When do the leaves change in Saskatchewan & Manitoba?

Aspen parkland and boreal forest turn the prairie provinces gold, with Riding Mountain and Prince Albert National Parks anchoring the season's color.

Autumn foliage at A Maze in Corn
📍 A Maze in Corn, Saskatchewan & Manitoba· Photo: Robert Linsdell from St. Andrews / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
2026 Forecast333 weather anchors

Peak: October 4–October 8

Color builds from September 21 · mostly bare by October 25

Color starts: September 21Peak: October 6Bare: October 25AugustDecember

Method: daily ERA5 temperatures (Open-Meteo) drive a photoperiod + chilling phenology model; terrain shifts timing ~1 day earlier per 300 m of elevation. Temperature alone can’t tell a maritime autumn from a continental one — two places at the same latitude and the same September can peak weeks apart, because the trees differ — so each region is also calibrated against published peak dates. Estimates, not promises: typically within a few days, occasionally a week or more out. Check locally before you travel.

Known for

  • Riding Mountain National Park
  • Prince Albert National Park
  • Aspen parkland

Things to do in fall in Saskatchewan & Manitoba

8 iconic stops — scenic drives, farms, haunts, and the views locals plan their October around.

Riding Mountain National Park

National park

Typically September 24September 30

An island of forest rising nearly 1,500 feet above the Manitoba wheat fields around it, where aspen parkland grades into boreal spruce and birch. The floating boardwalk across Ominik Marsh and the drive out to the bison paddock at Lake Audy both cross open aspen stands that turn gold by late September, with tamarack adding a last flush of yellow into early October.

Don’t miss: Ominik Marsh boardwalk · Bison paddock at Lake Audy · Escarpment views above the prairie

Prince Albert National Park

National park

Typically September 15October 5

A million acres where prairie fescue grassland gives way to aspen forest and then true boreal spruce and jack pine farther north. Highway 263, a single-lane gravel road, crosses this transition for 63 kilometers past the Kinowa Lake bridge and the Spruce River, and the 8.5-kilometer Spruce River Highlands Trail loops above the valley through birch and aspen that turn gold by mid-September.

Don’t miss: Highway 263 through the transition zone · Spruce River Highlands Trail · Waskesiu Lake

Duck Mountain Provincial Park

State park

Peak October 6 2026 forecast

Manitoba's highest ground, cresting at Baldy Mountain (2,726 feet), carries white spruce, jack pine, and quaking aspen across rolling hills pocked with ponds and creek channels. The road toward the summit clears the canopy partway up for a wide view over the aspen forest below, gold by late September while the spruce and jack pine hold their color underneath.

Don’t miss: Baldy Mountain, Manitoba's highest point · Aspen and spruce mix · Rolling pond-studded terrain

A Maze in Corn

Corn maze

Dates TBA Color nearby peaks October 10 2026 forecast

A corn maze in St. Adolphe, just south of Winnipeg, with a giant bale pyramid, a petting zoo and open country views across the fields. It reopens in mid-August for a sunflower expo before the maze itself takes over through the fall.

Don’t miss: Corn maze and giant bale pyramid · Petting zoo · Pony rides on weekends in season

The Shock House

Haunted attraction

Dates TBA Color nearby peaks October 8 2026 forecast

A haunted attraction on Broad Street in Regina, one of the longer-running names among Saskatchewan's Halloween haunts. Expect an indoor walk-through built for scares, a straightforward city-based alternative to a farm-field maze.

Don’t miss: Indoor walk-through haunted house · Broad Street, Regina · Long-running Saskatchewan haunt

Roland Pumpkin Fair

Fall festival

Dates TBA Color nearby peaks October 11 2026 forecast

A small Manitoba village ninety kilometers southwest of Winnipeg goes all in on giant pumpkins each October, with a weigh-off, a pumpkin smash, a pancake breakfast and a harvest supper. It has the feel of a community potluck built around vegetables the size of armchairs.

Don’t miss: Giant pumpkin weigh-off · Pumpkin smash and pancake breakfast · Community harvest supper

Prairie Pathways, Little Maze on the Prairie

Corn maze

Dates TBA Color nearby peaks October 8 2026 forecast

South of downtown Saskatoon along the river valley, this reworked strawberry farm turns into a ten-acre corn maze each fall, with trivia checkpoints tied to a new theme every year and a u-pick pumpkin patch called Harvest Hollow, stocked with roughly 21,000 pumpkins and squash.

Don’t miss: 10-acre themed corn maze with trivia stations · Harvest Hollow u-pick pumpkin patch · Open Friday through Sunday in fall

Deer Meadow Farms

Pumpkin patch

Dates TBA Color nearby peaks October 10 2026 forecast

Just north of Winnipeg's Perimeter Highway toward Bird's Hill Park, this hobby farm runs a corn maze and pumpkin patch through fall, plus a wagon-train ride through its small deer preserve. Late October adds Storybook Lane and the Forbidden Forest haunted hayride for a milder scare.

Don’t miss: Corn maze and pick-your-own pumpkin patch · Wagon-train ride through a deer preserve · Forbidden Forest haunted hayride in late October

Frequently asked

When do leaves peak in Saskatchewan & Manitoba in 2026?
Peak color is predicted for October 4–October 8 (best estimate October 6). Color starts around September 21 and trees are mostly bare by October 25.
How reliable is the Saskatchewan & Manitoba forecast?
The forecast blends recent-year weather normals with photoperiod and elevation; it tightens as the season approaches. Against published peak dates the model lands within a few days for most regions, but it can be a week or more out — mountains and coastlines are the hardest. Higher elevations turn roughly one day earlier per 300 m.
When is Saskatchewan & Manitoba's autumn season?
Saskatchewan & Manitoba colors during autumn (September–November). Aspen parkland and boreal forest turn the prairie provinces gold, with Riding Mountain and Prince Albert National Parks anchoring the season's color.
What are the best things to do in fall in Saskatchewan & Manitoba?
The iconic stops: Riding Mountain National Park, Prince Albert National Park, Duck Mountain Provincial Park, A Maze in Corn, The Shock House, Roland Pumpkin Fair. Every one is mapped on this page with its peak-color timing.
What are the best things to do in autumn in Saskatchewan & Manitoba?
Autumn — autumn (September–November) — is peak season here. Pair the color with Riding Mountain National Park, Prince Albert National Park, Duck Mountain Provincial Park, A Maze in Corn, The Shock House; each is on the map above with the window to catch it.

Nearby & similar

Season by season

2025 (observed)

Peak September 19–October 11

September 15October 18

How the 2025 season went →

2026 (forecast)

Peak October 4–October 8

September 21October 25