If you are looking for a fall color location this week GO NOW! to Hope Valley on Hwy. 88. Several reports from the weekend are showing that this location has peaked earlier than usual.
Photographer Phil Reedy has visited this location for years and joked with former CFC editor John Poimiroo that he knew to the day when the colors would peak at the famous Red Lake Creek cabin.
It usually looks good from about October 10 to 18,” Reedy said, but when he visited on Oct. 11 this year the aspens were at peak or past peak already. “I was quite surprised at how much earlier the colors had changed than usual. I’ve been doing this same route for the past 10 years and have never seen the leaves change this early in the season.”
Color spotters Jennifer Natale and Dan Rastler agreed. Both also visited on Oct. 11 and stated that the area was at peak.
“Most of the aspens have turned with many showing without any leaves left,” Rastler said.
Reedy added that where he would usually see green aspens on the mountainside above the cabin, there are many bare trees. “On east to the Hope Valley Pasture the colors usually change later than at the cabin, but they are at peak and past peak right now. Along Woods Lake Road the colors are normally among the last to change, but this year most trees are already bare. I have a pretty set schedule every autumn for color trips all around Northern California. but it looks like I will need to move up my timetable this year.”
Reedy drove with a friend up highway 88 from Silver Lake to the Desolation Hotel Hope Valley (formerly Sorenson’s Resort). Due to the dramatic early change in this location, we are bumping this up to the Drive of the Week and emphasizing that you should GO NOW! if you want to see it this year.
Reedy describes the route as follows.
Starting at Caples Lake boat launch, the colors are great right now. Every aspen is yellow or gold, but in a week they will likely be bare. Just west at Woods Lake Road, there are a mix of yellow and bare aspens, so that is a definite go now. At Red Lake one can drive a short distance south on Forestdale Road where there are a lot of peak colors and some still not quite at peak. The groves to the north of Red Lake just east of Carson Pass are a mix of yellow and green, so they should look great next week. Down at the cabin there are still some nice orange, yellow, and red colors, but also many bare trees. Normally next weekend would be great, but probably too late this year. At the Hope Valley Pasture just east of Blue Lakes Road, there is a beautiful grove that is bright orange, but the large expanse of yellow trees I would normally expect to see are already bare. We did find that some very creative person had mounted jack-o-lanterns on the fence posts by the meadow. They definitely add some nice color. Finally, we headed down to the West Carson River across the road from the resort. There are a lot of great colors there, with many yellow and orange trees, but also many leafless trees and no green ones waiting to change. This is another ‘go now’ alert.
Rastler added that “there are nice groves on Luther pass road right now.”
Reedy recommends that color spotters start to migrate north of Lake Tahoe and work their way up to Siskiyou County over the next few weeks.
Natale added that the trail to Scott’s Lake from Big Meadow trailhead, en route to South Tahoe from Hope Valley is Near Peak (Go Now).
“Some trees at peak and losing their leaves, other aspen stands still have patchy green,” she said. “I’d say if you go in the next week, you can still catch the aspens turning on this hike with the patchy stands fully turning.”
Hope Valley – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
