Color spotter Cory Poole was out and about the Upper Sacramento River, finding color mostly past peak, though he took this amazing nighttime exposure of fall color and a swirling universe at the confluence of Castle Creek and the Upper Sacramento River.
Toyon (11/15/14) Sandy Steinman
Lichens (11/15/14) Sandy Steinman
Oak Gall (11/15/14) Sandy Steinman
Acorn Woodpecker (11/15/14) Sandy Steinman
California Buckeye (11/15/14) Sandy Steinman
A weathered fence dressed in lichens (11/15/14) Sandy Steinman
Bigleaf Maple (11/15/14) Sandy Steinman
Beyond the vineyards, “up the hills west of Hwy 29,” Sandy Steinman writes in his blog, the Napa Valley has “quiet twisty roads” that go through the forest. In these hilly residential areas above the valley, there’s lots of fall color to be seen. Below, some vineyards are “showing a lot of color’ while others are past peak.
One of California’s signature fall color trees, the yellow bigleaf maple, provides the predominant color, though also seen are “Spice Bush, Oregon Ash, Willows, Walnut and Oaks. Toyon (often called Christmas berry or California holly) is showing off its bright red berries.” Less colorful but interesting – he notes – are California Buckeye that have lost their leaves, but whose branches are heavy with fruit. Flitting among the trees, Steinman reports, are colorful “Acorn Woodpeckers and Stellar Jays, who were out in number along with Golden-crowned Sparrows, Turkey Vultures and Ravens.”
Often overlooked for their color are silver Lichens which hang down from trees and cover fences with moody foliage.
Napa Valley (Peak 75-100%) – Steinman recommends these roads to see Napa’s backstage fall show: Redwood Road, Mt, Veeder Road and Dry Creek. He writes, they make a nice loop, though not for much longer, as peak is about over. GO NOW!
Chinaberry, LA County Arboretum & Botanic Gardens (11/13/14) Frank McDonough
Southern California is not often thought of as having much fall color, though its mountains have a reasonably long show, its urban forests can have beautiful color (when the Santa Anas don’t blow) and each year we can count on the LA County Arboretum & Botanic Garden to be the final celebrity to walk autumn’s red carpet.
In the mountains, color is now past peak in the Angeles National Forest, north of Los Angeles, though the San Bernardino National Forest, north of San Bernardino, still has nice pockets of peak color at lower elevations such as surrounding Lake Gregory. The San Jacinto Mountains near Mountain Center are peaking and the Mt. Laguna, Mt. Palomar and Julian areas vary from peak to past peak.
Color spotter Frank McDonough of the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Garden is California Fall Color’s end-of-season reporter, the counter to Jared Smith’s early announcements from the Eastern Sierra. Frank notes that “All around the Arboretum fall color is starting to subtly appear. The first yellowing signs of color are showing up on California grapes, Crepe myrtles and many others.
Eastern Redbud, Cercis Canadensis (11/13/14) Frank McDonough
Sour Gum, Nyssa sylvatica (11/13/14) Frank McDonough
Pin oak, Quercus palustrus (11/13/14) Frank McDonough
Jerusalem Thorn, Parkinsonia aculeata (11/13/14) Frank McDonough
Autumn Blaze Maple, Acer xfreemanii (11/13/14) Frank McDonough
“Some trees, like Nyssa (the Tupelo) and certain maples are at their peak while most like Ginkgo biloba and the Pin oak are about halfway to brilliance.”
He wonders if this year “will be a ‘great one’? Hard to tell. Some conditions like low nighttime temperatures and high daytime temperatures have been present but others, especially moisture, have not.”
This autumn occurs in the third year of a major drought. So, such observations have been stated by others who noted drier leaves and short-lived color in specific areas. Though overall (look back at this autumn’s photos for confirmation), the color has been bright and long-lasting.
Drought seems not to have significantly diminished the show. 2014 compares well to other years for the brilliance and duration of California’s fall color.
LA County Arboretum & Botanic Gardens (Near Peak 50-75%) – Frank’s report indicates it’s time to explore our state’s urban forests and arboretums. At the LA County Arboretum & Botanic Gardens, sour gum, chinaberry, Jerusalem thorn, eastern redbud and maples are filling with yellow, golden, orange and crimson color. GO NOW!
Empire Mine SHP (11/12/14) Barbara Matthews
Color spotter Barbara Matthews noted on our Facebook page that she took a walk in the woods at Empire Mine State Historic Park, providing this panoramic montage of its trails littered with spent bigleaf maple leaves, inspiring us to name it hike of the week. Way to go, Barbara!
Napa Valley (11/9/14) Susan Taylor
Napa Valley (11/8/14) Susan Taylor
Napa Valley (Peak 75-100%) – Reports from the Napa Valley have been that this has been one of the most gorgeous autumns in years. Susan Taylor’s striking photos from this past weekend show what’s happening. GO NOW!
Washington Thorn (11/10/14) Doug Wildman
When Ben Carlson of San Francisco’s Friends of the Urban Forest asked colleagues what fall color they were seeing in The City, he said they responded, “Not much – San Francisco is always late.”
