Why Go To New England?

The Shasta Cascade region of northeast California is a slow developer of fall color, then… WHAM!

Presently, Lassen and Siskiyou Counties are Near Peak and Plumas County becomes the first in the Shasta Cascade to go to full Peak with its quaint towns, forested hills and color-draped streams in full glow.  The photograph of Quincy’s Methodist Church surrounded by fall color is so reminiscent of the northeast, that it makes us ask, “Why go to New England?”

There’s lots of lovely color to be found in the forests, parks, towns and along the rivers and streams in other regions of the Shasta Cascade.

Shasta county (Patchy 10%-50%) – Yellow bigleaf maple and orange black oak are near peak at MacArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park.  Elevations above 3,500’ are near the high end of patchy or nearing peak.  Elevations below 3,500’ (Anderson, Redding) have modest color change, mostly exotic trees in their urban forests.  Riparian forests along the Sacramento River are showing lime and yellow and will likely peak in mid November.

Butte County (Patchy 10%-50%) –  Urban parks surrounding Chico State University and in Bidwell Park are beginning to show vibrant lime and yellow, though the change in Chico, Oroville and Paradise is still developing. Poison oak is providing flashes of crimson in the woods. A good time to visit would be when the Great Gobblers Family Hike occurs in Bidwell Park on Nov. 15. CLICK HERE for more information.

Lassen County (Near Peak 50%-75%) – The Susanville area and Bizz Johnson trail are exploding with fall color.  Many of the area’s aspen, cottonwood, dogwood, black oak and bigleaf maple are near peak and should peak in the coming week or two.  Lassen Peak has received a dusting of snow, creating a beautiful backdrop for fall color in the national park.  GO NOW!

Tehama County (Patchy 10%-50%) Not much has changed over the past week. It’s still patchy with some foliage now blushing with red and yellow. The Sacramento River is a great place to see big stands of cottonwood and valley oak as they color up with orange and yellow, particularly in Red Bluff where Victorian homes provide an ideal backdrop for the color between Halloween and Thanksgiving Day.  Appropriately, on Nov. 1, the Wild and Scenic Film Festival occurs at the venerable State Theatre (333 Oak St) in Red Bluff.  So, even though the color is patchy, the scenery inside the State Theater should be moving.

Siskiyou County (Near Peak 50%-75%) – It’s getting as good as it gets in Siskiyou County with plenty of Fall color set before the breathtaking backdrop of snowcapped Mount Shasta. Vibrant red, orange and yellow dogwood, oaks, maple and cottonwoods populate the scenic villages of Mt. Shasta and McCloud.  GO NOW!

Trinity County (Patchy 10%-50%) Only patches of color are yet to be seen in Trinity County and mostly along the Trinity River and CA-299. Look for chartreuse wild cucumber which is peaking along the river and bigleaf maple and oaks dressed with yellow and lime colors.

Modoc County (Patchy 10%-50%) The austere autumn landscape of northeasternmost California has not changed greatly in the past week, though when it does the subtle tangents of fall color and high plains provide a show unseen elsewhere in North America. Photographers who have captured it rank among the state’s greatest landscape photographers.  We give it another week to two before we’re saying it’s ready.

Plumas County (Peak 75-100%) Plumas County has just transitioned to full peak, which should continue for a couple of weeks.  Mike Nellor captures the bucolic charm of Plumas County in his photographs of a landscape and architecture that is most like New England, with covered bridges, signature white town churches and pastoral splendor.  This northern Sierra county’s fall color is best found by driving its backroads (often paved, sometimes gravel)  near Greenville, La Porte and Quincy (such as the American Valley, seen here, earning the title for Plumas County as CaliforniaFallColor.com’s Peak of the Week. GO NOW!