Yes Virginia, There is an Autumn
Virginia Lakes has received CaliforniaFallColor.com‘s first “Go Now!” with Near Peak fall color appearing along the upper section of the Virginia Lakes Road, at the Virginia Lakes Resort and ringing the shoreline of Virginia Lake.
Virginia Lakes Rd (9/22/20) Jeff Simpson | Mono County Tourism 
Virginia Lakes Rd (9/22/20) Jeff Simpson | Mono County Tourism 
Virginia Lakes Rd (9/22/20) Jeff Simpson | Mono County Tourism 
Virginia Lakes Resort (9/22/20) Jeff Simpson | Mono County Tourism 
Little Virginia Lake (9/22/20) Jeff Simpson | Mono County Tourism 
Little Virginia Lake (9/22/20) Jeff Simpson | Mono County Tourism
Presently, northern Mono County is one of the few places in California to see Near Peak fall color, as the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is open. Inyo National Forest, Mono County’s Eastern Sierra neighbor to the south, remains closed, and CaliforniaFallColor.com just received notice that Inyo National Forest plans to extend the closure another week.
That means, the only easily accessible location to see peak fall color in the coming week in the Eastern Sierra will be at Virginia Lakes. Driving, hiking, camping and fishing are not allowed in closed national forests; that includes fall color viewing.
The Yosemite back country will have areas of peak, though that requires hiking at elevation, to see it. A little color should also be visible along the Tioga Road, above 9,000′. However, Yosemite National Park is closed at least through Sept. 25, due to heavy smoke.
Updates are posted on CaliforniaFallColor.com as received and at these sites:
- Inyo National Forest
- Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest – Bridgeport Ranger District
- Yosemite National Park
- Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District or AirNow.gov (air quality)
- Creek Fire Information for Mono County
NOW OPEN for fall color viewing in Mono County are: Virginia Lakes, Conway Summit, Green Creek, Summers Meadows, Twin Lakes Bridgeport, Sonora Pass, Lobdell Lake Road, West Walker River, Monitor Pass and the towns of Walker, Coleville and Topaz.
Most of these locations are Just Starting, especially along US 395. Patchy conditions are found at Monitor Pass, Sonora Pass and Dunderberg Meadows Rd.
Virginia Lakes is Peak of the Week with most of its trees at lake level and along upper sections of the Virginia Lakes Road full of gold.
Fall Color Driving Tour of the Week begins on the Virginia Lakes Road, then diverts to the Green Creek Loop via Dunderberg Meadows Road.
Here’s a rundown of fall color conditions, from north to south along US 395 in Mono County.
WALKER / COLEVILLE / TOPAZ
- Monitor Pass (8,314′) – Patchy (10-50%) – Monitor Pass is a late peak among Sierra passes. Right now, it’s closer to 10% than 50%.
- West Walker River, Walker, Coleville and Topaz (5,200′) – Just Starting (0-10%)
- Sonora Pass (9,623′) – Patchy (10-50%) – Mostly green with some areas of yellow.
BRIDGEPORT / VIRGINIA LAKES
- Twin Lakes (7,000′) – INYO NF CLOSED
- Virginia Lakes (9,819’) – Near Peak (50-75%) Go Now! – Aspen are gilding the lakeshore, upper Virginia Lakes Rd. and Virginia Lakes Resort. It remains green at lower elevations.
- Dunderberg Meadows Road – Near Peak (50-75%) Go Now! – From the Virginia Lakes Rd. drive on Dunderberg Meadows Rd. toward Green Creek. The Virginia Lakes to Green Creek Loop via Dunderberg Meadows Road is Drive of the Week.
- Conway Summit (8,143) – Just Starting (0-10%) One good patch of yellow trees way up on the hill but mostly green/lime green everywhere else.
- Summers Meadow (7,200′) Just Starting (0-10%) – Just starting in the highest of elevations.
