Matt Snoozle reported this week that Shasta Lake is still going strong with fall color.
“Attached are some pictures from my recent trip to Shasta Lake,” he said. “It’s still spectacular there as of November 24. My guess is still a week left of fall leaves until the cold temps hit and snow falls.”
“I noticed there isn’t a locator on your map for Shasta Lake, so thought I would fill you in on this amazing spot and location.”
The entire drive along Gilman Road and Lake Shasta is paved and easy to complete on a day outing. Hirz Bay trailhead / picnic area is definitely worth a visit, he added.
Also, Whiskeytown to the west is still full of fall foliage.
The Sparkle Parade in Quincy brings a different kind of color to Plumas County. (file photo) Plumas County
Plumas County has enjoyed the awe of Mother Nature this fall with stunning colors from vibrant yellows to scarlets and purples. Now the area is beginning to enjoy the change from golden colors to leaves wafting in the breeze and falling to the ground in preparation for the area’s winter wonderland.
Lots of holiday preparation is going on in the rural towns starting with finding the perfect Christmas tree. Cutting permits for $10 at:
On November 24 join the community of Chester for a tree lighting ceremony, the opening of the ice-skating rink and the annual Merchant’s Night Out. Streets are filled with shoppers enjoying the warmth of bonfires in front of all the stores while having a bite to eat and a holiday libation.
On December 2, the 52nd annual Sparkle in Quincy is reminiscent of a country Christmas with lighted parade, live music and shopping. Learn about more events here.
Finding the perfect Christmas Tree in Plumas County (file photo) Plumas County
Ice skating begins next week in Chester (file photo) Plumas County
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Colors up Highway 32 along Deer Creek on the way up to Chico are going off right now, reports color spotter Philip Reedy.
“Some beautiful colors everywhere I went,” he says. “I headed from Davis to Chico bright and early Friday planning to check out Midway Road between Durham and Chico. Along the way there were many orchards that have turned orange.”
Midway is noted for the canopy of trees lining the road that exhibit lovely red, orange, and yellow colors in November. The trees were at 50% now, so the next two weeks should be great, Reedy explains.
Midway Road, Chico (11/10/23) Philip Reedy
Deer Creek Falls (11/10/23) Philip Reedy
Deer Creek (11/10/23) Philip Reedy
The Esplanade, Chico (11/10/23) Philip Reedy
“I drove through Chico on my way to Bidwell Park and Big Chico Creek. The city has many tree-lined streets and the Esplanade near Bidwell Mansion is peaking right now. The trees have begun to turn in Upper Bidwell Park and there are some great spots near the Bear Hole parking lot to enjoy the colors. It will probably be a week or two before the park reaches peak.”
The highlight of the day was the drive along Highway 32 (Deer Creek Highway). From about 2,000 ft to 4,000 ft elevation, the highway was lined with big leaf maple and oak at peak color.
“It seemed like I was pulling over every 100 yards to take another picture,” Reedy says. “And the Indian Rhubarb along Deer Creek had also fully turned, completing the color trifecta.”
Once he passed 4,000 ft elevation and reached Slate Creek and the Elam campground the trees were completely bare and the rhubarb and grasses along the creek were brown.
Highway 32 along Deer Creek is a definitely “GO NOW!,” but the lower elevations along the highway should be good for another week.
http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.png00Lara Kaylorhttp://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.pngLara Kaylor2023-11-12 14:11:152023-11-12 14:16:09A Tale of Two Creeks
Autumn has been spectacular in Plumas County and it’s not over yet!
The cottonwoods have finally decided to turn yellow behind Chester’s Olsen Barn Meadow along the banks of the North Fork Feather River.
Betty Bishop, who lives near the meadow, captured some “Cottonwood colors” just this week. There is a flat, two-mile loop trail around the barn adjacent to the river to get up close to take in the lovely colors.
The splendor of Indian Valley also continues to shine with this week’s rainbow appearing during a storm over the yellow-orange cottonwoods. Jake Edwards of Scenescapery was there to capture the scene.
