September is when lake country trades its summer energy for something slower and just as wonderful. The swimming beaches are closed, the boat ramps are emptying out, the orchards are open, and the whole St. Croix Valley is strung with festivals from one weekend to the next. This is the season I look forward to all year, and the 2026 calendar is a good one. Here is how the next seven weeks shake out.
Know Thy Colors
The Minnesota DNR's Fall Color Finder went live for 2026 in the week of September 9, with fresh reports posted every Thursday through the end of October. The honest update as of late October: the metro's peak window landed in mid-October, exactly where the DNR forecast pointed when it kept Twin Cities peak color in mid-October and the southern St. Croix Valley hardwoods peaking mid-to-late October, and the show is now settling. A hot, dry summer pushed the maples through their peak a little early, but the oaks and the river towns hang on: the bluffs between Stillwater and Taylors Falls still hold good amber, and the park reserves keep their copper into the month's end. Check the Finder each Thursday to catch the change at every stage.
Week by Week
September 14-20: Township Day & the First Cool Nights (Behind Us Now)
That week is history: the Gasthaus held its Stillwater Oktoberfest on Friday, September 18; White Bear Township Day filled Polar Lakes Park on Saturday the 19th with live music, a car show, food trucks, and fireworks; the Log Run Half Marathon threaded through Stillwater the same morning; and One Last Tri, the season's final triathlon on White Bear Lake, closed the weekend on Sunday the 20th. If you missed any of them, they are on the calendar for next year. Check the events guide for what is still to come.
September 21-27: Fall Fest & the Corn Maze Opens (Behind Us Now)
That week is history: Fall Fest filled downtown White Bear Lake September 24-26 with the Scarecrow Stroll, live music, and pumpkin painting, closing with Polka & Pumpkins in the Park on Saturday the 26th. That same Saturday, Pine Tree's six-acre corn maze opened (running through October 25), the Mahtomedi farmers market held its final Saturday, the Stillwater Fall Craft & Gift Show filled the fairgrounds, the Spirit of the St. Croix Art Festival drew crowds across the river in Hudson, and White Bear Lake ran its annual Trash to Treasure Day. A full weekend if there ever was one.
September 28 - October 4: Art Season (Behind Us Now)
That week is history: Take Me to the River wrapped its final weekend, and the 49th Rivertown Fall Art Festival filled downtown Stillwater on October 3-4 with up to 200 artist booths, free admission. The Murder on the Nile dinner cruise sailed the Stillwater River Boats on Thursday, October 1, Mahtomedi celebrated homecoming weekend, Hudson's The Root Beer Lady closed its run at The Phipps Center, the Night Owl 5K tested night-running legs at Lake Elmo Park Reserve, and White Bear Lake held its Fall Cleanup Day. If you missed any of them, the harvest season ahead more than makes up for it.
October 5-11: Harvest Fest Weekend (Behind Us Now)
That week is history: the Elizabethan Syngers sang in the orchard at Pine Tree on October 8-9, Stillwater Harvest Fest filled Lowell Park October 10-11 with the giant pumpkin weigh-off, the pumpkin drop, the kids' costume parade, and the pumpkin regatta, Mahtomedi's PunkinMania took over Veterans Memorial Park on the 10th, and the tasting cruise sailed the Stillwater River Boats. If you missed any of them, the peak-color week ahead more than makes up for it.
October 12-18: Peak Color, MEA Weekend (Behind Us Now)
That week is history, and it was the peak of the season: the Zephyr Get Together gathered Mahtomedi school families at Pine Tree on Monday the 12th, Run For The Apples raced through Pine Tree on Saturday the 17th at the height of the color, the Dream of Wild Health Corn Fest celebrated Indigenous foodways in Hugo, the Stillwater Fall Craft & Gift Show filled the high school, and Hudson's 73rd annual Rotary Halloween Parade stepped off at Camp St. Croix. The Halloween Boat Party (21+) closed the Stillwater River Boats season on Saturday night, with Sunday, October 18 the last public cruise day of 2026. If you missed any of it, the pumpkin patches and Halloween events ahead more than make up for it.