LEE VINING
- Tioga Pass (9,943′) – YOSEMITE NP CLOSED
- Lee Vining Canyon (6,781′) – INYO NF CLOSED
- Lundy Lake & Canyon (7,858′) – INYO NF CLOSED
BENTON & 120 EAST
- Sagehen Summit (8,139’) – INYO NF CLOSED
JUNE LAKE LOOP
- June Lake Loop/Hwy 158 (7,654′) – INYO NF CLOSED
MAMMOTH LAKES
- Mammoth Lakes Basin (8,996′) – INYO NF CLOSED
CROWLEY LAKE/McGEE CREEK/CONVICT LAKE
- McGee Creek Canyon (8,600’) – INYO NF CLOSED
- Around Crowley community (6,781′) – INYO NF CLOSED
- Convict Lake (7850′) – INYO NF CLOSED
ROCK CREEK CANYON
- Rock Creek Road (9,600’) – INYO NF CLOSED
Conditions and closures are as of Sept. 23, 2020.
Odd Beginnings
It’s the first day of autumn. Fall color is nearing peak in the Eastern Sierra, but until an hour ago, we’d received no reports. Odd.
Actually, not so odd when you consider that all eight national forests south of the mid-Sierra, where much of the early color appears, remain closed.
Then, I spoke with a Bishop-area local who’d been in Bishop Creek Canyon this past Saturday. He said the aspen vary from 10 to 20% of peak, with Lake Sabrina Near Peak at about 70%.
The local said visiting the canyon was a surreal experience. The Owens Valley has become a catch-basin for haze from fires elsewhere in California, but at Lake Sabrina, North Lake and South Lake, the air is much clearer, and wildlife (bear, birds) were out in force. There was so much wildlife out and about that the local became uncomfortable hearing their calls and movement so close by.
On his two trips through the canyon, motor traffic was not being stopped though he saw two anglers (fishing in Bishop Creek) being visited fairly quickly by fish and game wardens; they soon left.
North Lake Rd (9/19/20) Gary Young 
South Lake Rd. (9/19/20) Gary Young 
South Lake Rd (9/19/20) Gary Young 
CA-168, Below Lake Sabrina (9/19/20) Gary Young 
CA-168, Below Lake Sabrina (9/19/20) Gary Young 
N. Lake Turnoff (9/19/20) Gary Young
Considering that Inyo National Forest is closed, those intending to see or photograph fall color are advised to wait until the forest reopens – not expected to reopen until Oct. 1 – as you may be detained or fined for entering a closed forest. Driving, hiking, camping and fishing are not allowed in closed national forests. That includes fall color viewing.
Elsewhere along US 395, north of Conway Summit, the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is open.
Virginia Lakes is Near Peak, but unlike Lake Sabrina, it can be visited. Lower elevations in the forest (Summers Meadow, Lobdell Lake Rd.) are Just Starting.
- Bishop Creek Canyon – Just Starting (0-10%) to Near Peak (50-75%) – INYO NF CLOSED
- Virginia Lakes (9,819′) – Near Peak (50-75%) GO NOW!
U.S. Forests Reopen
Nine National Forests (Eldorado NF, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Lassen NF, Mendocino NF, Modoc NF, Plumas NF, Shasta-Trinity NF, Stanislaus NF and the Tahoe NF) were given the green light to reopen today by the USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region.
“These forests will implement their own forest orders,” a USFS Forest Service press release stated, “that will either limit dispersed use or provide for area closures around fires.”
Remaining closed are: Angeles NF, Cleveland NF, Los Padres NF, Inyo NF, Klamath NF, San Bernardino NF, Sequoia NF, Sierra NF and Six Rivers NF, subject to daily review dependent upon evolving fire and weather conditions.
For fall color spotters this means that the prime early viewing areas of Bishop Creek Canyon (Inyo County) and Rock Creek Canyon (Mono County) as well as other Eastern Sierra viewing spots remain closed or with limited access. Heavy smoke (as reported yesterday) obstructs or reduces the beauty of color to be seen in those areas, for the moment.
