Fall Color Update – Eastern Sierra

We spent the weekend visiting the SF and Monterey Bay areas, so saw little color change there, but received the following fall color update from California’s Eastern Sierra this morning.

The Parcher’s Resort at South Lake (west of Bishop) reports that autumn color is developing quickly in the High Sierra as yellows and reds are starting to take over bright green aspen throughout the Bishop Canyon drainage. Peak is still a week to two away as can be seen from these photos taken by Parchers Resort staffer, Krisdina Karady.

South Lake – Elevation 9768 ft

15-30% – Yellow is starting to appear at the rock slide and towards the back of the lake there is quite a bit of color showing. It certainly isn’t at it’s peak yet, but things are moving pretty quick.

Weir Pond – Elevation 9592 ft

15-30% – The Weir is looking very pretty right now and the grove to the west of the pond is starting to light up. The aspens around the shore of the pond still have a ways to go but things are picking up at this location.

Parchers Camp – Elevation 9260 ft

0-15% – The hillsides surrounding Parchers Camp, especially to the west, are starting to pop big time. There is still quite a bit of color yet to develop to our east and to the north though. The best views are to the north so I am rating the current color on the lower end of the rating scale.

North Lake – Elevation 9255ft

15-30% – What a remarkable change in the last 4 days! Some vibrant yellow has taken over some of the trees, especially by the old road and near the parking area by the outlet of the lake.

Lake Sabrina – Elevation 9150 ft

15-30% – Lake Sabrina’s color is also coming on very fast with some beautiful orange and yellow foliage being displayed. I especially enjoy the view from the  middle of the dam at Sabrina as the bright turquoise water really adds to the beauty of the scene.

Sabrina Camp Grove (9/24/10)

Sabrina Camp Groves – Elevation 9000 ft

50-75% – The grove below Sabrina Camp is stunning right now as all of the aspen along the road are on fire with color. There is still a lot of green above the first few rows of aspen so hopefully we’ll the color here for a while to come.

Lake Sabrina Approach – Elevation 9100 ft..

0-15% – Not too much going on here yet but one of my favorite views in the canyon will be spectacular before too long.

Bridge above Sabrina Camp – 9050ft

15-30% – The view east from the bridge just above Sabrina Campground is stunning – and the beautiful colors are really starting to pop. Another week and this view will be exceptional if the weather stays good.

Table Mountain (9/25/10)

Table Mountain Camp Grove – Elevation 8845 ft

30-50% – The groves on either side of the canyon just below Table Mountain Group Campground are progressing nicely with some beautiful orange and even a touch of red joining the yellow and bright green.

The Famous Mist Falls on South Fork Bishop Creek

0-15% – One of the locations known to peak late, is living up to it’s reputation – pretty much nothing going on there yet.

Four Jeffrey Camp Groves

0-15% – A little better than last week, especially the amount of yellow developing in the willows, but there is a ways to go yet at this location.

Mountain Glen Campground

30-50% – Jared Smith says he really likes the way this grove is changing, this fall – beautiful patches of full-on yellow aspen amidst the bright green grove. Still have some time before this grove is at its best but even right now the view is beautiful.

Willow Camp – Elevation 9065 ft

0-15% –  Its amazing how much yellow has started to appear at Willow Camp over the last few days. Jared expects it to get much better by the end of the week. You can see in the distance the hills above Parchers which are turning quite fast.

Surveyor’s Meadow

15-30% – This beautiful location is located in between Table Mountain group Campground and Willow Campground. During the peak – this is one of the most amazing view in the canyon. It’s still a little early there, but things are making a fast transformation. The view up towards the Tyee Lakes from there is one of the better places to see the bright orange and red aspens in addition to the yellow.

Aspendell – 8500ft

15-30% – The view south from the small community of Aspendell is already awesome, but there is a lot more color yet to come here if the weather holds out.

Photo Credit: © 2010, Jared Smith