Anthony Occhipinti flew his drone over the Eastern Sierra and Hope Valley this autumn to capture these videos.
As of today, these areas are Past Peak, though the videos provide inspiring testimony as to what one videographer witnessed.
Past Peak – You Missed It.
Credit: Anthony Occhipinti, Coruscating Images, Sacramento
Aerial color spotter Titus Davis flew his Phantom 4 Pro drone at points between Carson and Monitor Passes (CA-88 and CA-89) to create this video.
Here’s a rundown of where he flew:
The drone provides perspectives not seen previously. Titus’ video of Silver Lake has the best closeup view we’ve seen of the copses of color on the far side of the lake, as they’re difficult to photograph other than from the water.
Similarly, while the color along the E. Fork of the Carson River can be seen from Hwys 4 and 89, only part of it is visible. Whereas the drone gives us a bird’s-eye view of the color.
The same is true of the breadth of color atop Monitor Pass, which is not really realized until seen higher than the trees, as shown by the drone.
Peter Robbins sends this impression of autumn along the West Fork of the Carson River (Hope Valley), taken on Oct. 11.
Cell phones provide the opportunity for any color spotter to capture the moment. If you have one, send a YouTube link to editor@californiafallcolor.com and we’ll post it (space permitting).
On this Thanksgiving Day, CaliforniaFallColor.com is thankful to every color spotter and photographer who contributed photographs and reports in 2016.
They include (from first turned leaf reported): LA Leaf Peeper, Darrell Sano, Alena Nicholas, Sandy Steinman, Sweetshade Lane, Chuck Eads, Josh Wray, Anirudh Natekar, Carolyn Webb, Jill Donald, Mark Finan, Eileen Javora, Don Vilfer, Greg Newbry, Jeff Simpson, Jared Smith, Krisdina Karady, Leslie Morris, Shanda Ochs, Gary Young, Dave Olden, Kimberly Kolafa, Clayton Peoples, John Caffrey, Alicia Vennos, Kimberly Wilkes, Bob Weaver, Robert Provin, Sharon Roberts, Debbi Waldear, John Natelli, Vince Piercey, Kevin Lennox, Tim Fesko, Phillip Reedy, Elliott McGucken, Becky, Scott Turner, Naresh Satyan, Max Forster, Mark DeVitre, Daniel Stas, Mike Nellor, Leor Pantilat, Kevin Rose, Julie Kirby, Gigi deJong, Michael Caffey, Abhi Bhaskaran, Andrew Zheng, Laura Zirino, Jan Davies, Jeri Rangel, Lorissa Soriano, Carol Novacek, Nancy Wright, Janet Fullwood, Jim Van Matre, Jeff Luke Titcomb, Marc Hoshovsky, Gene Miller, Raymond Pangilinan, Crys Black, Jeff Hemming, Michael Beatley, Maggie Huang, Wendy Zhou, Danny Hu, Susan Taylor, Tracy Zhou, Gabriel Leete, Frank McDonough, William Croce, Son H Nguyen, Skandar Reid, Dennis Hayes, Anson Davalos, and Ron Tyler, who produced the above video.
We’re also grateful to the many readers who posted photos and reports to our Facebook page (including: Brian Wong, Dave Butler, Pardhiv Kani, Jeff Guillory, Nancy Barron Booher, Mark Grover, Kathy Jonokuchi, Vera Fuad, Cory Poole, Sara Stillwell, Peter Stair, Front St. Media, JT Humphrey, Ray McLaughlin, Rose Comstock, Daklak Foto, Mark Spicer, Tracey Lee Brown, Joel Rathje, Connie Ostlund Varvais, Susan Walker Bell, Cristi Lanepa and Stephen Dietrich) and those who retweeted our Twitter posts (you are too numerous to name).
Special thanks are expressed to Inyo County Tourism, Bishop Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, Mono County Tourism, Mammoth Lakes Tourism, Redding Convention & Visitors Bureau, Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association, and The California Parks Company for underwriting California Fall Color, and to the many reporters and media who carried our reports and gave attention to what we have shown about California’s fall color.
This list is incomplete without mentioning Joan, my wife, who has researched plant species in reference books; driven the car, pulling it over to the shoulder at my whim, so that I could jump out to photograph a particularly beautiful location; humored my recording of color percentages, species and elevations; pointed out particularly beautiful color; and tolerated my exuberance in excitedly showing her wonderful photographs taken by contributors.
Of course, our deepest thanks go to the many tens of thousands of people who have followed CaliforniaFallColor.com here and on our Facebook and Twitter pages. You are, after all, the reason we do this.