To see a map of current forest closures, CLICK HERE.
Lackluster
This week, Philip Reedy, Michelle Pontoni and I separately explored the noxious outdoors before the thermal inversion lifted. At the time, an oppressively dense haze from numerous California wildfires hung over California, keeping the Sun’s rays from brightening the landscape.
Instead, it draped a lackluster pall across the scene.
In Davis, Reedy found fallen Fremont cottonwood leaves resting among pepper berries and upon redwood branches, quiet beauty in an otherwise moribund atmosphere.
Scrub Quaking Aspen, South Lake Tahoe Bike Path (9/15/20) Michelle Pontoni
Pontoni found a more encouraging scene as she biked south a quarter mile on the Lake Tahoe Boulevard Bike Path from the corner of Lake Tahoe Blvd and Viking Road in South Lake Tahoe. Tiny Quaking Aspen, pushing up from the forest floor, were beginning to change color. Bikers, walkers, and strollers along the path were bombarded by Sugar Pine cones as afternoon winds picked up. She warned, “Wear a helmet!”
At Fallen Leaf lake, Pontoni reported seeing only one aspen full of yellow – all others were still “fully green.” Elsewhere, meadow brush were showing signs of change, painting the landscape with blended tones of lime-green, yellow, orange and russet.
In Tahoe City, red maple lifted their desiccated branches as if pleading for the subalpine lake’s normally clear skies to dissipate the gasses. As I passed Agate Bay, one could see only a hundred yards out into the brown-grey haze. Beyond it, there was only mystery and memories of Tahoe’s beauty.
I drove past Martis Creek’s derelict cabin on CA-267, its aspen enveloped in a foul air that both dulled and warmed their color, a mix of green, to lime, to pastel yellow, to sickly orange. Should it be photographed? Yes, but the scene was then too depressing to stop, unsaddle, gear up and take a photograph that would only leave me saddened.
This morning, I replied to a comment from travelgal485 which opined that perhaps this wasn’t the year to see California’s fall color. Having just experienced the suffocating, disheartening search for something bright and colorful, I was of a mind to agree, but recalled the lessons many years observing autumn have taught.
I answered, “Right now, it’s not the best time, but give it a day and it could be one of the most unbelievably beautiful years, ever. The reason it’s so disappointing, for the moment, are: forest closures (due to smoke and to allow USFS staff to focus on firefighting) and haze. However, both those conditions will change. Yesterday was the first clear day in a month in the Sacramento Valley, with an actual sunset seen along the Coast Range. If I’ve learned anything in more than 40 years writing about California’s fall color it’s what Heraclitus of Ephesus wrote 2,520 years ago, “the only constant is change.”
- Davis – Just Starting (0 – 10%)
- South Lake Tahoe / Fallen Leaf Lake – Just Starting (0 – 10%)
- Tahoe City / Agate Bay / Martis Creek / Truckee – Just Starting (0 – 10%)
Mapping Fall Color
There is no machine-driven method of automatically mapping fall color across California. The California Fall Color Map (at right on Navigation bar) is updated by hand each Friday, after reports have been received and verified.
The map is a visual guide to how autumn color is changing, though it may not be precise, as conditions change rapidly.
Above, you see the map as updated on Friday, Sept. 11. Those areas with Just Starting (0-10%) light green color are either in that range or an update has not been received to change a leaf’s color.
The Eastern Sierra’s Bishop Creek Canyon (seen at left) is one area that gets lots of reports, so its map is precise to a few hundred feet, when updated. The accuracy of the map depends on reports from people across California.
When an area is transitioning from Peak to Past Peak, we are cautious to not declare an area as Past Peak until most of the color has fallen, as there’s still beauty to be seen. This is a subjective decision, but one that over time has proven to be prudent.
However, please note that once a brown Past Peak leaf has been placed in a given area, other peaking locations near the same elevation are likely to become Past Peak momentarily. So, haste is needed to see peak color at those locations.
