Cabin, CA-267, North Lake Tahoe (9/20/16) John Poimiroo
Continuing the reports posted by Clayton Peoples and Kimberly Kolafa, I traveled to North Lake Tahoe today and stopped at the cabin beside Middle Martis Creek along CA-267, between Northstar and Brockway Summit. The aspen here have something for everyone, from deep green, to lime, to yellow to orange, to past peak.
There’s a lot of green in the woods, but also plenty of color to brighten the scene. This location should continue to provide color for at least two weeks. There’s so much range of change that it’s difficult to rate it. Though, I’ll stick with Clayton’s assessment that it’s Near Peak, as that surely can be seen through most of the grove.
GO NOW! Near Peak (50-75%) – The Cabin at Middle Martis Creek, Truckee
Tahoe Rim Trail, Barker Pass to Twin Peaks (9/18/16) Kimberly Kolafa
Fireweed, Tahoe Rim Trail (9/18/16) Kimberly Kolafa
Tahoe Rim Trail, Barker Pass to Twin Peaks (9/18/16) Kimberly Kolafa
Tahoe Rim Trail, Barker Pass to Twin Peaks (9/18/16) Kimberly Kolafa
Maple Leaves, Tahoe Rim Trail (9/18/16) Kimberly Kolafa
Tahoe Rim Trail, Barker Pass to Twin Peaks (9/18/16) Kimberly Kolafa
Lake Tahoe was the destination of color spotter Clayton Peoples this past weekend. He reports, “In general, color extent varies considerably based on elevation. It is largely ‘just starting’ at lake level, but has progressed to ‘near peak’ in some higher elevations along the rim.”
Just Starting (0-10%) Lake Tahoe Lake Level (6,200 ft). Color is just beginning along the lake itself. Aspens are turning lime green, cottonwoods are getting some patches of yellow.
Patchy (10-50%) Lake Tahoe Mountainsides (6,200-7,000 ft). Color is beginning in patches in the aspen groves on the mountainsides along/near the Lake.
Near Peak (50-75%) Specific Lake Tahoe Rim locations (7,000+ ft). Although still patchy in some places, some groves have really taken off and are near peak. This is especially true of the oft-visited grove on CA Hwy 267 near Brockway Summit. Portions of the grove are fully yellow, and the trees are dropping leaves. Will likely reach peak within the week.
“It’s all about the shrubbery,” Kimberly Kolafa reported after her weekend hike along the Tahoe Rim Trail, saying that fireweed, willow and maple are turning a mix of orange, red and gold amidst green.
Patchy (50%) Tahoe Rim Trail/PCT, Barker Pass Trailhead to Twin Peaks – 7650 -8700′, it’s all about the shrubbery, along the trail at your feet, up the sides of rocky volcanic plugs and high walls of slate and talus – fireweed, willow and maple are turning orange, red and gold, mixed with green. You will also be delighted that there are a few wildflowers still in bloom and abundant views of Lake Tahoe on this 5 1/2 mile section hike to the base of Twin Peaks (10 miles round trip, you can hike a shorter distance and still see wonderful color). Aspens and cottonwood are also beginning to make small changes, shrubbery is yellow on the seven mile Blackwood Canyon Road enroute to the Barker Pass Trailhead.
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Sonora Pass, Leavitt Lake Turnoff (9/17/16) David Olden
Photographer David Olden crossed Sonora Pass (CA-108) on Saturday to find it glittering with gold.
He was at the Leavitt Lake turn off, which at the center of the show, there. There are isolated patches of color near the summit, though he reports most of the pass is still lime green and just turning yellow.
Lake Sabrina, Bishop Creek Canyon (9/17/16) Gary Young
Weir Pond, Bishop Creek Canyon (9/17/16) Gary Young
Groves Above Cardinal Village, Bishop Creek (9/17/16) Gary Young
Road to North Lake, Bishop Creek Canyon (9/17/16) Gary Young
Bishop Creek Lodge (9/17/16) Gary Young
The American idiom, “Close, but no cigar,” came from the mid-20th-century practice of fairground stalls awarding cigars to carnival game winners. If you just missed – which often happened – the barker would tell you, “Close, but no cigar.”
Well, that’s sorta happening up Bishop Creek in Inyo County. Quaking aspen are close to peaking, but not yet enough to win a cigar.
