Winter arrived in the High Sierra yesterday morning.
A dusting of snow frosted spent maple and aspen leaves at North Lake Tahoe. The area was already past peak, though the light snow made it official. You missed it.
On Interstate 80, orange black oak cover the hillsides between Dutch Flat and Alta. Black oak are peaking between 3,000 and 5,000′ throughout the western Sierra. Yosemite is glorious with them.
Peak color has now descended to the Sierra foothills and is filling the Central Valley with warm joy.
Philip Reedy stayed close to home this week and found color around his neighborhood in Davis.
“As a counterpoint to my recent 500-mile color trips to the mountains, today I took my grandson on a five-block tour of our neighborhood, where the trees have suddenly burst into color,” Reedy explained. “As my recent trips have made clear, the mountains are pretty much done for this year, but the valley is just coming into its own.”
Yosemite is magical any time of year but especially as fall fades into winter, as color spotter Angie Plaisted discovered this week.
“Yosemite never disappoints, but yesterday was just incredible,” she said. “It was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen it, and we hit some areas I’ve never been to.”
The area is currently peaking and you should GO NOW to experience this national park gem at a special time of year.
Jim Van Matre visited Big Bear last weekend and reports that it is definitely past peak.
“There are still some colors, mostly on the south shore,” he said. These photos are from the Bluff Lake area on county road 2N10. Around the neighborhoods of Big Bear there are a lot of colorful planted exotic trees, but most of the native trees are fading.
Make plans to visit this location in 2024 for more fall foliage opportunities.
Color spotter Vishal Mishra was excited to share that fall is slowly but surely picking up in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Mishra visited Saratoga and Woodside on Nov. 4 and reported the following: “Happy to share that, I finally have some colors picking up from the San Francisco Bay Area. We have not been lucky yet with the rain but it seems we can expect cooler temperatures in the coming days, so I am hoping for a fantastic fall foliage this year.”
Keep an eye on the Bay Area for upcoming GO NOW conditions.
Color spotter Philip Reedy has done it again, going the extra mile to capture fabulous fall color photos.
We heard from color spotter Michelle Pontoni over the weekend when she spotted “exciting color” in Arcata. You should GO NOW! to this area.
She found it along both sides of West End Road and when she turned left onto Warren Creek Road.
As you approach the Warren Creek Trestle you are surrounded by huge trees of golds and yellows.
“Passing under the trestle takes us back to remembering the Annie & Mary Railroad in the ‘50’s when the foliage was sparse aside the same trestle,” she said of the area’s history.
Pontoni also warned against getting too distracted by the colors as you drive.
“Pay attention to the road as you take in the color. It is narrow and curvy. Watch for bicycles. “
On Friday, November 3 color spotter Hanna Summers came across some untraditional, but still stunning colors in Alviso, the southern most part of the San Francisco Bay.
“Not your traditional fall colors, but I could not help but share the beauty at the southern most part of the SF Bay that I saw in Alviso today,” she said. “The pickleweed was turning beautiful shades of red as were some of the other plants (iceplants and thistles)… not to mention the beautiful hues of orange, pink, and red in the water itself from the salt loving microbes!”
Fall is fall to us here and any color changes count in our book!
Downtown Quincy is past its peak but still quite lovely especially if you like to shuffle through fallen leaves for that crunching, fall feeling, according to color spotters in Plumas County. The surrounding area is still covered with oaks that have turned beautiful shades of orange and yellow.
It’s an excellent time for mountain biking on the South Park trails maintained by Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. We still recommend the Cascades Trail for hiking, which is 5.1 miles from the Quincy airport to the road marked Old Highway. Turn right and follow the paved road 0.7 miles east past several homes. Then turn left onto a rough dirt road and go 0.4 miles to the parking area and trailhead.
Mount Hough Trail
Driving north on Highway 89 from Quincy to Indian Valley (Taylorsville and Greenville), Michael Beatley, one of our favorite leaf peepers, stopped by Indian Falls to check out fall colors last weekend and wasn’t disappointed. He said Indian Creek is lined with colorful wild grape, willows, big leaf maples, and grasses. Still at 100% peak.
Victor at Pine Aire Resort in the Feather River Canyon says around each bend in the road the oaks are lovely. He mentioned that the construction stops weren’t too bad—15 minutes or so. Now is definitely the time to explore the Feather River Canyon!
In the Northwest part of Plumas County, Chester is still very showy with golden cottonwoods along the North Fork of the Feather River near First Avenue. Although the cottonwoods behind Olsen Barn aren’t as colorful this year, it is still a nice place to stop and explore the barn and walk the loop trail.
Leaf peeper Jake Edwards (@Scenescapery) reports that Deer Creek off of Hwy 32 is at peak.
Along Highway 32 plenty of colorful trees remain though they are getting close to peak, about 95%. A perfect place to stop for a picnic lunch is Dog Patch. The sights will not disappoint.
Remember that fall is more than beautifully colored landscapes. There are many varieties of apples in Quincy, Meadow Valley, and Indian Valley—some planted years ago by pioneers. When visiting these areas look to participate in the popular fall activity of apple juicing.
As expected colors are winding down in Inyo County as of Nov. 1.
According to color spotter Betsy Forsyth, “the colors in town and Round Valley are still great, but it feels like the end is in sight. I still have Bishop at 50-75%, mostly because while driving around, there are still lots of green trees. There are also lots of yellow/golden leaves. That said, the yellows aren’t quite as bright in many areas. Past peak.”
“Maybe it’s just the upcoming time change that has me feeling the end of the brightness.”
Southern Inyo County
Bishop Creek Canyon
Bishop Creek Canyon is past peak. There are a few aspen groves with a little color, but mostly fall has fallen up here.
South Fork, Bishop Creek
Middle Fork, Bishop Creek
Bishop
Bishop and the Owens Valley are really beautiful right now. Some of the trees are past peak, yet others still have a fair amount of green, so the fall colors are not over!
Northern Inyo County