Additionally, the oaks along La Porte Road are still looking lovely. You can drive up La Porte Road to Pilot Peak Road and take a lovely hike to Pilot Peak for some lovely views.
Finally, as fall slowly fades into winter in this area, preparations are underway for the opening of the ice skating rink on November 24. With cold temperatures and a recent dusting of snow you should GO NOW! to this area.
Cottonwoods at Olsen Barn (118/23) Betty Bishop
Oaks on La Porte Road (11/9/23) Karen Kleven
Oaks on La Porte Road (11/9/23) Karen Kleven
Worth the hike for breathtaking views at Pilots Peak (11/9/23) Beth Reid
Color spotter Philip Reedy has done it again, going the extra mile to capture fabulous fall color photos.
“Last week I toured parts of Siskiyou County along the Upper Sac,” Reedy said. “This week my buddy John and I did another nearly 500-mile day east of Redding.”
The friends drove from Davis to Redding, then headed northeast along Highway 299 as far as Lake Britton. From there they spent some time at Lassen NP before heading back home.
“Our first stop along 299 was the very beautiful Potem Falls, about 40 miles from Redding and at a fairly low elevation of 1200 ft.,” Reedy said. “There are some very nice colors right now, mainly big leaf maples. Most of the Indian Rhubarb is still green and will hopefully turn in the next couple of weeks.”
From there they headed on to Burney Falls and Lake Britton.
“There are a lot of nice colors along 299 between the town of Montgomery Creek and Burney, with many of the mountainsides covered in colorful oak trees,” Reedy said. “Burney Falls is definitely past peak, so unless you just want to view the falls, don’t expect much in the way of color. Lake Britton still has a bit of color along the shore, but it is also fading fast and probably isn’t worth a long drive.”
They finished up at Lassen NP and Manzanita Lake where there was very little color left, just a few trees and grasses still wearing a bit of yellow and gold.
“I was there a year ago and the park was covered in nearly two feet of snow, but nothing yet this year,” he said. “Like Highway 299, Highway 44 has a lot of nice colors once you get to lower elevations on the road to Redding.”
http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.png00Lara Kaylorhttp://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.pngLara Kaylor2023-11-05 22:44:332023-11-05 22:44:51Shasta County Steals the Show
Downtown Quincy is past its peak but still quite lovely especially if you like to shuffle through fallen leaves for that crunching, fall feeling, according to color spotters in Plumas County. The surrounding area is still covered with oaks that have turned beautiful shades of orange and yellow.
It’s an excellent time for mountain biking on the South Park trails maintained by Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. We still recommend the Cascades Trail for hiking, which is 5.1 miles from the Quincy airport to the road marked Old Highway. Turn right and follow the paved road 0.7 miles east past several homes. Then turn left onto a rough dirt road and go 0.4 miles to the parking area and trailhead.
Mountain Biking Mount Hough Trail (archive photo) Mason Werner
Mount Hough Trail
Driving north on Highway 89 from Quincy to Indian Valley (Taylorsville and Greenville), Michael Beatley, one of our favorite leaf peepers, stopped by Indian Falls to check out fall colors last weekend and wasn’t disappointed. He said Indian Creek is lined with colorful wild grape, willows, big leaf maples, and grasses. Still at 100% peak.
Victor at Pine Aire Resort in the Feather River Canyon says around each bend in the road the oaks are lovely. He mentioned that the construction stops weren’t too bad—15 minutes or so. Now is definitely the time to explore the Feather River Canyon!
In the Northwest part of Plumas County, Chester is still very showy with golden cottonwoods along the North Fork of the Feather River near First Avenue. Although the cottonwoods behind Olsen Barn aren’t as colorful this year, it is still a nice place to stop and explore the barn and walk the loop trail.
Leaf peeper Jake Edwards (@Scenescapery) reports that Deer Creek off of Hwy 32 is at peak.
Along Highway 32 plenty of colorful trees remain though they are getting close to peak, about 95%. A perfect place to stop for a picnic lunch is Dog Patch. The sights will not disappoint.
Remember that fall is more than beautifully colored landscapes. There are many varieties of apples in Quincy, Meadow Valley, and Indian Valley—some planted years ago by pioneers. When visiting these areas look to participate in the popular fall activity of apple juicing.