True. SF peaks from now through Thanksgiving Day, though notable exceptions are the bright yellow of exotic Ginkgos (Ginkgo biloba and American Sweet Gums (Liquidambar styracifluas). Then, Doug Wildman, FUF’s program director, mentioned to Carlson that Washington Thorns (Crataegus phaenopyrums) are showing fall color and red berries throughout San Francisco. He sent these photos of a tree that FUF planted in 1999.
San Francisco (Patchy 10-50%) – The City should be peaking over the next three weeks. It’s now patchy, though SF’s fall color should move to near peak between this weekend and Thanksgiving Day. Beautiful color is seen throughout the city’s neighborhoods, though is best in Golden Gate Park at the Arboretum and Japanese Tea Garden, where it is peaking now.
Bigleaf maple, Castle Crags State Park (11/8/14) Jill Dinsmore
This will likely be the last week to see peak color in Plumas, Lassen and Siskiyou counties in the Shasta Cascade region of northeast California. Many of their trees are now losing leaves, though beautiful color can still be found in spots. While these higher elevation areas are moving past peak, all lower elevation areas near the Trinity, Feather and Sacramento Rivers in the Shasta Cascade are now peaking. They will likely carry full peak through next week. Here’s the lowdown:
CSU Chico (11/7/14) Barbara Pozek
Butte County (Peak 75%-100%) As reported earlier this week, Esplanade Blvd. in downtown Chico is glorious. A canopy of fully peaked towering trees overhangs the broad boulevard. Bidwell Park and the CSU Chico campus are now painted with auburn, crimson, purple, yellow, gold and orange. Exotic plants are showing brilliant color. GO NOW!
Red Bluff (11/9/14) Brittany Pozek
Tehama County (Peak 75-100%) Tehama County, at the north end of the Sacramento Valley, is now peaking. The best color is found beside the Sacramento River at William P. Ide Adobe State Park, the Red Bluff Recreation Area off Sale Lane, Red Bluff River Park downtown and northeast of Red Bluff where Jellys Ferry Rd crosses the river. In Red Bluff, there is lots of color on Main Street, with contrasts of historic architecture framed by trees. GO NOW!
Anderson River Park (11/9/14) Gabriel Leete
Shasta County (Peak 75%-100%) Towering cottonwood and other riparian trees at Turtle Bay Exploration Park, the McConnell Arboretum and Botanical Garden, at Sundial Bridge and along the Sacramento River Trail are peaking. Anderson River Park in Anderson has a beautiful blend of red, yellow, soft green, and orange, all on one tree. Cottonwood along the river are now losing leaves. GO NOW!
Trinity County (Peak 75%-100%) On Hwy 299 from Redding west to Fortuna motorists pass pockets of golden cottonwood, yellow bigleaf maple and chartreuse wild cucumber, all accented with spots of crimson beside the Trinity River. Weaverville is a must stop on a fall excursion along this route is visiting the interior of Joss House State Historic Park, an elaborately sculpted Chinese temple, with its red and gold carved altar. GO NOW!
Interstate 5, Shasta County (11/8/14) Jill Dinsmore
Modoc County (Peak 75%-100%) Modoc National Forest is at peak with an abundant display of fall color. GO NOW!
Siskiyou County (Peak to Past Peak) Fall is fading fast in Siskiyou County. In the town of Mt. Shasta, many planted trees have peaked and are now losing leaves. Snow-covered Mt. Shasta provides a dramatic backdrop to the remaining color, though it lacks the luster of the photos taken last week by Cory Poole. GO NOW!
Plumas County (Peak to Past Peak) Plumas County was the first part of the Shasta Cascade to peak and color spotter Karen Moritz there says Plumas is “definitely past peak” though color can still be found in the Feather River Canyon and around Greenville. GO NOW!
Lassen County (11/8/14) Joel Rathje
Lassen County (Peak to Past Peak) Similar to Siskiyou and Plumas, Lassen County is now past peak, though some areas are still lovely as seen in this photo of a boy taken by Joel Rathje. GO NOW!
Sentinel Bridge (11/11/14) Nicholas Barnhart
Bigleaf maple (11/11/14) Alena Barnhart
Fern Spring (11/11/14) Nicholas Barnhart
North Side Drive (11/11/14) Alena Barnhart
Merced River (11/11/14) Nicholas Barnhart
Mule Deer (11/11/14) Nicholas Barnhart
Coyote, Merced River (11/11/14) Alena Barnhart
Big Oak Flat Road, Yosemite NP (11/9/14) Anson Davalos
Yosemite Chapel (11/11/14) Alena Barnhart
Black Oak (11/11/14) Nicholas Barnhart
El Capitan (11/11/14) Nicholas Barnhart
San Bernardino Mountain color spotters Nick and Alena Barnhart headed north to Yosemite this past weekend and found the Valley at full peak.
From the Yosemite Chapel shot, it’s easy to see that Yosemite’s trees have been dropping their leaves for a couple of weeks. Nick delayed his trip a week with hopes rain would occur and the waterfalls would be flowing again.
