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Paso Robles – Pass of the Oaks

Poison oak enveloped by coastal fog (10/10/19) Mark Harding

Paso Robles, on the Central Coast, is named for its oaks, which are mostly Live Oaks (evergreen). Of its many oaks, only Valley Oak is deciduous.

There is color to be found on the Central Coast, when you look for Fremont cottonwood, bigleaf maple, box elder, California sycamore, creek dogwood, California ash, vineyards, willows and poison oak.

Though, CaliforniaFallColor.com receives few reports from the Central Coast, because the region’s mild climate doesn’t encourage the development of deciduous plants. Those that are native there, also grow in colder areas of California.

Central Coast color spotter Mark Harding sends back these images taken in Templeton and Paso, proving that fall color does appear along the coast.

  • Poison oak and Spanish moss, Santa Rosa Creek Rd., Paso Robles (10/10/19) Mark Harding
  • California sycamore, Old Creek Rd., Paso Robles (10/10/19) Mark Harding
  • Poison oak, Templeton (10/10/19) Mark Harding
  • Vineyard, Old Creek Rd., Paso Robles (10/10/19) Mark Harding
  • Paso Robles (732’) – Patchy (10-50%)
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