These are locations in Minnesota where native plants, birds, and other wildlife can be viewed. With very few exceptions, these destinations are open to the public.

New: More than 380 videos and slide shows bring these destinations to life on your home computer or other digital device.

Visitors can share their own photos, videos, plant and wildlife sightings, and other observations.

Native, naturalized, invasive, or simply planted—any plant growing outside of cultivation in Minnesota.

More than 780 plant pages include photos, a description, a multi-sourced distribution map, and a list of sites where the plant has been sighted.

Insects and arachnids found in Minnesota.

Species pages include photos, a description, a list of sightings by MinnesotaSeasons.com, visitor sightings, and distribution maps.

Birds and bears, snakes and squirrels, toads and turtles—wildlife found in Minnesota.

Wildlife pages include photos, a description, and a list of sightings, as well as distribution maps for amphibians, mammals, and reptiles.

Lichens, mushrooms, and other fungi found in Minnesota.

Fungi and lichen pages include photos, a description, a list of sightings by MinnesotaSeasons.com, visitor sightings, and distribution maps.

The four calendar-based seasons, spring (vernal), summer (estival), fall (autumnal), and winter (hibernal), do not adequately describe the cyclical changes of weather and ecology in Minnesota. Ecologists recognize two additional seasons for temperate climate zones, pre-spring (prevernal) and late summer (serotinal).

Ecological seasons are defined by natural occurrences, not by the calendar or the position of the earth in its orbit relative to the sun. Therefore, the exact dates of each ecological season will vary by region and also by year. Minnesotans know that spring arrives earlier in the Twin Cities than in International Falls. In 2013, the vernal season arrived late after one of the snowiest Aprils on record was followed by the single greatest snowstorm ever seen in the state in May.

The hibernal ecological season corresponds to the winter calendar season. This year the winter calendar season began on Saturday, December 21, at 11:11 a.m. CST. By that time the hibernal season had been with us in metro Minnesota for more than two weeks. more…

Download free wallpapers (screen backgrounds) featuring photos taken at desitnations featured on MinnesotaSeasons.com. The wallpapers are grouped by ecological season. Each wallpaper is optimized for the twelve most often used screen resolutions in 2013 for desktops, laptops, and tablets.