California Fall Color

Dude, autumn happens here, too.

75 – 100% – Redwood National Park - Grant Roden reports from Elk Meadow that bigleaf maple are at full peak with yellow peaking through the redwoods.  He describes early November as one of the best times of the year to see the redwoods.

Location: Redwood National Park, Calif.
Temperature: 51.8 °F
Humidity: 96%
Dew point: 50 °F
Wind speed: n/a
Wind direction: n/a
Cloud cover: n/a

Here’s a followup report on CA-299, on visiting Redwood National and State Parks and a drive along CA-99 from Red Bluff south to Sacramento.

75 – 100% — CA-299

This route, between Redding and Arcata, is now peaking.  The colors to be seen along the route are the best I’ve ever seen along this route and should remain good until at least Sunday, when rain is predicted.

Bigleaf maple are absolutely iridescent, glowing phosphorescent yellow to yellow-orange.  There’s lots of chartreuse in the mixed oak, maple, fir, pine and hardwood forests along the Trinity River. Wild cucumber (poisonous) drape oaks in muted shades of yellow-orange to chartreuse, though have lovely heart-shaped leaves that provide a dappled beauty.

The best viewing areas are from Whiskeytown Lake NRA west to Weaverville, then again from the Salyer Rest Area west to Berry Summit.  If you stop at the Salyer rest area, enjoy taking a short walk in the hardwood forest on a hillside behind the rest area.  Levels of colorful lime to yellow leaves provide a zen atmosphere to the naturally landscaped scene.

At points along the route, clusters of bold yellow maple provide stunning contast to the subtle oranges of the oaks that climb high up to mountain crests.  The subtlety of color here is special… quite different from the bold colors of the Eastern Sierra, but still lovely.  At times, it’s hard to keep the car on the road, the colors are so beautiful.  These photos, sadly, do not do it justice, though click on any of them to get a better rendering of what I saw.  They’ll blow up and show the color more clearly.  And, to learn more about visiting the area, CLICK HERE.

15-30% – Redwood National and State Parks

I drove 299, then US 101 to Redwood National and State Parks.  The color change in the national park is disappointing, though occasional maple are colorful.

What didn’t disappoint were the Roosevelt Elk.  Locals report that the annual elk rut was especially violent this year with several cars rammed by the aroused elk.

The rut has mostly ended, though I caught these boys play fighting beneath a beautiful tree at Elk Meadow Cabins, one of the best places to see the elk, dependably.

The past two mornings, I awoke at Elk Meadow Cabins to find the local herd of some 30 Roosevelt Elk, including cows and bulls grazing around the cabins.

I used an 18 – 200mm lens and these shots varied in focal length from 60 to 200mm.  It is advised to approach the elk only so close that they do not react to you, any further and you place stress upon them.

CLICK HERE to learn more about seeing the elk.

15-30% – CA-99 Red Bluff to Marysville

On my return from Redding, I decided to drive down CA-99 to see if walnut and prune orchards were changing.  In keeping with what we’re seeing throughout California this year, the color change is late in the orchards, just as it was in the Eastern Sierra.  That means orchards in the northern Central Valley of California should be turning through mid November… a wonderful visual treat for anyone in search of late fall color.

A stop at Vina (north of Chico) included a visit to the Abbey of New Clairvaux, where the sacred stones of an 800-year-old Cistercian monestary are being erected.  This project is considered to be the most important contemporary reconstruction of a historic stone building, anywhere on Earth.  When completed, the Gothic interior of the Abbey’s ancient Chapter House will be the most complete and significant example of Gothic architecture in the Western Hemisphere.

Visitors to the Abbey of New Clairvaux have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a true Gothic structure being rebuilt.  So, I urge anyone who appreciates architecture to make a trip to Vina now to see the abbey’s chapter house being rebuilt, before it’s finished.  CLICK HERE to read more about the sacred stones.

We received these other reports from Leilani one of our color spotters from the Shasta-Cascade Wonderland Association:

Butte County

Butte County’s trees are continuing to give quite a show.   The leaves are still on the trees and the color change is now at 70%, more in the higher elevations of the Paradise/Magalia area.  Pentz and Bille Road areas are spectacular as well. Colors will continue to intensify over the next few weeks and then should peak.

Shasta County

North Valley towns

Fall colors are vibrant now.  Brilliant reds, oranges and yellows are splashed across the valley floor pallet.  The ornamentals are showing at about 80%, while the willows, liquid amber and birch that turn such a beautiful yellow are past peak and in the process of losing their leaves.

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area:

The colors around Whiskeytown have increased to about 50%.  The Chinese pistachios and liquid amber are beautifully framing the lake.  With consistent cold weather and rain coming the colors will intensify and peak quickly now.