October 19-26: Peak Color Settles In (This Week)
The color settles into late-season amber now, and the calendar turns to Halloween. Courthouse by Candlelight lights up the Washington County Historic Courthouse on Thursday, October 22 (7-9 PM, $10, registration required), the Flashlight Pumpkin Hunt lights up Tom Ryan Park for kids 10 and under on Friday the 23rd, the Ladies of the Lake Quilting Show fills Pine Tree's barn October 22-23, downtown White Bear Lake runs its Halloween Candy Crawl on Saturday morning, the Scare in White Bear 5K lights Lake Avenue that evening, the Wild Wanderers costume hike takes families through Lake Elmo Park Reserve from 5-7 PM, and downtown Stillwater closes the week with Trick or Treating on Main Street on Sunday, October 25. The Stillwater Farmers Market holds its final Saturday of the season on October 24, and Pine Tree's corn maze and pumpkin patch both close October 25, so this is the last full week for both.
October 27-31: Halloween Week
Halloween night is the crescendo: the Stillwater Halloween Bar Crawl takes over the riverfront pubs (official downtown crawl from 3 PM, Portside edition at 4 PM, Monster Bash at King Coil), Kellerman's in White Bear Lake hosts its 15th annual costume party, and the Death, Victorians, and Spiritualism program at the Warden's House Museum runs Friday, October 30. The White Bear Lake farmers market holds its season finale Friday, October 30, the Stillwater market has wrapped as of October 24, and the Ladies of the Lake Quilting Show returns to Pine Tree October 29-30, so stock up on apples and squash while the markets are still open.
Getting on the Water While You Can
Boating is quietly one of the best parts of fall, and the season is still open on the lakes. The ramps on White Bear Lake, Forest Lake, and the other area lakes stay open until freeze-up, the summer traffic is long gone, and the launches are easy. The Stillwater River Boats wrapped their 2026 public season on October 18, but St. Croix River Cruises keeps sailing fall color cruises out of Hudson's Lakefront Park through late October, with the Italian Sunset Dinner Cruise running through the 23rd. Minnesota's newest public access, the St. Croix Crossing launch in Oak Park Heights, sits right north of the bridge with a double ramp and trailer parking if you want to put your own boat in for a quiet fall paddle upriver. Two travel notes: MnDOT is closing the Highway 243 bridge at Osceola for replacement starting late October, with the crossing set to stay closed through fall 2027 (official detours run via Highway 8 at Taylors Falls, about 15 minutes added, or Highway 36 at Stillwater, about 30 minutes added), and the northern boat ramp and parking lot at Osceola Landing closed in mid-September and will stay closed through late summer 2028, while the south launch remains accessible. The DNR's low-water warning also stays in effect through fall with the region's drought ongoing, so scout a shallow ramp before you back in.
A Look Past the Leaves
Winter is not far behind. Ice fishing usually gets going once the shallower lakes lock up, generally late November into December, so we are roughly five to eight weeks from first ice. White Bear Lake went ice-free on March 31, 2026, about 12 days ahead of its mid-April median, so this year's freeze is anyone's guess; the White Bear Lake Conservation District keeps the official dates. A few winter fixtures are worth circling on the calendar now: the Polar Plunge is confirmed for Saturday, January 30, 2027 at White Bear Lake, and registration is open now at plungemn.org; downtown White Bear Lake's annual Winterfest typically lands the first three Saturdays of December, though the 2026 dates were not yet posted as of late October; and the Forest Lake Ice Classic, the region's big ice-fishing contest benefiting veterans and local programs, typically lands the first Saturday in February, with its 2027 date still to be announced.
For the full rundown of what is happening each week, keep the events guide handy, and if you catch a perfect color weekend out on the lakes, you know what it is. That, right there, is the whole reason to live here.