Foliage experts consider the Western and Southern Sierra regions, home to these three national parks, great places to find the showy leaves of autumn. Look for dogwoods in red shades and oaks in deep orange, but typically not until November. Color spotter Angie Plaisted, who notes that Yosemite “never disappoints,” found spectacular hues in early November 2023 at the park.
Gold Country (Calaveras, Nevada, El Dorado counties)
Amid the giant sequoias in Calaveras Big Trees Park, visitors can see dogwoods in red and bigleaf maples transitioning to yellow and gold along the North Grove and South Grove trails. Farther north, aspens can be seen along the roadways. According to the fall color site, Nevada City and Grass Valley had brilliant Japanese maples, black oaks and gum trees from October into close to Thanksgiving last year. And a pair of Placerville/Camino leaf peepers reported that a mid-November rainstorm made Apple Hill’s fall colors astonishingly bright. Where: Calaveras, Apple Hill, Nevada City and Grass Valley.
Butano State Park (San Mateo County)
Old-grove redwoods provide a striking evergreen contrast to changing colors of bigleaf maple, California sycamore, willows and poison oak, with vines up to 30 feet. Maple typically is an early changer, swinging from yellow to gold; willows are more likely to change in December and January, leaf peepers say. Where: Off Highway 1, southeast of Pescadero.
Henry W. Coe State Park (Santa Clara and Stanislaus counties)
At 87,000 acres, this is California’s largest state park. Look for bigleaf maples turning bright yellow, and black oaks in subdued purples and some reds. Madrone trees can sprout reddish orange berries, with trunks in brownish orange. Poison oak turns a flaming red, but is still dangerous to touch. Where: On East Dunne Avenue in Morgan Hill, off Highway 101.
TIPS FOR CALIFORNIA LEAF-PEEPING TRIPS
— The higher the elevation, the earlier the fall color. Experts say a good rule of thumb to remember is that color descends by 500 to 1,000 feet every week. So if it’s peak viewing time at the 8,500-foot elevation in the Eastern Sierra, look for the 7,500-foot locations to peak in a week.
— Know before you go. Social media has been great for fans of fall foliage, with lots of travelers posting updates to sites such as
We’ve got something to say to all of you East Coast and Midwest transplants who start moaning every autumn about missing real seasons:
We do too have fall color in California!
“It’s dramatic in a different way,” said Lara Kaylor, a Mammoth Lakes travel journalist who edits the go-to website for Golden State leaf-peepers, CaliforniaFallColor.com. “Instead of huge swaths of color along the highway, you get these vibrant patches up against majestic landscapes, like yellow and orange aspens at the base of beautiful mountains.”
And our fall color season lasts longer than most in North America because of the wide variances in elevation across the state, Kaylor and arborists say. You can find color somewhere in California from September through December. If you miss the peak show at one elevation, just head lower for a brilliant display.
By contrast, autumn color on the East Coast descends by latitude from the north. When it’s gone, it’s gone.
Aspens and ground cover put on a showy display in Carson Pass and Hope Valley, along Highway 88 south of Tahoe. (California Travel and Tourism Commission photo via the Associated Press)
For Bay Area enthusiasts, fall color can be as close as the maples and willows along the highway to Santa Cruz, the flame-colored Chinese pistache and liquidambar trees in a neighbor’s yard or a weekend away in California’s foothills or mountains. The state’s legendary Mediterranean climate also helps create a more varied, longer lasting show.
And it doesn’t take much to declare the season underway. Color spotter Philip Reedy headed up to the Highway 50 and American River area in mid-September — too early for much color at that level — and wrote on the California Fall Color website: “I did find one leaf that wasn’t willing to wait for fall to officially begin.” He took a photo of the brilliant red leaf and posted it.
That enthusiasm is to be expected, Kaylor said. “It’s a special time of year, and it goes so fast,”
Here are some favorite spots for local excursions and longer road trips recommended by the California Fall Color website’s more than 100 “color spotters,” plus arborists and tourism officials. Besides posting photos, the color spotters offer thoughts on best hikes and best drives for enjoying autumn’s hues. Keep in mind: Look online or call ahead to check on the status of color in the region you’ll be visiting.
Fall colors are in full glory at the historic Calistoga Inn Restaurant and Brewery, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, in Calistoga, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
Eastern Sierra (Inyo and Mono counties)
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Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