Dated photographs confirm reports. So, if you’d like to contribute to the map, include a photo, mention the location where and the day when the color change was seen and email your report to editor@californiafallcolor.com
There are several fall foliage maps across the United States. Most, in our opinion, seem not to be based on what’s actually happening at those locations, but are general forecasts of what should or might be appearing.
In particular, national maps that include California are often based on hunches rather than actual reports. One example is the Great Smoky Mountains Map (above) which uses a slider to indicate where fall color might appear by date. However, for California, it’s total nonsense and has nothing to do with what really happens.
Worse, it entirely misses the San Bernardino, San Jacinto and Laguna Mountains, turning all of Southern California past peak without any sense of what really happens.
The California Fall Color Map is based on actual reports received in the week preceding the Friday on which the map is updated. We do not make things up as these other maps seem to do. We report what’s been seen.
Nevertheless, through such tools, color spotters, photographers and leaf peepers can better understand where it’s peaking locally and nationally.
Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days
When Nat King Cole sang about “Those lazy-crazy-hazy-days of summer” in 1963, he never had in mind what California has been experiencing this summer.
“Fall is trying to peek through the smoke in the Quincy/Meadow Valley area with the cottonwoods, as usual, showing off first,” Michael Beatley reported today.
Beatley continued, “The smoke index in Meadow Valley is at 682, very hazardous and off the chart. The visibility is often less than 1/2 mile.”
Of course, air quality is just a wisp of the problem that Plumas County is facing. “The Plumas National Forest is closed to camping, vehicles and hiking, and the Bucks Lake area has been evacuated and Meadow Valley is on warning status,” Beatley wrote.
“Those evacuated from East Quincy have now returned home, however La Porte Rd. is closed and the town of La Porte and Little Grass Valley Reservoir have been evacuated, too,” he added.
“Hwy 70, along the Feather River from Butte County to Quincy is also closed as the Bear has met up with the footprint of the Camp fire 2 years ago.
“Winds are expected to start again today, but this time from the southwest, which will drive the fire directly towards Meadow Valley and Quincy,” Beatley predicted.
Michael is packed and ready to flee. His camera will be riding with him, though he first braved the poisonous air this morning, to snap these images of Meadow Valley and Spanish Creek in the haze.
- Meadow Valley, Spanish Creek – Just Starting (0-10%)
How to Submit Photos and Reports
Over 75 volunteer “color spotters” (our term for contributors) submit photographs and reports to CaliforniaFallColor.com in a typical autumn.
To be one of them is easy. Email photos within a few days of when taken* to editor@californiafallcolor.com. Always include the photographer’s name, date the photo was taken and the location where the photo was taken.
Each Thursday, I send comprehensive reports of fall color and a collection of the Best of the Week photographs to over 500 media across California. To assure that your submissions are eligible to be included in these reports, I need your photographs and reports not later than Wednesday night.
Photos should be high resolution**, particularly if you’d like them considered as one of CaliforniaFallColor.com’s Best of the Week. Each week from the first day of autumn until the Thursday preceding Thanksgiving Day, the week’s best photos are (with photographer’s permission) sent to major broadcast and print media; they won’t accept any photo less than 300 dpi in size.
Please note: We are unable to compensate photographers for use of their images, but always credit the photographer for his/her work. Publication of photographs on CaliforniaFallColor.com has benefitted many contributors who have had their photographs republished, leading to broader recognition/exposure, enhanced resumes/reputation, paid compensation from others and/or retail sales, not to mention bragging rights.
Reports should include: % of color change for the location being reported (e.g., North Lake, Bishop Creek Canyon) – not for a specific tree or shrub (expressed as: Just Starting, 0-10%; Patchy, 10-50%; Near Peak, 50-75%; Peak, 75-100%; or Past Peak), the name of the location, roads (e.g., take Rock Creek Rd. east from US 395), date visited and any helpful information (e.g., “The trail is steep for the first 500′. but then levels out for the two mile hike to the lake. A grove of peaking aspen is found at the western side the lake trail.”).
