This page is the starting point for my coverage of fall color photography in California’s Sierra Nevada. Read/scroll down to find annual fall season updates to current conditions, links for fall color articles at this website, field reports, links to basic resources (including my book, California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra), links to outside resources maintained by other fall color lovers, and more. Check back for updates as the season evolves.

Almost as soon as summer begins in the Sierra Nevada high country many of us begin anticipating autumn. I have backpacked, skied, hiked, climbed, and photographed throughout California’s Sierra Nevada for decades — and fall is still my favorite season! The weather moderates, the light becomes more beautiful, occasional early storms begin to arrive, the crowds dissipate, mosquitos die off (!), and the annual fall color show arrives.

As the explosive Sierra summer growth cycle runs its course, streams and meadows dry out, and the days begin to shorten in late summer the first hints of autumn begin to appear. By September the signs become more obvious and near the end of the month aspen trees start to show color, heralding the widespread appearance of intense color during the first half of October all up and down the Sierra. The color works its way down to lower elevations on both sides of the range, continuing on into early November.

My Sierra Nevada Fall Color Resources

• Autumn Color is Right Around the Corner (2015)
• Sierra Nevada Fall Color Season – Coming Sooner Than You Think
• Photographing the Eastern Sierra Aspens: A Few More Thoughts
• Searching for Aspen Color in the Eastern Sierra – the Show Starts Soon!
• Sierra Nevada Aspen Hunting and the Weather

Other Sierra Nevada Fall Color Resources

• Sierra Nevada Fall Color on this website (that’s this very page!)
• California Fall Foliage — Reports and Locations
• Parchers Resort Fall Color Report
• California Fall Color
• Michael Frye often reports during the color season
• Yosemite NP Fall Color page
• Natural History Wanderings, Sandy Steinman’s blog.
• Calphoto, a Yahoo discussion group with reports from photographers around California.

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Fall Color Book Update

California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra. I often present book talks as the fall color season approaches. The book is available from the publisher, online sources, and often found in bookstores in the Eastern Sierra — and available directly from me.

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Fall Color Information and Reports

Each fall I share information and observations as the color season gets underway… and as I hear reports and visit the trees myself.

I leave older reports posted lower on the page since  they include some useful information for folks making plans for the current year. Note that the individual dated entries for each year appear in reverse chronological order.

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2023 Fall Color Information and Reports

October 20, 2023: Another update from the field

I was back in the Eastern Sierra between October 17 and 19th, and here are a few of my observations and comments.

I went over (from the Bay Area) via Sonora Pass. Coming from the west, there is an area with some good stands of aspens just before what I think of as the final major climb — here there are a few switchbacks, the route climbs to the left, and enters high country. These aspens were still looking pretty decent, though they had clearly lost some leaves. The aspen groves closer to the actual pass had mostly lost their leaves. More trees with leaves were along the descent, and there were some good patches visible from an overlook of Leavitt Meadow near the bottom of the steepest climb.

From here I drove south to the Lee Vining Area. There appeared to be some good color at the turnoff just north of the Sonora Pass junction, and here and there other good color was visible up higher. Cottonwoods are definitely turning, and some were producing quite a lot of color. There are some well-known color areas in the general vicinity of Bridgeport — I did not go to them this time, but I could see quite a bit of color on those hillsides. The iconic Conway Summit groves were looking pretty good, though with some obvious loss of leaves on trees that had turned earlier. Very little green left here — just yellow/gold and more bare trees. Higher up above here — and off of route 395 — the trees at elevation were well along toward being bare, with some large fully leafless groves… barely a week after I drove through them with lots of color. 

I ended up camping in Lundy Canyon, which had some good color in places, though some of it can be difficult to photograph. The campground still had a lot of trees with colorful foliage, though it was close to coming down and some trees were already bare. 

