Less To Cheer About
Color spotters may have less to cheer about Sunday afternoon, should strong winds (20 – 30 mph) blow across the High Sierra and Cascades, as now predicted.
Locations shown in this article were photographed within the past week. Today (Fri., Oct. 26), tomorrow (Sat., Oct 27) and Sunday morning (Oct. 28) may be the last days to raise your arms in celebration at these locations, if it is windy on Sunday afternoon.
So, if you wanted to see peak color this autumn at Mono County, Lake Tahoe or Plumas County, change your plans and GO NOW!
In anticipation of changing peak areas, we’ve shifted the weather forecast on this site from Mammoth Lakes to Quincy. When judging weather (temp., precip., wind), please keep this in mind.
Should high winds arrive Sunday afternoon, peaked leaves will be stripped quickly from the trees and the peak color you see in these photos will be gone.
That does not mean, however, that California’s autumn show will end.
Trees still carrying green, lime or freshly yellow leaves will not lose many from the wind. And, areas not yet at Peak will continue to develop fall color. They include the: Western Sierra (Yosemite NP, Sequoia NP, Kings Canyon NP, Calaveras Big Trees SP) , Southern California mountains, Trinity County, North Coast, Gold Country, all wine country regions, Central Valley orchards and California’s urban forests.
Nevertheless, if you want to see June Lake, Lake Tahoe, or Plumas County this autumn, get there before Sunday afternoon. Any later and we may be reporting, YOU MISSED IT!
Shasta Reflections
Few color spotters explore Shasta County, as it has a fairly narrow window of color due to similar elevations. It’s also a long drive for many, though worth it, if only to visit McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park.
President Theodore Roosevelt called Burney Falls in the park, “The eighth wonder of the world.” It’s a spring-fed waterfall whose stream both falls from above and pours through thousands of openings in its porous volcanic basalt rock cliff.
Emerald green moss on the cliff is framed by orange-yellow black oak and yellow bigleaf maple. The scene is a fantasy setting.
Ravi Ranganathan was there on Saturday. He also visited Lake Siskyou and scored First Reports for Britton Lake and the Upper McCloud River.
All are Near Peak, so there’s time to plan a trip to the Shasta County, which will be at peak for the next week and a half.
- McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, Burney (2,783′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
- Lake Britton, Burney (2,717′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
- Lake Siskyou, Mt Shasta (3,185′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
Coffee Creek Perks
Trinity County’s Coffee Creek is beginning to perk with pink Pacific dogwood, yellow bigleaf maple and orange-red Indian rhubarb peaking concurrently.
In other parts of California, dogwood and Indian rhubarb have peaked, but at Coffee Creek, it’s still possible to find forests blushing with their colors.
- Coffee Creek (3,068′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
On Autumn Wings
“Far from the aspen groves in the Sierra, the smaller creatures … go about their business of preparing for winter.” color spotter Robert Kermen reports.
While relaxing over a cup of brew in his backyard, Kermen observed two very different winged species feeding on the last blooms of a Rose of Sharon bush: a carpenter bee and an Anna’s hummingbird.
The carpenter bee (Xylocopa californica californica) arrived first to grab some nectar and drop off some pollen in return. Next, the Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna) flew in and quaffed some nectar.
“Soon, the carpenter bee will seek out its nest in a dead tree to overwinter, to reemerge in spring, while the hummingbird will stick around all winter, as it’s one of only four hummingbird species in California that does not migrate south,” Bob observed.
Now, why did CaliforniaFallColor.com include a report on a bug and a bird? Because fall color is not just about trees, but about all things colorful about the season.
Soon, whales will be migrating south, elk will be trumpeting their rut, Sandhill Cranes will be calling as they return to roost in the Central Valley and Monarch butterflies will be cuddling together along the coast.
Fit to Print Fall Color
Today’s New York Times California Today repeats our assertion that, this year, California is Golden.
An Unbelievable Autumn
California’s 2018 Autumn will be remembered as one of the most unbelievably beautiful and long-lasting, ever. In Mono County, the show has simply been beyond exclamation.
That’s encouraged Mono County’s Alicia Vennos to declare that her destination, our previous pick as “Peak of the Week,” should get its title extended another week, “thanks to gorgeous fall weather with little to no wind.”
Alicia certainly has a point. Many of Mono County’s fall color hotspots deserve a “GO NOW!” designation.
Being that it is so close to Halloween, we don’t want a curse placed on us that would upset fall spirits. So, we urge you to GO NOW! As, this well could be the last call for Peak viewing along US 395.
At the beginning of autumn, had Alicia vowed Mono County’s aspen would be peaking right up to Hallow’s Evening, we would have accused her of brewing an “Unfallen Leaf” spell.
Instead, she’s made us believers and expect one unbelievable Peak Party in Mammoth Lakes on All Hallow’s Eve.
Walker/Coleville/Topaz
- Monitor Pass (8,314′) – Past Peak – YOU MISSED IT!
- Lobdell Lake Road (8,600′) – Past Peak – YOU MISSED IT!
- Walker Canyon (5,200′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – The shores of the West Walker are gleaming.
- Towns of Walker & Coleville – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – Massive cottonwood along US 395 and beside the Walker River in the Antelope Valley are beautiful.
- Sonora Pass (9,623′) – Past Peak – YOU MISSED IT!
Bridgeport/Virginia Lakes
- Twin Lakes (7,000′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! –
- Virginia Lakes (9,819’)- Past Peak – YOU MISSED IT!
- Conway Summit (8,143′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – The south side of Conway Summit is at its prettiest. The north side is almost past peak. Conway has a rolling peak with some groves still green, beside bare branches and peak color mixed between them.