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Color spotter Michael Beatley took a drive over the weekend to Indian Falls and Indian Creek on Hwy 89.
“The creek is lined with wild grape, willows, big leaf maples and grasses,” he described. “On the west edge of Quincy is the West Ranch with cottonwoods and old farm implements and black oaks. Plumas County is peaking everywhere.”
Color spotter Jeff Titcomb took a drive on Old Highway Road on Oct. 25 and sent in the following images. By the look of it, we’d say things are in GO NOW condition!
http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.png00Lara Kaylorhttp://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.pngLara Kaylor2023-10-29 12:53:072023-10-29 12:53:21A Drive on Old Highway Road
Color spotter Philip Reedy drove 500 miles this week to check out the Upper Sacramento River up to the headwaters at Lake Siskiyou, which is one of his favorite areas in the fall.
He was surprised to find that unlike most years at this time, a lot of trees had already lost their leaves, yet the Indian Rhubarb had just started to change.
“Leaving at 5 am to catch the early morning light, my first stop was Sims Flat on the Upper Sacramento River. At an elevation of only 1,657 ft, the colors usually arrive here a week or two from now. Fortunately, there were enough already to justify some photos. For history buffs, the Sims bridge was built in 1933, the first major project of the newly created Civilian Conservation Corp.”
Next up for Reedy was the Castella Loop at 1,957 ft, in the shadow of Castle Crags State Park. In a normal year, Reedy says the rhubarb would be in full color right now, but like the rest of the river, most are still green. In contrast, he added, many of the trees were already bare, but enough remained to provide some nice color.
“The highlight of the day and by far the best color was the hike to Mossbrae Falls from Dunsmuir at 2,478 ft,” he says. “At the higher elevation, all of the trees are at peak right now, so this weekend would be the perfect time to go.”
The (Rail)road to Mossbrae Falls (10/26/23) Philip Reedy
Sims Bridge-1933 CCC Project (10/26/23) Philip Reedy
Upper Sacramento River-Box Canyon Indian Rhubarb (10/26/23) Philip Reedy
A few miles upstream, just below the Lake Siskiyou dam, is a beautiful box canyon. But once again, the rhubarb had just begun to turn while most of the trees had already dropped their leaves. Fortunately for Reedy, his favorite patch of rhubarb had turned its usual bright red.
“My trip ended in the town of Mt. Shasta where there are many great views of the ever-present mountain,” Reedy says. “Unlike last fall, it isn’t covered in snow, but still beautiful when framed by vibrant fall colors.”
Our overall recommendation is to GO NOW to these beautiful locations!
Home nestled in color on Feather River Drive off Main Street, Chester (10/23/23) Jake Edwards
Color spotters in Plumas County are just getting into the meat of color season. We rounded up the following happenings from this week.
In Eastern Plumas County, there are still beautiful aspens in higher elevations, such as the hikers in the image below found along the Jamison Creek Trail.
The Quincy area, as mentioned earlier this week, is at 100% peak! Just about everywhere you look, the town is bursting with awesome autumn color.
The oaks are starting to turn along Highway 70 in the Feather River Canyon and will continue to be showy for a few weeks. Highway 89 along Indian Creek is looking quite lovely despite burn scars from the Dixie Fire.
In Indian Valley and Genesee, maples and dogwood are still looking lovely and the oaks are starting to turn. Stop by the Genesee Store (open Friday-Sunday), nestled in the valley for a gourmet meal while you’re out leaf peeping.
Chester, on Hwy 36, is peaking with some amazing colors captured by Jake Edwards, Scenescapery. While you are there, make sure you take in some fall treats at the popular Cravings, or stop in to visit American Interiors in its historical building framed by fall foliage currently at peak.
Pond behind Chester High School (10/23/23) Jake Edwards
Bridge by Chester's historical library (10/23/23) Jake Edwards
http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.png00Lara Kaylorhttp://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.pngLara Kaylor2023-10-26 12:37:182023-10-26 12:38:28Treats for the Eyes and Tastebuds in Plumas