However, very little rain or snow has yet reached the high country, keeping the waterfalls nearly dry.
Nick said the leaves were showering the valley floor as they departed (note to self: recruit more spotters to check out Yosemite Valley in late October each year), though he imagines the color will continue for another week and will probably be near past peak by Thanksgiving Day. It is surprising to me that we don’t receive more photo submissions from Yosemite, considering it’s probably the most photographed location in California.
Presently, fall color is mostly limited to Yosemite Valley, though Wawona also has good color and areas opened up by wildfires in the past 25 years have become repopulated with colorful bigleaf maple, black oak, dogwood and shrubbery.
Temperatures have chilled significantly across the Sierra Nevada this past week. Considering we’ve had clear skies, that would normally lead to more intense color, but in Yosemite’s case the color is unlikely to improve, as the trees have already peaked.
One special aspect of autumn in the national park is wildlife photography. As leaves drop, the forest opens up leaving the wildlife little to hide behind. Also, they’re often backgrounded by warm color, as seen in Nick’s shot of the mule deer.
The animals most easily photographed are bear, mule deer, coyotes, bobcats, ground squirrels and birds. The deer and coyotes are particularly visible and mostly ignore people.
Santa Clara Valley (most of you know it as Silicon Valley) color spotter Anson Davalos provides a view of the Big Oak Flat Road (North Entrance – Hwy 120) as it descends toward Yosemite Valley above Foresta. This area was grey with cinder and ash following the park’s 1989 fire.
Today, young aspen, dogwood and oaks now paint the hillside with yellow, rose and orange fall color. Given the present beauty of this area, it should improve to being one of the most spectacular displays of fall color in the national park in coming years.
Yosemite National Park (Peak 75-100%) – All areas in the national park are at peak or past peak. Yosemite Valley and Wawona have a week, perhaps two (depending on wind) of peak color left to go. GO NOW!
Monarch Butterflies, Natural Bridges State Park (11/10/14) Cory Poole
Color spotter Cory Poole made an incredible road trip this past weekend, stopping at points all around the San Fancisco and Monterey Bay areas, reporting that he didn’t get into the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park but that a peek over the fence had it peaking. C’mon Cory, you mean to tell us you toured the rainforest exhibit at the Academy of Sciences instead!? Can’t blame you.
Still, he did send this shot of monarch butterflies wintering on eucalyptus trees at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz. We often make a trip to that great park and also to Lighthouse Point in Santa Cruz where the monarchs are seen now through early December.
Wildlife viewing is a legitimate aspect of California Fall Color (look for our next post on Yosemite) and the return of the monarchs is special. The butterflies cluster on the branches, close to one another to avoid the cold, but when the sun is clear and shining on them, they spread their wings and flutter about, often landing on you. Definitely a must do for fall color spotters.
To read previous posts about the monarchs and where they can be seen, search “Monarch” or CLICK HERE.
In other news from Santa Cruz County, color spotter Nicole Coburn reports from Soquel that the Summit Road which runs from the summit of Hwy 17 down to Soquel is peaking with canopies of bright yellow bigleaf maple overhanging the road.
Monarch Butterflies (Peak 75-100%) – The monarch butterflies have returned to Natural Bridges State Park and other nesting areas along the California Coast. To attract monarchs to your backyard, plant milkweed this coming year. Read Cory’s comment, below, for an absolutely vivid description of the experience of standing amidst thousands of swirling butterflies being attacked by a corvid. GO NOW!
Summit Road (Peak 75-100%) – Summit Road is canopied with yellow bigleaf maple. GO NOW!
Esplanade Blvd, Chico (11/8/14) John Poimiroo
We drove north in search of fall color on Saturday, traveling from Auburn to Lincoln, then north to Yuba City and on to Chico and Vina. This route skirts the northern goldfields of the northern Sierra foothills, passing through trim and tiny farming communities known for their walnuts, prunes, olives, almonds, rice, kiwifruit and grapes.
Fall color is best seen in the walnut orchards, streams and towns the along the route. The walnut groves are mostly patchy, though close to being near peak. Riparian cottonwood are at peak or past peak, while the tall shade trees planted in the towns are peaking.
The brightest fall color to be seen along the route is in residential areas of Auburn and Chico.
Auburn (Peak – 75-100%) – Beautiful fall color is seen throughout Auburn’s neighborhoods, as exotic trees are at full peak. GO NOW!
Abbey of New Clairvaux, Vina (11/8/14) John Poimiroo
Highways 65, 70 and 99 North (Near Peak – 50-75%) – Towering shade trees on the highways leading to and within the farm communities of Wheatland, Olivehurst, Live Oak, Gridley and Vina are near peak. Walnut orchards along the highway are patchy. Riparian cottonwood have peaked or are past peak. GO NOW!
Chico (Peak – 75-100%) – Downtown Chico and Bidwell park are at full peak with towering shade trees full of yellow, gold, red, auburn and orange color. Esplanade north of CSU Chico has a beautiful canopy of color. GO NOW!
[weatherlayer country=”United States” city=”Chico”]