I went as far south this time as the June Lakes loop, where the section on the northern part of the loop had plentiful color, and looked like it would for at least a few more days. Poking around between here and Lee Vining Canyon many higher elevation trees were bare or close to it, but some lower groves (especially some that included a few cottonwood trees) were quite colorful, with some bits of green left. In the lower part of the Lee Vining Canyon the first accessible large groves before the steep ascent began were extremely colorful in the backlight of midday.

My overall sense of week III of October is that there’s still a lot of color in the middle and lower elevations, but that over the week the higher groves were becoming bare. I’d estimate that there were a few days of good color left down low — and likely a few scattered groves that may continue a bit longer — but that by the end of the third week a lot of the color was gone. June Lakes loop seems like an easy and obvious late-season destination.

October 14, 2023: Update from the field

We were in the Eastern Sierra (and east of the Sierra) between Sunday, October 8 and Thursday, October 12. I have a few observations and recommendations to share.

First, the up-front high point: There is still time to go and see good color… but don’t wait!

From what I saw, higher elevation colors may have come a bit later this year and lasted a bit longer, though lower-elevation trees seemed to change on more of a familiar schedule. As a result, last week we had the somewhat unusual experience of very good color up high and simultaneous good color at middle and lower elevations. I don’t recall seeing as much simultaneous color across such a wide range of locations in the past. During most years when color is good in one place it may not be so great in others, but this time we could find color in a great variety of locations.

I’m not going to be overly specific about where to find the (supposed) Very Best Aspen Color since I don’t want to participate in a process that concentrates visitors in a few overrun locations.  But the good news is that many of the lesser-known locations have color that is just as great as that in the famous places. (We visited one out-of-the-way location that featured spectacular expanses of colorful aspen groves draped across mountain slopes and valleys… and we were the only ones there!) 

This weekend is likely to still be quite good, though by now the highest elevations should be showing a lot more bare trees. We saw a few of them last week, though there were still in that stage where a few yellow leaves clung to the branches and provided highlights of color. I suspect that those are now gone. One reason? It was quite windy almost the entire time, and wind brings the leaves down faster.

So, where should you go to find color now? If you are heading into the Eastern quite this weekend (10/13-1/15) you should still be able to find color quiet easily, though you’ll likely have the best luck at middle to lower elevations as the days go on. This includes some of the popular (and fairly obvious!) east side locations between the Carson Pass area and the mountains above the town of Bishop. Trees in east side canyons are also a bit more protected from wind and other weather, so driving up into them may also lead you to trees with color a bit later.

What about next week? There should still be color, but mostly at lower elevations. Look for groves of the larger trees in protected areas such as canyons. A lot of trees will have lost their leaves, but it only takes one nice grove to make it all worthwhile!

October 5, 2023: Very brief update

No, I have not been to the Sierra since I wrote yesterday! So, no new on-the-scene reports. However, I do have an observation. Before the real color gets started — back in September for example — I often see people sharing some photographs of remarkable color in the Sierra… and unwary viewers thing that the color transition is underway. Alas, those social media posters are typically sharing photographs from a previous year. (Hint: If you see color photographs early in the season, try asking the photographer whether they are from the current or a previous year.)

There’s nothing wrong with sharing those older photographs — and I think this is really just a normal part of the building excitement as the current year’s color begins to appear.

However, during the past few days I have seem some interesting photographs of Sierra aspen color made this year, including a few where I recognize the exact locations and even, in one case, the exact tree! So it appears — no surprise! — that the transition is starting right on schedule.

Looking at the weather predictions, I don’t see anything on the immediate horizon that would alter the color progression. This weekend should be pleasant and sunny, and that mostly continues next week, too — though the temperatures appear to drop a bit, as they should at this time of year.

I’ll have more to report soon… including some reports from the field.

October 4, 2023: More predictions and wild guesses. Especially wild guesses.

I’m posting my first fall color “report” later than usual this year. You might wonder why.

I suppose that the first reason is that I was distracted by a rather significant bit of travel over the past few months — we were “on the road” in Europe for about ten weeks, only returning in early September. So I sort of feel like I’m still playing catch-up.