Color spotter Gary Young was there today and reported Lake Sabrina was closest to smoking a stogie, of any location in the Eastern Sierra. The photos he sent confirm that, though we agree that it has just smoldered into the lower end of a Near Peak rating.
Aspen stands across from Bishop Creek Lodge are mostly wearing kelly green, though splashes of yellow are painting high areas of the canyon.
Of course, that can change rapidly. Last year, areas of Bishop Creek Canyon went from Just Starting to Peak in a week, and it peaked prior to the first day of autumn (this coming Thursday).
So, anything can happen this week. If you go, you might just win that cigar.
GO NOW! – Near Peak (50 – 75%) – Lake Sabrina and areas above 9,500′.
Patchy (10 – 50%) – Bishop Creek Canyon (Below 9,500′)
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Knotweed, Lassen Volcanic National Park (9/16/16) Shanda Ochs
Lassen Volcanic National Park’s hills run with red knotweed in late summer.
Shanda Ochs, a guide at the national park (which is located east of Redding and that commemorated its 100th anniversary on August 9) reports “The Park is seeing some fall color at 7,000′ and higher elevations.”
Because this national park has a volcanic landscape, much of it is austere, though bright color pops on autumn days… particularly along its hillsides and in its meadows where cadmium-yellow rabbitbrush, crimson knotweed, white pearly everlastings and golden and rust-colored grasses are seen peaking in the waning days of summer and early autumn.
The rabbitbrush, pearly everlastings and knotweed peak are about past peaking. Technically, they are late blooming wild flowers rather than true “autumn color.” Though because of their timing, we classify them as fall color.
California Trivia: Did you know that California has a seven-month spring? That’s because wildflowers bloom in California from March to September. It’s all because of our wide range of elevations, from sea level to over 14,000′. That’s the same reason California can claim the longest and most diverse autumn on Earth.
Lassen’s show continues with a variety of willows, some quaking aspen and alder appearing, particularly around Manzanita Lake.
Autumn meadow, Lassen Volcanic National Park (9/16/16) Shanda Ochs
Knotweed, Lassen Volcanic National Park (9/16/16) Shanda Ochs
Autumn meadow, Lassen Volcanic National Park (9/16/16) Shanda Ochs
Here are the park’s autumn centennial events:
Sat., Sept. 17 – Art & Wine of Lassen | 11 am – 4 pm | Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center – Celebrate local art, wine, and music at Lassen. Returning for its seventh year, this popular event featuring local businesses is held at the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center. Taste wine from local vineyards, sample products from regional entrepreneurs, and enjoy music from local artists. Tasting fee includes a commemorative glass.
Sat., Sept. 24 – Public Lands Day of Stewardship Projects (Centennial event) | September 24 | Park-wide – Enjoy free park entrance in celebration of Public Lands Day and give back to the national park by participating in a service day in the park.
This day also kicks off the National Park Service Centennial PhotoBlitz on National Public Lands. CLICK HERE for more about entering your photos in the contest.
Klamath Network Parks Exhibition (Centennial event) | September 30 –January 2, 2017 | Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding – Northern California and southern Oregon are home to seven national parks. A standing autumn and early winter exhibit at Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding lets museum visitors “tour” them all. What an easy way to learn about the park, while also visiting Redding’s amazing Sundial Bridge, designed by famed architect Santiago Calatrava.
GO NOW! Peak (75-100%) – Lassen Volcanic National Park – ground cover plants (knotweed, rabbitbrush, meadow grasses).
Just Starting (0-10%) – Lassen Volcanic National Park – Alder, quaking aspen, cottonwood and willows.
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Eileen Javora and Mark Finan (9/15/16) Live Facebook Podcast Screen Capture
Meteorologists Eileen Javora and Mark Finan of KCRA-TV3 (NBC) invited me to join them on a live Facebook podcast last evening.
We discussed fall color and where to find it, revealing a couple of (new to me) places to explore (late October) in the Sacramento area: Empire Mine and pistachio orchards. Road trip!
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Weir Pond, South Fork, Bishop Creek (9/14/16) Jared Smith
Jared Smith from Parcher’s Resort near South Lake up Bishop Creek Canyon rates Bishop Creek as “Patchy” with “a lot of color starting to show in the higher reaches of the canyon with more yellow popping up every day.”