Burney Falls State Park:

Colors are great up at Burney Falls.  It’s a good time for a drive, since the California State Park ranger says the colors are at peak but with a good wind, they will be gone.  Don’t miss this spectacular area.

Tehama County

Lassen Park:

Colors are in full swing in the park.  Aspen, cottonwood & willows still have good color but are peaking now.

Lassen County

Lassen National Forest:

There is noticeable change throughout the forest.  Colors are in post-peak but still beautiful and dramatic.  Time for a day trip!

Modoc County

Modoc National Forest

There is snow in the higher elevations so the fall colors in past peak now.

Siskiyou County

More vibrant colors have appeared this past week around the Mt. Shasta area, peaking in the higher elevations.

Trinity County

There is still some color to be seen around the Hwy.3 loop but most of the trees in the county are past peak.

Plumas County

Trees in Plumas County are at peak.  The oaks have turned an incredible orange.  The aspen and dogwood are also spectacular.  The areas around the Feather River Canyon, Cromburg, Indian Valley and Antelope Lake are worth a trip.

CLICK HERE for more about visiting the Shasta Cascade.

The drive from Redding to Arcata on CA-299 is glorious.  I traveled it yesterday on my way to Redwood National and State Parks and was struck by its colorful show.  Oak, maple, sumac and other changing foliage provide a blend of bright yellow to irridescent orange, to incredible chartreuse tones amidst contrasting buff, brown, black and green.  Right now, the Redding/Arcata drive is as good as it gets.

Begin with an overnight stay in Redding, in order to walk Sundial Bridge after dark (the bridge’s aqua blue glass deck is illuminated at night and a must see).  The following morning, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, perhaps including a visit to Turtle Bay Exploration Park and its excellent museum, then take your time enjoying the drive to Arcata with stops at Whiskeytown Lake NRA and lunch in Weaverville with its quirky exterior spiral staircases and colorful Joss House.  Between Whiskeytown and Weaverville, the forest literally was afire with shades of orange and yellow.  Beyond Weaverville to Arcata, the color is as impressive, particularly along rivers and in drainages.

75 – 100% – CA-299, Redding to Arcata.

Bigleaf Maple are beginning to tinge yellow to auburn south of Scotia along US 101 in southern Humboldt County.  Head into the woods and you’ll see bright orange-pink to red poison oak leaves.  They’re pretty, but don’t touch!

0-15% – Along US 101 in Southern Humboldt County – Bigleaf Maple

While the headline to this blog is no longer true of the Sierra Nevada, when it comes to driving north along I-5, the higher you go, the better the fall color gets.  Yesterday, I drove north from Sacramento to Redding.  The orchards of the northern Central Valley still have a ways to go, though riparian areas are near to past peak with lovely color to be found among the cattails.  The City of Redding is aglow with beautiful fall color (much of it exotic).

0-15% — I-5 (100′).  Walnut and almond orchards north of Sacramento along I-5 indicate they are turning with some light green to hints of warmer colors to come, yet still not showing much color.  Cattails north of Willow at Walker Creek are brightly colored with shades of gold, orange, bronze and lime green.  Purple to burgundy stems and branches are found among leafless brush along creeks.  The most color to be found in the Sacramento River Valley are in the cottonwoods and prune orchards which have tgurned 50% yellow-orange with some bronze to auburn edging.  A stand of Valley Oaks (among the largest of California oaks) at Road 27 are yellow-orange and near Road 16 in Orland a prune orchard is nearing peak.

50-75% — Redding.  The capital of “Upstate California” is nearing peak for its seasonal color, particularly in neighborhoods and city parks.  At Santiago Calatrava’s magnificent Sundial Bridge, native oaks and riparian trees provide some changing colors by which to frame the bridge’s impressive gnomon.  Even though the color here is not of the dramatic nature of that to be found in the Sierra, there’s still lots of color if you look for it and Sundial Bridge is worth the drive north.

Last week, I described a loop trip up I-5 to Redding, an overnight in Redding, then over CA-299 to Redwood National Park, then down US 101.  Another loop is north to Redding, then east to MacArthur-Burney Memorial Falls SP, continuing south on CA-89 through Lassen Volcanic National Park (if snows don’t close the road) into Plumas County, then back down to the Central Valley by way of CA-32 (by way of Chico) or CA-70 (Feather River Canyon).  There’s probably a week left of spotty color on either route.

Photo Credit: © 2009, John Poimiroo

30-50% — The Redwood Highway. Drive the Redwood Highway north of Willits to Scotia, and you’ll be treated to spots of color along the way.  Although the locations listed below are in south to north order, it’s a bit more colorful to drive north to south, as the sunlight will illuminate leaves, intensifying their color.  Here’s a suggested route that provides the most intense color:  begin in Redding and overnight there (with a visit to Sundial Bridge), then travel west on CA-299 to Arcata and up to Redwood National and State Parks.  Overnight at Elk Meadow Cabins north of Orick (with a visit to see the Roosevelt Elk and Fern Canyon), then travel south on the Redwood Highway (U.S. 101).