But I’ve also come to think that saying too much about the fall color may not be such a good thing. When I first started going to the “East Side” to photograph aspens a few decades ago, it was mostly pretty uncrowded with only a few exceptions. But since then — and since I wrote my book on fall color in the Sierra (see sidebar) — things have gotten quite crowded over there. I think this is a natural outcome of the huge increase in California’s population, people increasingly willing to drive long distances, the drastic increase in the popularity of photography in the wake of the DSLR and smartphone revolutions, and the fact that information about the experience is just a lot easier to find now. In fact, there are people who will tell you exactly which turn-off on which road is “best” right now. So, I’m stepping back a bit from that kind of specificity.

But I’m not going totally silent…

Late September 2023 — After getting back to normal life following our travels, I finally managed to get to the Eastern Sierra in late August for a few days, camping near the crest just east of Yosemite. (It was a wild few days, with wind, rain, graupel, hail, and snow!) That is about the time when I start seriously looking for the inevitable signs of oncoming autumn transitions. They were visible, though with a difference following the very wet preceding seasons. Indeed, the usual signs were there — meadows drying out and turning golden-brown, corn lilies turning yellow and falling over, yellow leaves appearing on willows along the creeks, the cooler (and more variable) weather, and here and there a bit of early color on high elevation scrub aspens.

What could I glean about predicting the transition to come around the start of October? I’m not sure. On one hand, while it isn’t unusual to get some early “weather” in September, the generally cooler weather and passing cold storms might trigger the color change a bit more quickly. On the other hand, the fact that the trees have had plenty (more than enough!) rather this year might allow them to hang on a bit longer. I just don’t know.

And this leads me to something I’ve observed over the years. Aside from really major weather/climate issues (like the extreme drought a few years ago that threw trees into dropping leaves very early in some cases) or localized events (big early wind and snow storms that can take down a lot of leaves), over time it seems like the transition happens… at just about the same time. If anything, I think that it might be happening a few days earlier now than it used to, but I’m not positive about that. I still stick with my general advice that the second full week of October is probably the most reliable time for good color, but that there can be good color during the first week (especially up high) and the third week (especially down low).

How’s that for being somewhat vague? If you can go now (October 4) you will definitely find color. I’ve been seeing photographs of it in the last few days. You could also safely go this coming week. (That’s when I’ll make my first serious autumn aspen expedition of the year.) Some trees at the highest elevations may be slightly past their peak, but many will be peaking… and the lower trees will still be green and just starting to transition. A week after that there will be a lot of post-peak trees, but some of the big trees down in low elevation canyons and similar locations will be looking quite good.

Where should you go? I’m going to be a bit general about this because I don’t think it is useful to send lots of people to a few spots, because there’s actually good color all over the place, and because in the long run I’ve found it most rewarding to “find” my own special places and I don’t want to take that away from you. In a very general sense, you could just drive up and down US 395 and look to the west. You’ll see color in many places, and you can head toward it. In addition, many canyon and loop roads that head into the Sierra from 395 will have color — check them out.

If you go to one place and the color isn’t great, think about where it might be better. If it is early in the season, you might look for a route to higher elevations. Later in the season, look lower down, almost to (and sometimes all the way to) the terrain along the base of the Sierra. Most of the trans-Sierra passes have decent color, and in some places great color. A few that are more likely to produce it for you are Carson, Ebbetts, and Monitor Passes. (Tioga Pass through Yosemite has a few aspens, but that is not its main attraction.)

I’ll be back with more reports from the field over the next couple of weeks, with the first coming as soon as a few days from now.

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2022 Fall Color Information and Reports

September 23, 2022: Where to stay, plus accessible color locations

A couple of general questions about visiting the Eastern Sierra during fall color came up recently in discussions I had elsewhere.

Where to stay in the Eastern Sierra? A full response to this question could perhaps be a book of its own, so I’ll just offer some quick thoughts to get you started.