If you know the foliage seen in the photo (particularly if it is unusual or wouldn’t be evident to us), please describe it (e.g., aspen, bigleaf maple, black oak, silver willow, etc.).
We will make every effort to publish your report, particularly if it is from an unusual or lightly reported destination. When multiple photographs are received from heavily visited locations, we are able only to publish the first received, the best or the most unusual.
Occasionally, we will post a portfolio of historic photos*, but often only on Friday or when fresh images have not been received. Photos may be cropped or adjusted for best presentation.
CaliforniaFallColor.com’s style is vivid and photojournalistic. Images that tell a story or that show human activity in relation to autumn are best.
Reports and photos can also be posted on CaliforniaFallColor’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Though, emailing photos and reports to editor@californiafallcolor.com is the best way to get them on this site, and the only way to get them considered as one of the Best of the Week.
Thank you and happy wandering!
* The sooner a photograph and report are sent to us, the more likely it will be published, because it shows what is likely to be seen now at the location. Photographs taken more than a week ago aren’t really useful and cannot be included in Best of the Week collections sent to media. Historic photos, like Michael Beatley’s shot of Spanish Creek (seen above), are published – on occasion – days or even years after they were taken, but only to illustrate an article that is not time-sensitive.
**A high resolution photo is one that is 300 dpi (dots per inch). A photograph of 1 megabyte or larger is usually large enough to be considered to be high resolution. Please don’t hesitate sending a photograph just because it isn’t 300 dpi. Pictures taken with mobile devices often get included in our reports, when the device has been set to shoot a large picture. 72 dpi images (set for websites and devices) are too small for reproduction in print media.
Mountain Manners
“Like all parents,” Mono County Tourism tells us, “Mother Nature Loves good manners! Everyone knows the Golden Rule “Take only photos; leave only footprints” but here are a few other Mountain Manners etiquette tips to help protect the Eastern Sierra (and for that matter, all wild places):
MANNER #1: Follow the Beaten Path
Straying from designated paths can cause harmful erosion, and damage fragile plants, so we ask you to take the road most traveled. (with apologies to Robert Frost).
MANNER #2: Scoop the Poop
Your #2 is becoming our #1 issue. If it’s your pet’s, please bag it and take it out to a trash can! If it’s your own, bury it in a cat-hole at least 6-8 inches deep or better yet, pack it out.
MANNER #3: Gather up Garbage
Even if it’s not yours, please pack out litter! Nothing makes Mother Nature happier. Remember, food scraps are litter, too. Even if food is considered “biodegradable,” no one wants to see your orange peels lying around – and human food is unhealthy for wildlife.
MANNER #4: Don’t Feed The Bears
Or deer, birds, chipmunks, etc. Please keep yourself – and your food – out of the reach of wildlife. Store all food in bear boxes or bear-proof containers, NOT in your vehicle.
MANNER #5: Remove Fishing Line and Hooks
Fishing hooks and tangled line are dangerous to wild animals, birds, fish, pets and kids. Please remove this litter from water and shoreline and pack it out.
MANNER #6: Keep Invasive Species Out
Take all steps to keep invasive species from spreading and destroying out lakes, streams, rivers and meadows.
MANNER #7: Don’t Pick The Flowers!
It’s no easy task to blossom and survive in challenging alpine conditions – wildflowers work hard to grow! Please don’t disturb or remove plants, rocks or artifacts. Their home is right where you found them. Always stay on trail and never destroy or walk on vegetation.
MANNER #8: Social Media Do’s and Don’ts
Keep wild places wild and don’t geo-tag your Instagram Photo! Special places can be destroyed by Insta-fame. Remember that people may want to get the same photo as you – be sure your pics are taken from a safe place and do not show a dangerous activity or one that could disturb wildlife or fragile landscapes. Selfie accidents are a thing – watch your footing!
