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Dutch Flat: Quite The Opposite

Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Squire Canyon, Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Main Street, Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Main Street, Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

General Store and Post Office, Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Community Center, Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Secord Aly, Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Squire Canyon, Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Squire Canyon, Dutch Flat (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Black oak, Drum Forebay Rd. (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Black oak, Drum Forebay Rd. (11/13/15) John Poimiroo

Traveling west on I-80 from Truckee to Auburn, we saw the full range of past peak to peak color, today.

Above 6,000′, trees are stripped of color. No surprise; the High Sierra is Past Peak.

However, at 5,700′ and below, black oak are peaking with full peak at Dutch Flat (3,144′).

Over the years, I have driven past Dutch Flat a couple hundred times, but never exited. Today, in search of fall color, I exited and Dutch Flat is anything but flat when it comes to its color and charm.

This historic gold rush era town has loads of character, with mid-19th century wooden buildings and homes sitting atop wooded hills and nestled in verdant hollows.

Dutch Flat was settled in 1851 by German immigrants and soon was called Dutchman’s Flat, Dutch Charley’s Flat and Charley’s Flat during the years it was one of California’s richest gold mining towns.

Along Dutch Flat’s historic main street, there’s a post office, country store, gold rush era hotel, museum and timeless small town atmosphere.

On a regular timetable, trains rumble pass, blaring their horns, as they climb over the Sierra Nevada, reminding visitors that Dutch Pass sits beside the original route of the transcontinental railroad. The town is populated by 160 friendly souls who freely wave to all who pass.

Dutch Flat was full of fall color.  This stretch of I-80 is peaking from Drum Forebay Rd. west, past Dutch Flat and Colfax to Auburn.  Golden cottonwood, orange-yellow black oak and crimson exotics are backlit brilliantly by afternoon sunlight. There seems to be no obvious vantage point from which to overlook the forest, though hillsides painted with orange black oak and dark green pine are evident along I-80.

Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – Sierra Foothills (5,500′ to 2,000′)

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