September might be the most underrated month in the Twin Cities. The humidity packs up, the trees start showing off, and the calendar goes absolutely wild — fair food one week, football the next, baseball in between. If you’re wondering what the thing to do in Minneapolis is this fall, here’s the honest answer: pick a weekend and let the city do the rest.
First, finish the Great Minnesota Get-Together
The Minnesota State Fair runs Aug. 27 through Labor Day, Sept. 7, which means the first ten days of September are still fair days. Locals will tell you the back half is the sweet spot — smaller crowds midweek, cooler evenings, and every single thing still on a stick. If you’re planning your attack, we broke down tickets, Grandstand shows, and getting there from downtown in our 2026 State Fair guide.
September is football season, and downtown knows it
Gopher football at Huntington Bank Stadium
The Gophers open at home on a Thursday night — Sept. 3 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Eastern Illinois — then host Mississippi State on Sat., Sept. 12 at 2:30 p.m. and Akron on Sat., Sept. 19 at 11:00 a.m. All three are at Huntington Bank Stadium on the U of M campus. Check the official Gopher football schedule before you buy, since kickoff times can shift with TV.
The Vikings home opener vs. Green Bay
Here’s the big one. The Vikings open the 2026 regular season at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sun., Sept. 13 at 3:25 p.m. against the Green Bay Packers — the rivalry game, at home, in week one. Downtown hotels get tight for this one fast; the Vikings schedule page has tickets. Note that Sept. 12 is a genuinely stacked Saturday (Gophers at 2:30, a Twins day game, live music all over town), so if you want a room that weekend, book it now rather than in September.
Pregame plan? Our list of the best sports bars in Minneapolis is built for exactly this kind of Sunday.
Last call for baseball at Target Field
September is your final window for a Twins game outdoors. Home dates at Target Field include the Tigers Sept. 1–2, the Guardians Sept. 11–13, the Yankees Sept. 14–16, and the Rangers Sept. 25–27 — that last series closes out the home schedule. A 6:40 p.m. September game with the skyline lit up behind the outfield is one of the best cheap dates in town. Times are on the Twins schedule.
Renaissance Festival weekends (yes, still going)
The Minnesota Renaissance Festival celebrates its 55th year with weekends running Aug. 22 through Oct. 4, plus Labor Day (Sept. 7) and Festival Friday (Oct. 2), 9 a.m.–7 p.m., rain or shine. Every September weekend has a different theme, so the turkey leg you ate in August hits differently next to a Highland Fling or Oktoberfest crowd. We wrote up how to do Ren Fest as a day trip from Minneapolis if you’re coming in without a car plan.
Fall color: the quiet reason to visit in September
Late September is when the Chain of Lakes, Minnehaha Falls, and the Mississippi riverfront turn gold, and Minneapolis is one of the rare big cities where you can see all of it without leaving the city limits. Our favorite Minneapolis parks are the shortlist. If you’d rather look out a window than read a map, the narrated scenic trolley tour covers the lakes, the falls, and the historic mansion districts in one loop — and a vintage trolley with the windows open in 65-degree weather is a very good way to spend 90 minutes. Grand old houses are the other September treat; see our roundup of the best Minneapolis landmarks.
Spooky season starts earlier than you think
Minneapolis does not wait for October. By mid-September the candlelight ghost tour is running on dark, chilly evenings, which is exactly how it should be experienced. It ends at the Pillsbury Club — the haunted Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion, with a speakeasy-style bar, themed drinks, a private theater, and tours year-round. Bring someone brave. (Or don’t; that’s funnier.)
Where to sleep between all of it
For a weekend built around a game or a fall color drive, 300 Clifton — the historic Carpenter Mansion bed & breakfast in Loring Park — puts you a few minutes from U.S. Bank Stadium and Target Field, with a four-season garden hot tub that is criminally good in September and a speakeasy basement called Gertrude’s Cistern. Staying longer, or in town for work, school, or a stretch of games? Oakland’s on 9th rents furnished downtown studios by the month. Either way, our best date ideas in Minneapolis list will fill the gaps between kickoffs.
Build your September weekend
Fair food on a Thursday, a Gophers game Saturday, fall color and a trolley ride Sunday morning — that’s a September weekend in Minneapolis that no other month can copy. Book your Minneapolis Trolley tour now for the dates you want; scenic and ghost tours both fill up once the leaves turn, and private rentals are the easy answer for groups in town for a game.
Keep reading: already thinking past fall? Here is which Minneapolis neighborhoods have the best holiday lights, block by block.