Archive for category: Shasta Cascade

One of California’s great natural attractions is Burney Falls at McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, in the southern Cascades, east of Redding.

Unlike Yosemite Falls, Burney Falls runs year round, as it is fed by a river. Two, large waterfalls drop into an emerald green pool and thousands of smaller falls weep through a porous basalt cliff into the pool, creating a magical impression.

100  million gallons of water pour from the falls each day.

In autumn, black oak and bigleaf maple surround the falls which President Teddy Roosevelt described as “the eighth wonder of the world.”

Color spotter Clayton Peoples visited the park over the weekend and was “pleased to find that the black oak trees that populate the area were turning. Some of the oaks within the park were at full peak with burnt orange hues, while many others–especially those near Burney Falls–were near peak with leaves running the gamut from green to yellow to orange.”

He estimates that the foliage will continue to develop in coming weeks, though characterizes the scene as “near peak,” stating “Burney Falls is a spectacular sight in any season, but seeing it framed by fall colors is a special late-October treat.”

McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park (2,907′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!

Lassen Volcanic color spotter Shanda Ochs reports peak color at Manzanita Lake.

Ducks winging their way south are stopping at the lake, providing avian color to the willows and cottonwood near shore. Shanda says only the mountain alder are still lime.  So that means, conditions permitting, that color will continue to develop at Lassen Volcanic for the next couple of weeks.

Manzanita Lake, Lassen Volcanic NP – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

 

 

Color spotter Ruth Hartman reports that Coffee Creek in the Shasta Cascade is nearing peak with lush bigleaf maple draping back country roads with bright yellow color.

She said this past week’s rain “made all the maples turn bright yellow all at once… Dogwood are all different colors from red and green, pink, faded pink and still green.”

Jeri Rangel sent these images of dogwood and bigleaf maple peaking. Other foliage still to peak include chartreuse climbing cucumber and orange black oak.

To get to Coffee Creek, from Redding, take CA-299 west to CA-3, then north. Along the way, you’ll pass Trinity Lake, the Trinity Alps.

In the Trinity Alps — “One of the rarest and most beautiful trees on the continent, though not deciduous, is Brewer’s weeping spruce, picea breweriana, with its dark green boughs hanging in abstract, Seussian forms.”

This western side of the vast Shasta Cascade region is wild, beautiful and so lightly traveled that few photographers or leaf peepers get there.

We wrote last year, “The drive to Coffee Creek is along narrow roads that are flanked with bigleaf maple that dance and sway, littering the road with a carpet of spent leaves that swirl up in spirals as you pass.”

Ruth Hartman’s Coffee Creek dude ranch is best known for its stable of horses. There are miles of trails to ride on 367 acres of ranch property and the Trinity Wilderness area.

Coffee Creek – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!

 

 

Lorissa Soriano sends this shot of the Modoc County Courthouse with a brace of peaking color.

Lassen Volcanic National Park guide Shanda Ochs advocates that the willows around Manzanita Lake near the northwest entrance are “mostly golden, some still holding light green.”

She doesn’t expect many leaves to remain after this storm. In its defense, our experience is that leaves that have not yet turned are still sturdy enough to stay on branches, but those at peak fly away to parts unknown.

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A cottonwood beside the Ranger Station is peaking and the short walk around Manzanita Lake is not only a delight, but splattered with color there.

Our verdict? The Shasta Cascade is guilty of having fall color.

Modoc County Courthouse – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!

Lassen Volcanic National Park – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!