If you plan to stay in commercial lodgings, there are quite a few options up and down the east side, between the Tahoe area in the north and Owens Valley to the south. Some of the more obvious prospects for motels/hotels/lodges including Bridgeport, Lee Vining, the June Lakes Area, Mammoth Lakes, and Bishop. (This is not a complete list.)

During the prime fall color period in the first half of October it can sometimes be a bit difficult to find lodging in some of the more popular locations — partly because this is also time for other end-of-season mountain activities such as fishing. In particular this can affect Bishop and perhaps Lee Vining. Both are attractive for their proximity to lots of interesting locales, of course, so if you want to stay there perhaps try for weekdays… and reserve early.

Although it is perhaps a bit less ideal in some ways for fall color, I’ve had good luck finding accommodations in the Mammoth Lakes area in early October — probably since the town is between its summer and winter seasons. If you are photographing further north, you might look into the small town of Bridgeport.

Although I have not stayed at them overnight, there are a number of small mountain lodges up some of the interesting side roads leading into the Sierra. I’ve heard good things about several of them.

Camping is also an option, and I usually go that route, especially if the weather is good. (All bets are off if there is an unusually heavy storm!) There are forest service campgrounds all over the place, and some are both close to the trees (in some cases the aspens are in the campground!) and inexpensive. I’ve had good luck simply showing up and finding a vacant site on weekdays, though you can reserve them ahead of time if you want more certainty and are willing to commit to a specific location. Note that the Forest Service begins to shut down the higher-elevation camps in October, so there will be fewer available as the month goes on.

There are other options. For example, some BLM and similar areas east of the Sierra allow open camping — just find a secluded spot and pull over.

What about areas where limited-mobility persons can photograph fall color without long hikes?  I’m not an expert on the issues of mobility, but a few areas come to mind — places where good color may often be visible from the roadway and from parking areas and pull-outs.

For those crossing the Sierra a bit farther north, Monitor Pass has a great combination of close views of trees and long views of more distant terrain, and there are places to pull over to see/photograph these things along the route. The aspens visible from Conway Summit can be photographed from pullouts just north of the actual pass, and are best accessed as you drive toward the pass from the north. (Be cautious here — even in the widest pull-outs the traffic passes at high speeds!) The June Lakes loop also gets very close to great aspen color, and there are quite a few places where you can pull over and photograph it without hiking much or at all. This is particularly true along the part of the loop before and after Silver Lake. Finally, Bishop Canyon roads also pass directly through or next to some excellent groves, and there are places to park and photograph more distant trees.

September 19, 2022: Predictions, history, and wild guesses

Another California fall color season is getting underway. As I write this in mid-September, on local walks I have begun to notice early signs of the seasonal change here in the San Francisco Bay Area — days getting shorter, some leaves changing here and there, a few trees dropping leaves that scrape and clatter across the ground in the wind, and the approach of the first (rather early!) Pacific weather fronts.

Having noted that the transition is beginning, as it does every year, attention turns to speculation about how this year’s color will turn out. When will it start, peak and end? How good will it be? How will it be affected by drought and increasingly hot and dry weather?

I’ll begin with a few contradictory observations from a few decades tracking and photographing autumn Sierra color.

First, there are quite a few factors that can affect the appearances of aspen transitional color. In general they include the elevation of the trees, their north/south position in the range, whether they are exposed or protected in canyons, the amount and timing of the previous year’s precipitation, the arrival of early storms with rain, snow, and wind, and more. As a result, there’s always a fair amount of guesswork when it comes to anticipating the color range.

Second, and slightly in contrast to this, over the years, despite each year’s choruses of of “it will be an early/great/late/average year!,”… it has seemed to me that the timing tends to shake out roughly the same each year, with most of the variations perhaps caused by immediate conditions such as storms and temperature changes.

