Jan Davies reports there’s “a rainbow of colors” in the neighborhoods of Chester at Lake Almanor with bigleaf and rocky mountain maples – as well as some exotics in gardens – showing, “everything from lime green to lemon, gold, umber, and cranberry.”
Lake Almanor is located along the Feather River in northern California, where the northern Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade ranges meet.
Three ecosystems overlap there, the two mountain ranges and the high deserts of northern California and Nevada. This results in a mix of plant and animal life that makes it one of the most fascinating corners of California, and provides for a vibrant mix of fall colors.
http://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.png00John Poimiroohttp://www.californiafallcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/logo-1.pngJohn Poimiroo2016-10-12 06:51:082016-10-13 17:45:01Rainbow of Colors at Lake Almanor
Hat Creek Meadow, Lassen Volcanic National Park (9/25/16) Shanda Ochs
Hat Creek Meadow, Lassen Volcanic National Park (9/25/16) Shanda Ochs
Manzanita Lake, Lassen Volcanic National Park (9/24/16) Shanda Ochs
Mountain Alder, Lassen Volcanic National Park (9/24/16) Shanda Ochs
Lassen Volcanic National Park color spotter Shanda Ochs recommends visiting Hat Creek meadow, where grasses and willows carpet it with “beautiful rusty orange, gold and yellow foliage.”
Meadow grasses provide an early show that doesn’t last long. Shanda believes the display at Hat Creek will wane, as leaves turn with approaching colder temperatures.
At Manzanita Lake, near the northwest entrance to Lassen Volcanic, lime-colored willow, alder and cottonwood ring the lake.
Hat Creek Meadow, Lassen Volcanic National Park (6,500′) – Peak (75-100%) GO NOW!
Manzanita Lake, Lassen Volcanic National Park (5,900′) – Just Starting (0-10%)
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Indian Rhubarb, Deer Creek, CA-32 (9/25/16) Sharon Roberts
Sharon Roberts of the St. Bernard Lodge (10 mi. west of Chester/Lake Almanor) reports that the Indian Rhubarb (Darmera peltata) – also known as the umbrella plant – have begun their showy fall display of firey orange beside Deer Creek in the Shasta Cascade.
Indian Rhubarb, Deer Creek, CA-32 (9/25/16) Sharon Roberts
Indian Rhubarb, Deer Creek, CA-32 (9/25/16) Sharon Roberts
Indian Rhubarb, Deer Creek, CA-32 (9/25/16) Sharon Roberts
Indian Rhubarb, Deer Creek, CA-32 (9/25/16) Sharon Roberts
Deer Creek runs beside portions of CA-32, approximately 50 miles east of Chico. Enter the “Alder Creek Campground” in your nav device to find it. At elevation 3,900′, Deer Creek is 20 miles west of Chester.
Along its banks the fan-leaved plant turns bright orange-red at peak in early October. Presently the color is at the low end of Patchy, though examples of brilliant color can be found.
They provide dramatic contrast to nearby yellow bigleaf maple and orange black oak. Indian rhubarb is one of California’s most colorful and distinctive autumn plants and its most beautiful populations are found in Tehama and Plumas Counties.
Continuing northeast on CA-32, the road intersects CA-36. Turn left and you’re about ten miles from Lassen Volcanic National Park with its crimson knot weed, gold-orange Lemmon’s willow, yellow alder and golden cottonwood.
Turn right and you travel toward Chester. If you pass through Chester and continue east, you reach Susanville where colorful foliage grows beside the Susan River.
Turn south along the west shore of Lake Almanor (before reaching Chester) and you head toward the Indian Valley and Quincy, prime color viewing areas in the northern Sierra Nevada.
For more about planning a visit to the area, CLICK HERE and to camp at Alder Creek, CLICK HERE, and to stay at St. Bernard Lodge, CLICK HERE.
Alder Creek Campground, CA-32 (3,900′) – Patchy (10-50%)
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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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With with the possible exceptions of The Deserts and Santa Catalina Island, it is now peaking at all California elevations below 2,000′.
Apple Hill (11/16/15) Sarah Showalter
Apple Hill in the Sierra foothills of El Dorado County are canopied with color, as spotters Vera Haranto Fuad and Sarah Showalter found when they visited this past week.
Historic photos taken by Linnea Wahamaki and Susan Taylor (posted to our Facebook site) show the beauty seen this month in Nevada City in the Gold Country and at McArthur-Burney Falls State Park in the Shasta Cascade.
Seen from 800′ in the Sierra foothills at El Dorado Hills, the Sacramento Valley is covered with broad spotches of red, orange and yellow fall color, like a Persian carpet that’s been cast across the valley floor.
Maple, Nevada City (11/5/15) Linnea Wahamaki
Maple, Nevada City (11/5/15) Linnea Wahamaki
McArthur-Burney Falls (11/14/15) Susan Taylor
Red oak, Citrus Heights (11/16/15) Sarah Showalter
Ginkgo biloba, Agoura (11/19/15) Kathy Jonokuchi
Blue oak, El Dorado Hills (11/21/15) John Poimiroo
Sarah Showalter’s photo of a red oak ablaze in Citrus Heights is typical of the color to be seen lined along boulevards in Folsom, Fair Oaks, Carmichael and Sacramento.