This week, Bishop Creek experienced its “first true cold snap since May… with a few snow flurries and evening temps dipping into the high 20s. It definitely feels like Fall, all of a sudden.”
Jared’s first report each autumn is highly anticipated by CaliforniaFallColor.com readers. He’s holding his breath writing, “It will be interesting to see how this cooler weather affects the color over the next week.”
Overall Conditions Between 7500ft & 8500ft Elevation
Just Starting (0% – 10%)
Noticeable lightening of the aspens is occurring in many of the lower reaches of the canyon, but very little color is showing.
Sabrina Camp, Bishop Creek Canyon (9/14/16) Jared Smith
Above Parcher’s Resort, South Fork Bishop Creek (9/14/16) Jared Smith
Table Mountain, Bishop Creek Canyon (9/14/16) Jared Smith
Lake Sabrina, Bishop Creek Canyon (9/14/16) Jared Smith
Mist Falls, Bishop Creek Canyon (9/14/16) Jared Smith
Middle Fork Bishop Creek (9/14/16) Jared Smith
Patchy (10 – 50%) – Weir Pond (9650ft)
The hillside above the Weir is showing quite a bit of yellow but the foliage surrounding the pond itself is still a week or more off from showing anything too impressive.
Patchy (10 – 50%) – Sabrina Campground (9000ft)
There was little surprise here as the first solid patches of brilliant orange hues popped up along Hwy 168 just below Sabrina Campground. This is almost always the earliest place to truly develop, but thankfully within the campground itself the aspen are still very green with just a few yellow leaves here and there.
Patchy (10 – 50%) – Parchers Resort (9260ft)
Brilliant yellows are developing on the canyon walls all around the resort, and even a few of the aspen on the resort grounds are beginning to turn or have turned.
Patchy (10 – 50%) – Willow Campground (9000ft)
This barely deserved this rating but there is just enough yellow to consider this area patchy.
Patchy (10 – 50%) – Table Mountain Camp (8900ft)
There is a bit of color showing within the campground but the best of it, which is pretty impressive for this early on, is just below the campground on the eastern canyon wall just above the So. Fork of Bishop Creek.
Patchy (10 – 50%) – Surveyors Meadow (8975ft)
There is a lot of color showing here, but there’s plenty of green too. Still, there are some photo-worthy views right now. Look for this to really go off in the next week to 10 days.
Patchy (10 – 50%) – Lake Sabrina (9150ft)
Patchy color on the eastern shore and near the back of the lake but we’ve got a ways to go before the lake shows it’s best fall color display.
Patchy (10 – 50%) – North Lake (9255ft)
Most of the color at North Lake is on the approach to the lake with the road and western slope still mostly green. This area tends to change quick so we’re anxious to see how things look a week from now.
Just Starting (0 – 10%) – Mist Falls and the groves above Bishop Creek Lodge (8350ft)
Just a couple early bloomers around this famous waterfall. I don’t expect much out of this area until near the end of September depending on how the weather ends up.
Just Starting (0 – 10%) – Aspendell (8400ft)
Very few signs of color here right now.
Patchy (10 – 50%) – Groves above Cardinal Village (8550ft)
The canyon slope from above Cardinal Village up to Cardinal Pinnacle has tons of yellow showing already, it was actually quite surprising. Still, the color is pretty localized and will no doubt get much better in the coming weeks.
Just Starting (0 – 10%) – Four Jeffries (8000ft)
Nothing but a few yellow branches showing right now.
Patchy – (10 – 50%) – Intake II (8000ft)
The aspen surrounding the lake are still hosting their summer shade of green although the scrub aspen growing up the mountainside are showing a little yellow.
Just Starting – (0 – 10%) – Big Trees Campground (7800ft)
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Josh (out of Mammoth Lakes) sends update from the East Side after exploring Rock Creek and McGee Creek canyons, today.
Patchy (10-50%) – Rock Creek 8,500+ft – Well, it’s almost time. Rock Creek Canyon has some patches that have already hit the orange and red mark, but the majority of large groves along the road still have yet to show a change from dark green to lime green. If you’re going to be in the area for the weekend I would highly recommend going out early morning or late afternoon to view the show that is currently happening.(Afternoon light is the better of the two). Patches along the east side of the valley are glowing and the trees that were lime green about a week and a half ago are bright yellow now. Maybe two more weeks until the fall color completely takes over this canyon.