There have been some general changes, likely related to increasing temperatures and several drought years. In the years where these conditions stress the trees, I have seen some trees turn earlier. This is especially true of smaller trees up high and in dry places. (A few years ago I saw some color in late-August!) So I feel that the start of the color transition may have moved up a few days over the years. At the same time, some of the larger groves of older trees at lower elevations and in more protected locations seem to continue to change on roughly the traditional schedule. If anything, all of this may mean that the color period may start a bit earlier while ending roughly when it typically has in the past.

I still think that targeting the time about one week into October is a safe bet, especially if you are prepared to move around a bit to find the optimal color. Again, that means driving north or south and (especially) looking at different elevations.

In some previous years I was able to make September visits to the Sierra and witness the “pregame show,” which helps — or so I tell myself — in making some educated guesses about how things will play out. This year other travel has taken me away from the Sierra during this period. However, I’ve seen online reports (and a few photographs) of very early bits of color here and there. This is pretty much what we would expect. It isn’t unusual to find a few leaves turning quite early in September, though these tend to be on isolated trees rather than in full groves of color.

All of this is my way of saying that I would still likely time my primary visit for about one week into October. Some of the earliest good color up high may well be slightly past prime by then, but since the color tends to work its way gradually to lower elevations you are almost guaranteed to find good color. In general, I still regard the first two weeks of October overall as the prime window of opportunity, with the third week still often producing find color at lower elevations.

But, once again, a final reminder: There are no certainties when predicting the schedule and nature of the Sierra Nevada aspen color change! (In fact, as I write this an unusually early Pacific weather front is approaching… and who knows what effect that will have?) Your best bet, if you are already making plans, is to target the typical core color periods mentioned above, and then to remain as flexible as you possibly can.

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2021 Fall Color Information and Reports

Due to pandemic-related travel complexities I am not publishing a “current conditions” update this season. But for a general idea of how things are likely to evolve… scroll down and see the updates for past years.

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2020 Fall Color Information and Reports

November 1 — It’s a wrap! I spent less time on the East Side photographing aspens this year than I would in a typical fall. Getting over there was a real challenge given closures due to historically unprecedented California wildfires, the sometimes extreme levels of smoke, and the difficulties of traveling during the pandemic. Ironically, if you did manage to get over there and if you did manage to dodge the worst of the smoke, the colors were exceptionally good this year.

As I write this at the beginning of November, the aspen color season is essentially over In the Sierra. Aspen color there is mostly an October thing, with the best color typically occurring during the first three weeks of the month. (You can find color outside that time frame, but it isn’t as easy or as obvious.) You might still find some lowland non-aspen color, and there’s more non-aspen color on the west side of the ranged.

October 9 — I just returned from what will likely be my only visit to Eastern Sierra aspen color this season. (Though don’t hold me to that claim if things change in the next week or so.)

On a brief visit I managed to spend time in Bishop Canyon where I camped for a couple of nights. On the way there and back I visited Sonora Pass, Luther Pass, Carson Pass, and other areas along US 395 on the east side.

First the positive news: During my visit around the start of the second week of the month, there was a lot of excellent color, especially at higher elevations which tend to turn first. And by comparison to some recent years, I saw a lot more of the desirable orange and red colorations and very little evidence of trees with brown leaves or prematurely dropped leaves. There was good color on all three of the passes I crossed, though by the time you read this it is likely that the highest elevation trees are past prime and the color show is moving toward lower elevations.

But not all of the news is good: During my visit wildfire smoke was ubiquitous and very thick, to the point that it interfered with photography and was almost certainly a risk to one’s health. On the day of my arrival on the east side of the range I came over Sonora Pass (where the air was smoky but not terrible) and then turned south on US 395. It soon got much more smoky and between about Bridgeport and south of Mammoth Lakes the pall was quite awful and distinctly unhealthy. In places there sun was blotted out by the cloud, and as I came to Lee Vining it was almost impossible to see Mono Lake — which is remarkable since in places it is almost adjacent to the roadway. I kept going south to find air that wasn’t completely awful and finally ended up camping not far from Bishop. On the following morning the smoke was what you might see on a more typical autumn day, though it interfered with grand landscape photographs, and by evening a dense cloud of smoke rolled in once again, making things very unpleasant. The next morning was less awful, but still bad, and the Sierra crest peaks were alternately nearly invisible or completely invisible.

