park, they might not be leaving. So you gotta get your spot or plan to do more of like a late afternoon, evening visit, when people are starting to head home."
Fall colors are set to hit peak closer to the Twin Cities this week and next and parts of far northeast Minnesota are already past peak.
The most popular - and crowded - spots this past weekend were along the North Shore of Lake Superior, where places like Gooseberry, Split Rock, Tettegouche, and as far north as Lutsen, Temperance, and Grand Marais, saw crowds far bigger than normal.
At places like Lutsen, there were lines to get on the gondola rides, and even people directing traffic, a sight almost unheard of in one of the state's most traditionally remote spots.
That meant parking lots were not only full, but the shoulder of a very busy Highway 61 was packed with vehicles.
Peck says you may have to consider things you normally don't think about in those nature-heavy spots in Minnesota to snag a parking spot: consider carpooling and arriving early.
"Some of those beautiful spots might have a lot of other people enjoying them," Peck adds. "I was at Jay Cook State Park, which is close to Duluth, and on a Saturday, which wasn't even past peak, and it was like, oh, the park, the parking lot is full. So you're parking on the road."
To enjoy the scenery without the stress, Peck suggests getting an annual pass online to bypass long kiosk lines, and to arrive very early on weekdays to avoid the biggest rushes.
The weather sure has helped bring people out, with very summer-like temps over this past weekend. Despite an early-week cooldown, weekend temps are again still expected to be unseasonably warm for next weekend.