If we missed thanking you here, please know it wasn’t intentional. CaliforniaFallColor.com is indebted to every color spotter, photographer and commenter. Thank you all.
Autumn doesn’t end on Thanksgiving Day. It continues for nearly a month longer. We’ll continue to post photos and reports as received. Though today, we begin to dial back reports, posting them less frequently. We have also stopped issuing weekly reports to California TV meteorologists, travel and outdoor writers.
So, enjoy Thanksgiving Day. See you next autumn, dude.
California (Peak 75-100%) GO NOW! – In our hearts, California is always peaking.
Bishop, Calif. shows us how artists, climbers and riders are seeing fall color this week in their backyard, Bishop Creek Canyon.
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West of Bishop, Calif., Bishop Creek Canyon rises above treeline. Autumn color is peaking there now above 9,000′.
Here’s a short video from our friends in Bishop that provides a taste of what they’re now seeing up Bishop Creek Canyon.
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Lobdell Lake (9/26/16) Mono County Tourism
“Fall colors are exploding in the higher elevations,” reports Mono County color spotter Jeff Simpson.
Parker Lake Rd. (9/27/16) Mono County Tourism
Virginia Lakes Rd. (9/26/16) Mono County Tourism
Sonora Pass (9/23/16) Mono County Tourism
Rock Creek Rd. (9/26/16) Mono County Tourism
Monitor Pass (9/22/16) Mono County Tourism
McGee Creek (9/26/16) Mono County Tourism
Lundy Canyon (9/27/16) Mono County Tourism
Lobdell Lake (9/26/16) Mono County Tourism
Green Creek (9/26/16) Mono County Tourism
Dunderberg Meadow (9/26/16) Mono County Tourism
He calls Virginia Lakes, Dunderberg Meadow Road, Lobdell Lake, and Rock Creek as being at full peak and urges, “Go Now!”
Other locations worthy of viewing this week include Sonora Pass, Green Green, and the higher elevations of Tioga Pass.
Hikers should focus their energy on the Parker Lake (Hike of the Week), Walker Lake, Laurel Canyon, Green Lake, and Rock Creek trailheads. For fabulous fly fishing, head to Little Walker Lake.
Areas like Lundy Canyon, Convict Lake, and the June Lake Loop are just starting to show color and will be ready soon.
If you have not begun planning a fall color trip, do so now, as the Eastern Sierra will have rolling peaks for at least the coming three weeks, at varying elevations. CLICK HERE to read Mono County’s detailed report.
Lobdell Lake (9,200′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – Colors are absolutely stunning along the road to Lobdell Lake off Burcham Flat Road.
Virginia Lakes (9,770′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – Colors are at full peak along Virginia Lakes Road and around Virginia Lakes. Take the Dunderberg Meadow Road towards Green Creek for wonderful red groves in Cinnamon Meadow. Swing by the Virginia Lakes Resort for breakfast or lunch before they close on October 11th.
Upper Rock Creek (10,300′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – These high elevation areas are exploding with brilliant yellows and a few oranges. Swing by Rock Creek Lake Resort for breakfast or lunch after you enjoy the colorful drive.
Sonora Pass (9,623′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW! – A mix of colors depending on elevation and location. A full peak near the top of Sonora Pass while still very patchy around Leavitt Meadows.
Green Creek (7,500′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW! – The hike to Green Lake is at full peak while colors around the campground and along Green Creek Road are patchy.
Tioga Pass (9,943′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW! – The upper elevations around Tioga Lake, Ellery Lake and Saddlebag Lake are in prime viewing condition.
Parker Lake (8,313′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW! – HIKE OF THE WEEK – The next 10 days are going to be brilliant at Parker Lake. Take the Parker Bench Trail (7,772′) from Silver Lake Resort for a more difficult but worthy fall color experience. The lake is overshadowed by 12,000′ peaks of the Sierra Crest.
Little Walker Lake – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW! – Just starting to turn yellow with patchy lime greens around the lake. Carry a fly rod, barbless flies and a license for catch-and-release ecstasy fishing for bows, brookies, kamloops and browns.