50-75% — Willits to Laytonville. The drive from Willits north to Laytonville is forested with orange and yellow oaks on both sides of the road, with occasional touches of lime green, mixed with firs and pines, making for a beautiful show.

50-75% — Rattlesnake Summit (1,795’). A number of alder and bigleaf maple on both sides of U.S. 101 provide a colorful show of yellow and gold past Rattlesnake Summit.

30-50% — Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area 101 (500’). Beside the Eel River, between Elfin Glen and Confusion Hill there are lots of yellow bigleaf maple in the redwood forests.

30-50% — Richardson Grove State Park. Bright yellow bigleaf maple decorate the redwood forests from Richardson Grove State Park north through The Avenue of the Giants to Scotia.  This past week’s winds did not affect those in the forest.

75-100% — Redwood National and State Parks. The redwood forests north of Orick along US 101 are occasionally speckled with orange-yellow bigleaf maple and alders.  Fall color is best inside the national and state parks where the combination of warm colors of the autumn leaves and kelly-green moss provide the most dramatic contrast.  Another colorful aspect of fall in California is the elk rut at Redwood National and State Parks.  These elk bulls were seen battling by outdoor photographer, Rick E. Martin at the Elk Meadow Cabins near Orick.  CLICK HERE to view a video of impressive elk rut photos taken by Rick.

Photo Credit: © 2009, Rick E. Martin

An unusual switch has been happening in Lake County, where fall colors developed first at Clear Lake (el 1,600′) than in the higher terrains on Cobb Mountain (4,700′) reports Terre Logsdon.

75-100% — Forest Lake. At Forest Lake (el. 2,700′), the cottonwoods are a riot of gold, backgrounded by dogwoods and oaks.

75-100% — Salmina Rd. Terre says that Salmina Rd, off CA-175 near Loch Lomond at 2,500 feet where Salmina’s Resort was at the turn of the 19th century, the trees are at their prime color – oaks and cottonwoods are golden with the dogwoods casting a warmer glow.

15-30% — Red Hills. The vineyards in the Red Hills AVA, especially the red varietals, are turning yellow and orange, with hints of burgundy veining the leaves. Pear and walnut orchards in the Big Valley bordered by Hwy. 29, along Soda Bay Road, and in Upper Lake on CA-20 are continuing to show yellow and golden.  With Lake County weather predicted to be in the 40s at night and days in the 70s and 80s, there are continued prospects for good color.

Photography: © 2009, Lyle Madeson

Dave Stockton reports again from Humboldt County that Shivley Bluff and Redcrest near the Eel River are showing lots of color.  These towns are along the Avenue of the Giants, a beautiful drive through California’s redwood forests, so even though the fall color occurs in sparse pockets of blazing color, the drive is impressive none the less.

50-75% Shively Bluff and Redcrest. Shively Bluff is almost all Poison Oak.  That’s right, you heard correctly… “poison oak” which blazes red in autumn.  Don’t touch it or you’ll be itching for weeks, but Dave reports it’s “a wonderful sight. ”

30-50% Bull Creek. The Oregon Ash are now showing lovely gold tones.  Black oak with their dark trunks and branches are orange leaves are just begining to turn.

Photo Credit (poison oak): © Melinda Fawver | Dreamstime.com

Photo Credit (oregon ash): © Virginia Tech Dendrology Dept.

30-50% Humboldt County. Dave Stockton reports that Shively Bluff and Redcrest are now “bright and others are beginning to unfold.”  Hey, I don’t write ‘em, I just report them.

Terre Longsdon reports that fall foliage is beginning to pop in Lake County.  Terre recommends driving CA-175 from southern Lake County between Kelseyville and Middletown and up over Cobb Mountain.  You’ll pass through towns the likes of Whispering Pines, Pine Grove and the area’s hub… Cobb, which she recommends as a good place to stop and eat.  There’s not much time for golf if you’re leaf peepin’, but Terre says the course there is fun to play.

After you travel through the Big Valley, leave CA-29 at Bottle Rock Road to Cobb Mountain where you’ll see vibrant chartreuse, yellow, orange and burgundy.  When Bottle Rock Rd meets CA-175 in Cobb, turn right and continue south on CA-175 for more color.

30-50% Walnut Orchards.  Most walnut orchards are approaching 50% with very intense yellow leaves.

15-30% Vineyards.  The vineyards are beginning to show yellow, orange and red in their grape leaves.

30-50% – Coast Range (1500′).  Oaks in California’s Coast Range above 1,500′ in elevation are approaching 50% of peak with the next two weekends positioned for good color in Lake County.

Photography: © 2009, Lyle Madeson