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If you haven’t been out yet to enjoy the leaves this year, this may very well be the last week that the color will be around until next year.

According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ fall color map, half of Freeborn County is at 50 to 75% of peak color, while the other half is at 75% to 100%. By Halloween, all of the county is expected to be past its peak.

According to the DNR, after Minnesota’s 2023 drought, this year’s rainy growing season had the potential to maximize the tree’s color production this fall.

It also stated leaves are more likely to be extra bright when the days are sunny and the nights are cool, which has been the case for this area.

Hop into the car and drive around the area or bike or walk and you can see the beauty all around us.

We’ve been collecting fall photos from readers online since the end of last week, and we encourage anyone else with a photo they’d like to share to send them our way. Photos can be sent to news@albertleatribune.com. Please include the name of the photographer in the email.

We hope to print a selection of photos in this weekend’s paper.