Japanese maple, Ironstone Vineyards, Murphys (11/22/15) Bonnie Nordby
Today, Bonnie Nordby strolled through a magical forest of crimson, yellow, orange and golden Japanese maple at the Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys, and sent us this snap.
From the Santa Clara Valley (Silicon), Jennifer “JMel” Mellone contributed photos taken in Campbell
Wherever you go, California’s many urban forests are on fire. Color spotter Kathy Jonokuchi sent snaps of garden color in Agoura and Nancy Wright of Murietta send added some of Pepper trees in Murietta (both in Southern California), where exotic trees will continue to provide fall color (weather permitting) through the Thanksgiving Day weekend.
However, from Plumas County, color spotter Jeff Luke Titcomb is almost longing in expressing that the fall color there has descended to the river bottoms. His brooding image of smoke rising through a forest of pine and black oak whose last remaining leaves cling weakly to spindly branches, is a nostalgic reminder that 2015’s autumn show has only days remaining.
Liquidambar, Campbell (11/22/15) Jennifer Mellone
Ginkgo biloba, Campbell (11/22/15) Jennifer Mellone
Pepper, Campbell (11/22/15) Jennifer Mellone
Pepper, Murietta (11/22/15) Nancy Wright
Pepper, Murietta (11/22/15) Nancy Wright
Black oak, Plumas County (11/22/15) Jeff Luke Titcomb
Elm, Southside Park, Sacramento (11/15/15) Jim Adams
Folks heading home for the holidays should see lots of fall color in yards and urban forests, as this sampling taken by color spotters across California attests.
Ginkgo biloba, Southside Park, Sacramento (11/15/15) Jim Adams
Maple, Southside Park, Sacramento (11/15/15) Jim Adams
Southside Park, Sacramento (11/15/15) Jim Adams
Southside Park, Sacramento (11/15/15) Jim Adams
Southside Park, Sacramento (11/15/15) Jim Adams
Southside Park, Sacramento (11/15/15) Jim Adams
Jim Adams went out this week to capture glorious golden ginkgos and colossal claret-colored liquidambar along the boulevards of Sacramento’s Southside Park. Our state’s capital is a sight to behold in autumn when towering London Plane, Elm, Sycamore and trees of every imaginable variety, planted decades ago to shade the city from scorching summer heat, turn red-hot as Thanksgiving Day approaches.
Los Gatos (11/15/15) Anson Davalos
Los Gatos (11/15/15) Anson Davalos
Los Gatos (11/15/15) Anson Davalos
In the Santa Clara Valley (AKA Silicon), Anson Davalos found Los Gatos streets arched with rufous arbors.
Heavenly bamboo, Murietta (11/15/15) Nancy Wright
Liquidambar, Murietta (11/15/15) Nancy Wright
Murietta (11/15/15) Nancy Wright
And, near Riverside, Nancy Wright drove through Murietta to find heavenly bamboo and liquidambar brightening the southland.
What makes California fall color so different from other areas on the continent is that our Mediterranean climate allows many varieties of exotic deciduous trees to flourish. That doesn’t happen elsewhere in North America. And, that means we get a flush of brilliant color in our gardens, arboretums and urban forests that is incomparable.
Peak (75-100%) GO NOW! – California’s Urban Forests
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Exotic Flowering Pear, Redding (11/15/15) Cory Poole
Exotic Liquidambar, Redding (11/15/15) Cory Poole
Shasta Cascade color spotter Cory Poole’s fall color reporting has been limited by a leg injury for much of this autumn, but that didn’t stop him from getting out this weekend.
He acquired an all-terrain knee scooter so that he could get back to photographing fall color and sends these captures of today’s outing along the Sacramento River and in downtown Redding.
Now, that’s dedication!
Cory reports much of Redding is peaking, with the cottonwoods and willows beside the Sacramento River as good as they get.
Most importantly, he said he was “… happy to say the fact that there are lots and lots of accessible trails in Redding is really nice!”
They don’t call Redding the Trails Capital of California, without reason.
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Trinity County color spotter Jeri Rangel sent us back to church to ask for forgiveness for announcing, earlier this week,that Trinity County was almost past peak.
Mea culpa! As is evident in Jeri’s pictures, Weaverville is Peaking, with gorgeous color along CA-299.
Founded in 1850 during the California Gold Rush, Weaverville is the county seat and a fascinating town to visit.
Weaverville’s Joss House whose official name is “The Temple of the Forest Beneath the Clouds,” is a remarkable Taoist temple and California’s best-preserved example of a gold rush era Chinese place of worship, with its beautiful interior and intricately carved altar.
Weaverville (11/10/15) Jeri Rangel
An unusual aspect of this 19th century town is its exterior circular staircases, so built to avoid higher property taxes assessed for interior stairs during the 1800s. They add quirky charm to this fascinating town.
Weaverville is prime to visit and peaking. GO NOW!
Photos just received change our previous report on Trinity County from past peak to peak. GO NOW!
Color spotter Gabriel Leete got his snap of fall color along the Trinity River (CA-299), with bigleaf maple at full peak, as the Shasta Cascade’s first major winter storm arrived to dampen leaves.
Gabriel reports the color in west Trinity County is 90% done.
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