- Summers Meadow (7,200′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – There’s great color all along the road.
Lee Vining
- Tioga Pass (9,943′) – Past Peak – YOU MISSED IT!
- Lee Vining Canyon (6,781′) Peak to Past Peak, GO NOW, YOU ALMOST MISSED IT!
- Lundy Lake & Canyon (7,858′) – Peako Past Peak, GO NOW, YOU ALMOST MISSED IT! – Lundy Lake Rd, Lundy Lake, Lundy Campground and the Beaver Ponds still have lots of peak color. The trail to the waterfalls is now Past Peak.
Benton & 120 East
- Sagehen Summit (8,139’) -Past Peak – YOU MISSED IT!
June Lake Loop
- June Lake Loop/Hwy 158 (7,654′) – Peak (75-100%)
GO NOW! – Fall Color Viewing Tip: The most iridescent color is seen when trees are backlit. Because this is a loop, drive it in both directions to see the best light and color. June Lake at Oh! Ridge is peaking, as is Gull Lake – highly recommended, right now. The mountainside between Grant Lake is shining with a number of gold and orange aspen groves. Silver Lake is past peak, as are some of the roadside aspens along the Loop, particularly down canyon.
Mammoth Lakes
- Mammoth Lakes Basin (8,996′) – Past Peak – YOU MISSED IT!
- Laurel Canyon (8,500′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! (high clearance 4WD required)
Crowley Lake/McGee Creek/Convict Lake
- McGee Creek Canyon (8,600’) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – Fingers crossed that it doesn’t blow. If it doesn’t, the color will remain good for another week around the campground and along the trail.
- Around Crowley community (6,781′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – This has been Crowley’s best year for Fall Color. It is literally aglow with color.
- Convict Lake (7850′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – Convict Lake Campground, the road between Convict Lake Resort and the Marina, and the entire shoreline are inspirational this week. The hike around the lake offers colorful views and photo ops around every bend.
Rock Creek Canyon
- Rock Creek Road (8,500’+) – Past Peak – YOU MISSED IT!
Remember: even though an area is listed as Past Peak, you will still be able to find spots of nice color. So, if you have the time to explore them, you won’t be disappointed, as the scenery is other worldly.
Peak Flows Into Owens Valley Softly, Like a Poet’s Verse
“Peak fall color is tumbling down the mountains and spreading out across the Owens Valley,” Bishop color spotter Gigi de Jong describes poetically.
Bishop Canyon is now drained of its Peak color, which she says “seems to be flowing into
the lower creeks and canyons.”
California’s largest and finest display of peaking black cottonwood are at peak in Pine Creek Canyon, “with a beautiful display of yellow and umber … alongside the creek.”
While higher up the steep-sided canyon, Gigi writes, “Small knots of young aspen … are holding onto their color as tightly as they’re holding onto the mountainside.
As the canyon opens up to the valley below, cottonwoods cluster in groups and stand in
lines like partygoers dressed in their golden finery at an Autumn Harvest Ball.
Across the Owens Valley, Gigi continues, “Every open field, where water courses along canals or spreads out in marshy tracts, hosts these radiant trees. Every neighborhood street is glowing with color. They all seem adamant to outshine one another.
“On the east side of Bishop, in the wide-open spaces near the Owens River, are where the larger groups congregate. These groves are wild and wonderful and really show the passage time.
‘Younger trees stand shoulder to shoulder with mature trees, showing off their strength and
resilience. The big, old trunks that have lost their limbs and their shimmering coats, still play a part in the cycle of life out here.
‘There are signs and sounds of life everywhere. There are deer in the canyon and birds in the
trees,” she concluded that when you stand quietly, you can “feel the energy of life as is shifts from one season to the next.”
- Bishop Creek Canyon – Past Peak, YOU MISSED IT!
- Pine Creek Canyon – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
- Owens Valley – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
- Bishop – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
Surprising Susanville
We didn’t expect much as we drove toward Susanville on CA-36, this past Sunday.
Willows along the Susan River were dry and colorless, but then the hills surrounding Susanville began to light up with orange-yellow black oak sprinkled along a ridge of conifers.
Then, “Surprise, surprise,” the drive through Susanville, then south on US 395, beside Honey Lake and past Janesville and Milford, massive black oak and Fremont cottonwood popped with gorgeous color, backlit by the afternoon sun.
- Susanville (4,186′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Lovin’ Lundy
Sophie Geaney was lovin’ Lundy this past weekend, finding it “peaking perfectly,” with lush aspen throughout the campground and up the first 1.5 miles of the trail, described as “really amazing.”
The trail to Parker Lake is Past Peak, though there’s color once at the lake. June Lake, of course, is magnificent this week.
- Lundy Canyon Trail – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
- June Lake Loop – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!’
- Parker Lake – Peak to Past Peak, YOU ALMOST MISSED IT!
Hike to Faery Falls
Ney Springs Creek, southwest of the town of Mt. Shasta, was the site of a busy resort in the 19th century. A series of springs there attracted patrons in search of rest and recuperation, writes HikeMtShasta.com.
“Today, the resort is gone and nature is reclaiming what little of it remains,” the site explains.
A short distance from the site of the old resort is idyllic Faery Falls. “The falls are easily accessed on an old road that is, like the resort, slowly being taken over by the surrounding forest.”
Color spotter Laura Jean hiked the old road to Faery Falls through a forest of Peak bigleaf maple.
Maple leaves lie floating upon a clear pool at the base of the falls, which is surrounded by emerald green moss, qualifying this beautiful trail as Hike of the Week.
- Faery Falls, Mt. Shasta – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!