I finally decided to leave early, partly for my health and partly because the air and light were so compromised.

If you go right now be forewarned — you may encounter levels of wildfire smoke that are unhealthy and which interfere with photography of those beautiful fall colors. A lot will depend on the vagaries of wind direction, and relatively clear conditions may quickly degrade and become quite bad.

With all of that in mind and despite the potential for some very nice colors, it is hard for me to recommend a trip over there at the current time, especially when the pandemic is interfering with many of our usual patterns of life.

September 14 — As I post this first “report” in mid-September it is too early still for the main fall aspen color show in the Sierra. It has been about ten days since my last visit — just before the Creek Fire blew up — and at that time the trees were, with very rare exceptions, entirely green still.

Speculating a bit here, this is likely to be one of the strangest fall color season in the Sierra Nevada that most of us have experienced — and hopefully we won’t experience another like it again soon. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is affecting our ability to travel — and putting a terrible strain on businesses that rely on our visits. Even camping requires some extra care, particularly when relying on shared restroom facilities and similar.

And now, on top of that, California is experiencing historically bad wildfires. As of this writing some sources are saying that about 3.5% of the total state area has been burned, one Northern California just broke the 2018 all-time record for the largest fire ever… by doubling the size of the previous fire, and the state is about to see its first million-acre fire. The Sierra most certainly has not been immune, with large, dangerous, a and very smoky fires burning up and down the range, forcing out visitors and residents and cause terrible damage to forests and property and, in some cases, human life.

Against that backdrop, the fact that a dry year and warmer-than-usual temperatures may affect the upcoming aspen season seems almost unimportant. There are bigger issues right now.

If you do go, I urge you to consider the following:

• Before you go, check the fire conditions in the areas you’ll visit and pass through en route. Don’t be “that person” who goes up there and blithely gets in the way.
• Consider camping somewhat remotely and being entirely self-contained. This might mean carrying sufficient water and food that you won’t have to interact with anyone, and possibly bringing along supplies to handle sanitation (e.g. — toilet) needs in a safe and sensitive way. (Hint: leaving piles of poop and wads of toilet paper lying around, even in out-of-the-way areas, is unacceptable.)
• To the extent possible, consider avoiding some of the more popular and sometimes crowded areas. Also consider going midweek when there will be even fewer people.
• Finally, it may simply be the case that this isn’t the ideal year to visit the aspens. Consider photographing closer to home. The aspens will still be there next year.

If and as more information becomes available I will update this page later on.

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2019 Fall Color Information and Reports

Updates added in reverse chronological order — most recent first.

October 7: I have returned from a five-day foray in the Eastern Sierra, where I managed to visit quite a few locations between Highway88/Carson Pass in the north and Bishop Creek Canyon in the south.

I’ll start with a general observation: Overall, the timing of the fall color change this year seems rather… normal. After last year’s seemingly early start, I went up a bit earlier this year than I would have in the past, only to find that there really wasn’t yet a whole lot of fall color. On that basis I’m [i]leaning toward expecting the color to change on the schedule we used to think of as normal[/i], with the best widespread color starting about one week into October, the second week seeing good color all over the range, and lower elevation aspen color continuing into week three of the month.

The first day of this visit was October 2. Driving along the range I could easily see [i]some[/i] high elevation color, often from the smaller “scrub aspen” trees that live on high and rocky slopes. But in most place the trees were still largely to completely green. On October 3 I visited the three forks of Bishop Creek Canyon, where I found the beginning of good color in the highest areas near the road-ends. Here and there a few anomalous colorful trees appeared elsewhere. For example, there were a few almost fully golden aspens in the lowest section of Rock Creek, which was a surprise given been trees at higher elevations.