Laurel Canyon (8,500′) -Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW! – If you’re looking for fall color that’s off-the-beaten-path, Josh Wray of Mammoth Lakes recommends nearby Laurel Canyon. Unlike many of the Eastern Sierra’s color hotspots, Laurel Canyon’s aspen grove cannot be driven to on a paved road. Instead, the only ways to get there are by a hardy, high-clearance 4WD vehicle, by horse or by hiking. To get to the best views, you’ll take an at-times steep, narrow, winding road of gravel, dirt and small rocks. As seen in the following video, Josh chose to get to the groves by walking Laurel Canyon’s beautiful, winding road. Midway up the trail is where the most-vibrant fall colors can be seen. Only patchy color is found in the upper and lower areas. Laurel Canyon should show bright color for another two weeks. Now, sit back and enjoy Josh’s video stroll through Laurel Creek’s aspen.
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Patchy (10 – 50%) – Conway Summit, Green Creek Rd., Lundy Lake and Canyon, Summer’s Meadow, Mammoth Lakes Basin, Mammoth Creek Rd., Convict Lake and Canyon, McGee Creek
Just Starting (0-10%) – Walker Canyon, Towns of Walker/Coleville, Twin Lakes, June Lake Loop, Convict Lake Resort/Campground, Crowley Lake, Lower Rock Creek.
Upcoming events:
DNews offers its view of what’s happening to fall color, because of climate change. Will it mean that pumpkin spice lattes will be a summer drink, in the future?
DNews reports that as a result of global warming, hardwood forests are moving north at a pace of 6.25 feet a year. That means that in only 1.4 million years, there’ll be no fall color maples and birch left to see in the contiguous 48 U.S. states!
Learn all of DNews’ horrifying predictions by viewing this video:
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William Croce sends this “classical” look at quaking aspen changing color in Bishop Creek Canyon (Eastern Sierra) in early October. Of note, frames include images of black-leaf-spot-damaged aspen leaves and leaves that show all colors seen among California aspen: red, orange, yellow and lime. Enjoy!
Remembering Lake Sabrina at Peak (10/1/14) Jared Smith
June Lake (9/28/14) Nicholas Barnhart
North Lake Road (10/1/14) Jared Smith
Lundy Canyon (9/28/14) Alicia Vennos
Aspen, Kirkwood Lake Rd (10/5/14) John Poimiroo
Fremont Cottonwood (10/5/14) Nick Barnhart
Conway Summit (10/11/14) Susan Holt
Aspendell (10/16/14) Steve Wolfe.
40th Ave., Sacramento (10/25/14) John Poimiroo
The Redwood Highway (10/26/14) Walter Gabler
Methodist Church, Quincy (10/28/14) Mike Nellor
Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Mt Shasta (11/4/14) Cory Poole
Napa Valley (11/6/14) Marc Hoshovsky
Bigleaf maple (11/11/14) Alena Barnhart
Valyermo (11/16/14) Frank McDonough
Lake Silverwood (11/16/14) Nicholas Barnhart
Cook’s Meadow, Yosemite NP (11/23/14) Susan Taylor
Autumn 2014 didn’t live up to its predictions.
Back in August, when leaves first began to turn, some forecast that California’s third year of drought would diminish the show of fall color.
Instead, as Jared Smith’s photograph of Lake Sabrina shows, it was spectacular.
Here’s how autumn shaped up:
So, 2014 was not the earliest of shows, but it defied early critics and became remarkable for its long-lasting and breathtaking color. If the third year of record drought in California had any effect, it was to stress trees in specific and limited areas, resulting in drier leaves that dropped more quickly, but that was an exception.
The drought’s dry weather continued through autumn, meaning that California had mostly clear, sunny days and cold nights, with little wind or precipitation. Those were ideal conditions for development of great fall color.
Look back through our archives and you’ll see why CaliforniaFallColor.com claims California to have the longest-lasting, most diverse and most spectacular autumn in America. No other area of the country compares.
The photographs submitted by amateur and professional photographers support that claim. If you happen to like a particular photograph you’ve seen on this website, look for the photographer’s link at left or Google them. Many sell their photographs.
Today, although autumn continues until Dec. 21, CaliforniaFallColor.com pulls back its reporting. We stop sending weekly updates and photographs to California meteorologists, travel and outdoor writers, because we’ve learned, over the years, that even though autumn continues for several more weeks, public interest in autumn wanes after Thanksgiving Day.
Nevertheless, if you happen to see some beautiful fall color, send a photo to us at editor(at)californiafallcolor.com or post it on our FB page.
There is still a lot of beautiful fall color to be seen in San Francisco, down the San Francisco Peninsula, in the South and East Bay, in California’s vineyards, in the historic mining towns of the Gold Country, in the Central Valley, throughout Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, and in the Deserts.
Fall color will continue to warm the landscape and our hearts well into December.