Just Starting (0-10%) – McGee Canyon 7,500ft – McGee Creek/ Canyon is slow off the start. It’s surprising how behind McGee is compared to the past three locations that I’ve reported. You can see that a majority of the trees are still in the bright green phase with no yellow showing. With these colder temps and shorter days, this hotspot should start turning on soon. Check back in next week as I report this location and capture what color changes have occurred.
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It’s happening across the Eastern Sierra at dizzying heights, Jeff Simpson reports from Mono County.
Conway Summit (9/11/16) Jeff Simpson
Virginia Lakes Rd. (9/11/16) Jeff Simpson
Virginia Lakes Rd. (9/11/16) Jeff Simpson
Virginia Lakes (9/11/16) Jeff Simpson
Reds Lake (9/11/16) Jeff Simpson
Davis Lake (9/11/16) Greg Newbry
Leavitt Meadows Trailhead (9/11/16) Jeff Simpson
While most Mono County locations are still green to lime-green, colors are starting to show in the higher elevations. Anywhere near 10,000′, including Upper Rock Creek, Upper Hilton Creek and at Virginia Lakes are the best bets for significant color in Mono County this week, as the highest stands have vibrant yellow, orange and red. However, you’ll have to work to get to it.
Other locations showing progress this week include Parker Lake, Conway Summit, Green Creek, Sagehen Meadow, Rock Creek, Sonora Pass, Tioga Pass and Monitor Pass.
Cooler temperatures and some precipitation the past few days have kick-started that fall feeling throughout Mono County. And, the forecast looks absolutely perfect (sunny, low to mid-70s) for fall color viewing in the coming week.
Here’s Jeff’s Mono County report from North to South, along U.S. 395.
Just Starting (0-10%) – Monitor Pass, Mill Canyon/Golden Gate Mine Road, Walker Canyon, Walker & Coleville – Not much to see as yet.
Patchy (10-50%) – Sonora Pass – While there’s mostly lime green with a little yellow at the bottom, more yellow appears as you approach the top of the pass.
HIKE OF THE WEEK – The Leavitt Meadow Trail to Roosevelt Lake is a 6.5 mile round-trip hike that should be exploding with color in the next 10-14 days. Visit ModernHiker.com for more recommendations of great fall color hikes.
Just Starting (0-10%) – Bridgeport Reservoir/Twin Lakes
Patchy (10-50%) – Virginia Lakes – Some groves are displaying vibrant yellow leaves, while some areas in the lower elevations are still completely green and lime-green.
Just Starting (0-10%) – Conway Summit – Some groves showing some color, but the majority of the area is still green to lime green. There is, however bright golden and orange color in the grasses surrounding groves of green aspen.
Just Starting (0-10%) – Green Creek – Some small changes in the higher elevations, especially on the Green Creek trail to Green Lake.
Just Starting (0-10%) – Summers Meadow
Just Starting (0-10%) – Tioga Pass & Lee Vining Canyon – Elevations at 10,000′ are near peak, but the more visited lower stands have a long way to go.
Just Starting (0-10%)– Lundy Lake & Canyon
Just Starting (0-10%) – Sagehen Meadow – 0-10% Just getting started. Lime greens with occasional patches of yellows.
Just Starting (0-10%) – June Lake Loop/Hwy 158
Just Starting (0-10%)– Parker Lake – Lime greens with small patches of yellows.
Hilton Creek (9/11/16) Greg Newbry
Green Creek (9/6/16) Jeff Simpson
Just Starting (0-10%) – Little Walker Lake
Just Starting (0-10%)– Mammoth Lakes – Will be reported separately, tomorrow.
Just Starting (0-10%)– Convict Lake
Just Starting (0-10%) – McGee Creek
Just Starting (0-10%)– Crowley
GO NOW! Near Peak (50-75%) – Upper Rock Creek – Near Peak at 10,000′. Rides from the Rock Creek Pack Station take you to broad areas of yellow color.
Patchy – Rock Creek – Patches of yellow and lime are mixed with green among the aspen at the lake.
Just Starting (0-10%) Rock Creek Road and Lower Rock Creek
GO NOW! Near Peak (50-75%) – Hilton Creek – Red, orange and golden aspen leaves mix with lime and green at the upper end of the Hilton Creek Trail.
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