Peak Arrives at Bishop Creek

GO NOW! Fall color has peaked suddenly after a week’s delay at the highest elevations of Bishop Creek.

Several prime locations up Bishop Creek Canyon are at Peak, including Lake Sabrina, the Groves above Cardinal Village, Table Mountain, Surveyor’s Meadow,

Bishop Canyon Color Spotter par excellence, Jared Smith reports “Things are really lighting up all over the canyon and the difference from just one week ago is remarkable.”

He continued, “We seem to have weathered the weekend storm quite well all things considered. The impact of the extremely high winds was pretty minimal in my opinion, and while the temps did drop into the low 20s up high in the canyon, I didn’t see much evidence of burnt leaves, at least not today.”

“Aspen don’t all pop at once so we have plenty of color left to go and I’m quite excited for the next couple weeks to see how things continue to develop and to see how long the existing color sticks around.”

Gauging color anywhere in California is a matter of subjectivity, even with so experienced a spotter as Jared, though he says, “I’ll do my best to give you my appraisal of how the color looks today. As always, there is no promise of how it will look tomorrow, next week or next month.”

Due to the late start of fall color in Bishop Creek Canyon, Parchers Resort has extended its season an additional weekend to Oct. 19. The resort will have its cabins, RV sites and boat rentals available and invites all canyon visitors to its Fall Color Brunch on October 5 and 6. For details and reservations, call 760-873-4177.

Here’s Jared’s report:

Bishop Creek Canyon Summaries

• Above 8,500′ – Peak (75%-100%) GO NOW! – Patchy color exploded into gorgeous fall color increasing in brilliance day by day, this past week. It was very difficult to summarize upper elevations of the canyon into one rating, but would consider them, especially anywhere over 9,000′, just barely at Peak. Considering that Peak starts at 75%, we’re at 76%, though it really could go either way. There is too much green in too many places to consider this the apex of the season; but too much color peaking in too many places not to consider it in the peak color zone.
• Below 8,500′ – Patchy (10-50%) – Plenty of yellow is going off in patches all over the canyon, especially above 8,000′. None of the lower locations have been overtaken by yellow, but it’s showing among a sea of green. Having seen the rapid onset of color over the past week, I estimate Near Peak color in several locations by the end of the week. Some of these lower elevation locations can be spectacular, which bodes well for canyon visitors who can’t make it up until mid October or even later.

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South Fork Bishop Creek

• Weir Pond (9,650′) – Near Peak (50% – 75%) GO NOW! – The scrub aspen above the Weir look to me to be the worst hit by the wind, although it’s difficult to tell what was blown off versus what hasn’t turned. There is certainly enough green to leave some promise for better views ahead, and there is enough yellow now to make it a great spot to visit.
• Parchers Resort (9,260′) – Near Peak (50% – 75%) GO NOW! – I think the views from the resort grounds and views of the hillside above Parchers as seen from Willow Camp are about two-thirds of the way there. Looking up towards the Brown Lake basin there is a tremendous amount of color while looking down canyon leaves you with more green in view. Since this is literally my backyard, I really hope the temps don’t plummet too low over the next couple days so I’m greeted each morning with bright yellow and orange for the next few weeks.
• Willow Campground (9,000′) – Patchy (10% – 50%) – There is some peak color within the campground itself, but along the road there is a mix of yellow among mostly green aspen. This area typically gets beaten up by the wind but it looked pretty good both this morning and this afternoon so there is hope that this area will get to its full fall color potential in the coming weeks.
• Surveyors Meadow (8,975′) – Peak (75%-100%) GO NOW! – This area along South Lake Road shoots great all day as the color blankets the canyon walls all around you, especially to the west and south of the road. There is some orange, red and rose hues along the creek on the upper end of the meadow, and yellow splashing all over the place. There is plenty of green in the mix which bodes well for the next couple weeks barring inclement weather.
• Table Mountain Camp (8,900′) – Peak (75%-100%) GO NOW! – This area still has some green, but the rosy hues and brilliant yellow definitely put it just barely in the peak zone. These groves really jump out at you as you wind your way up South Lake Road. They are easily photographed from the road, but please be super careful as there are blind corners here and very few turnouts. No fall color shot is worth dying, and an accident – pedestrian or automobile, no matter how minor – will ruin your trip.
• Mist Falls and the groves above Bishop Creek Lodge (8,350′) – Patchy (10% – 50%) – Some gorgeous yellow has developed and it’s clear that the dark greens are giving way to lime greens, but we’re still a ways off here. There are some bright yellow patches up canyon from the waterfall near Mt. Glen campground, but these patches are still surrounded by green groves.
• Four Jeffries (8,000′) – Just Starting – GO NOW! – More and more yellow aspens along South Lake road with a few orange branches here and there. Still mostly green though along the South Fork of Bishop Creek. 

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Middle Fork Bishop Creek

• Lake Sabrina (9,150′) – Peak (75%-100%) GO NOW! – There is too much green for me to consider Sabrina peak in comparison with what I’ve seen in years past, but there is a a whole lot of color, especially on the east shore where red patches give the appearance that the lake is on fire in places. I think we’re just on the edge of the peak zone and I’m hoping/expecting it to get even more spectacular, weather permitting of course.
• Sabrina Campground to Sabrina Dam (9,000′) – Peak (75%-100%) GO NOW! – This area was especially hard to grade since Peak color is stunning along Hwy 168 near the entrance to the campground, but green & light yellow dominates between the big bridge and the dam. Having said that, it’s just too gorgeous not to go now. Red, orange and gold are the primary hues on the aspen not only along the highway but also within the campground and along the stream. This area cannot be missed when driving up the middle fork of the Bishop Creek Canyon. This almost makes my peak rating due to the area by Sabrina campground being just off the charts awesome. Because of the variance between peak color areas and green areas, this may remain at a peak rating longer than anywhere in the canyon as the peak color works its way up from the campground to the lake.
• Groves above Cardinal Village (8,550′) – Peak (75%-100%) GO NOW! – This view, at least to me, is stealing the show on the middle fork of Bishop Creek, right now. Lots of yellow and even a little bit of rose has consumed the shrubs from Cardinal Peak all the way down to the creekside groves adjacent to the old Cardinal Mine. With the Sierra crest as your backdrop, it’s hard to beat the view. There are some big turnouts here making for easy access for shutterbugs.
• Aspendell (8,400′) – Patchy (10% – 50%) – Still a ways to go as far as color here. Much lighter than last week with patchy yellow making an appearance.

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North Fork Bishop Creek

• North Lake (9,255′) – Near Peak (50% – 75%) GO NOW! – Lots of color has developed here over the past week. The approach to the lake is pretty much full peak with lots of yellow and orange with a touch of red here and there. Once you get to the lake however, it’s more of a mix of yellow and green. The groves that wind up the ravine on the west side of the lake has some orange and brilliant yellow rising like fire above the green shoreline of the lake. A nice patch of aspen near the main parking area is ahead of the game with red & orange. The road along and around the lake is still mostly green with some yellow showing. I’m expecting some spectacular views over the course of the next few weeks provided the weather plays ball.