Mountain Manners was provided to us by Mono County Tourism. We would add:
- To Manner #2, TP should always be carried out, never buried.
- To Manner #3, taking garbage with you is important not just in the backcountry, but the front country, as well. Never leave bagged trash beside a trash can, as wild animals will soon spread it throughout the neighborhood, creating an unsightly mess and resentment among locals toward visitors to their area.
- To Manner #4, feeding wild animals, on purpose or inadvertently, teaches them to see people as food sources, which can lead to the animals being euthanized.
- To Manner #6: Clean the soles of footwear before heading back to the wild. This lessens the transfer of invasive seeds or diseases. Clean, drain and dry boats fully before launching elsewhere.
Onion Valley Was A Peeling
Onion Valley in Inyo National Forest was appealing over the Labor Day Weekend when Mohammad Delwar visited.
Though, smoke from the Creek Fire – as seen in his photographs – was then beginning to suffocate the Eastern Sierra. The Inyo National Forest is now closed to public use. That limits public access throughout the Eastern Sierra.
Mammoth Lakes reports the following activities are now prohibited:
- Camping in all public and private campgrounds as well as dispersed camping areas
- Water activities (fishing, boating, kayaking, etc.)
- Hiking and backpacking
- Biking, including Mammoth Mountain Bike Park
- Use of developed day-use areas, including picnic areas and beaches
- Use of off-highway vehicles
- Use of any ignition source (campfires, fire pits, stoves, etc.)
These closures are in effect until further notice in order to prioritize the safety of visitors, locals and fire personnel. Updates on reopening the forest will be posted when available. Here’s what the U.S. Forest Service is reporting.
Elsewhere, Cathy Kennedy found aspen just beginning to change at Packer Lake near Sierra City in the Northern Sierra (CA-49).
- Onion Valley, Inyo National Forest – Just Starting (10%)
- Packer Lake, Sierra City – Just Starting (10%)
Onion Valley Campground (9/7/20) Mohammad Delwar 
Quaking Aspen, Packer Lake, Sierra City (8/7/20) Cathy Kennedy
Why Don’t Evergreens Lose Their Leaves?
Actually, they do. It just doesn’t happen all at once, with few exceptions.
Evergreen trees have both broad leafs and needles. Madrone, magnolia and photinia are examples of broadleaved evergreens, while pine, fir, cedar, spruce, and redwood have needled leaves.
Evergreen needles can last anywhere from a year to 20 years, but eventually they are replaced by new leaves. When that happens, the old needles turn color and drop, but not all together and not as dramatically as deciduous trees (e.g., maple, oak, dogwood, alder, birch).
The reason needles are green is that they are full of chlorophyll which photosynthesizes sunlight into food for the tree. It also reflects green light waves, making the needles look green.
Needles, just like deciduous leaves, contain carotenoid and anthocyanin pigments. You just don’t see them until the green chlorophyll stops being produced. Once that happens, hidden carotenoids (yellow, orange and brown) emerge, as is seen in the above photograph.
Additionally, red, blue and purple Anthocyanins – produced in autumn from the combination of bright light and and excess sugars in the leaf cells – also emerge once the chlorophyll subsides.
Yes, even evergreen leaves change color… eventually.
Evergreens that drop leaves at one time include the: Conifers Larch, Bald Cyprus and Dawn Redwood.
In snowy regions, evergreen trees are able to carry snow because the waxy coating on needles, along with their narrow shape, allows them to retain water better by keeping it from freezing inside (which would otherwise destroy the leaf).
Needles also prevent snow from weighing down and breaking branches. Finally, needles allow an evergreen tree to sustain the production (though slowed) of chlorophyll through winter. Whereas, broadleaved deciduous trees would be damaged if they kept producing chlorophyll and didn’t drop their leaves.
Evergreen trees do lose their leaves and the leaves do change color. It just isn’t as spectacular.