By October 4 and October 5 it felt like the change was staring to pick up, and I saw some nicely developing color in a number of places. Without going into specific location details, this leads me to believe that my now (October 7 as I write this) there should be pretty good color in many of the usual core-seasons locations, and that the next week or so should be quite good in many places… even as the highest elevation trees start to lose their leaves. And, as always, the color should continue on into the third week of the month in sheltered lower elevation areas.

In most places the contain of the trees seems pretty good. In every season you’ll find some seemingly distressed trees — leaves turning black, trees that appear to have lost leaves early, and so forth. But generally speaking the aspens seem to have a good crop of leaves and there hasn’t been much damage from storms (there have barely been any, though there was some wind last week) and so forth.

I’ll note one unfortunate surprise. Folks visiting the Hope Valley area often look forward to the large and very colorful trees near Sorenson’s Resort… but they had already lost a lot of their leaves when I passed by on October 2! Something must have stressed those trees, even though others in the area seem to be doing OK.

October 1: I am about to make my first serious Eastern Sierra fall color visit later this week. While I’m up there I’ll be presented a talk on fall color (and my book on the subject) at the Mammoth Lakes Visitor Center at 7:00PM on October 5.

In the meantime, a few bits of information and speculation. My most recent visit to the Sierra as of this writing was at the very beginning of September. That’s too soon for serious aspen color in the Sierra, but not too early for a few hints. The first interesting development this season relates to the previous rain/snow season — it was much wetter than usual, and that has kept things green in the high country relatively late this year. I saw green meadows and new wildflowers (!) on the first few days of September!

What might that mean for aspens? Most importantly, this is not going to be like the conditions during the five-year drought that ended a few years back — the odds are that it will be an aspen season that is more “normal” by comparison. In a typical season, there is some decent early-season color by the end of September, with peak color coming during the first three weeks or so of October — starting way up high (often in smaller trees) and working its way down to lower elevations and larger trees.

At the moment the longer term weather forecasts are not predicting much in the way of storms, and so far even the typical early-October hot/dry north wind events seem a bit less likely. That may bode well for color remaining on trees a bit longer, as the windy/stormy conditions can take down lots of leaves very quickly.

Going way out on a limb, the measured long-term warming in the Sierra might have an effect on the start time of the color and possibly on how long it lasts. My hunch is that there may be a tendency toward slightly later color. Having said that, however, I’m still targeting the usual period as mentioned above.

As I visit the Sierra I’ll post occasional updates here.

2018 Fall Color Information and Reports

(I leave old reports online as they often include information that will be useful in other years.)

(October 14, 2018) This turned out — so far, at least — to be an odd autumn Sierra color season for me… and so far I managed only a single trip to the “east side” in the heart of the season during the second week of October. That said, it was productive! Here’s a brief summary of what I saw, and some ideas about what is left of this year’s season.

I covered areas from Carson Pass and Hope Valley, through Markleeville and over Monitor Pass, down US 395 to the Bishop area, all of the forks of Bishop Creek, and visits to a number of side canyons along the way.

Overall, the color transition appeared to broadly be on a relatively typical schedule, despite the very early color that I saw back in September. (See previous entry below.) If anything, there were/are a few more still-green groves than I would have expected — suggesting that late-arrivers should still find some excellent color in those places through the third week of October… and perhaps a bit later in a few spots.

If the 2018 season has a “personality” of its own, it might be characterized by local incongruities rather than a general shift of any sort toward early/late color. I visited places that I have been to before at this time of the season and found both trees that might have dropped leaves a bit early and places where trees that have typically transitioned by now were still green!

(September 23, 2018) Even though it is late September as I begin this year’s updates, it is still too early to know for sure how the 2018 Sierra Nevada fall color season will play out. In the meantime I’ll share some basic information that may help with your planning.

The typical timing of the onset of Eastern Sierra has a few early Sierra color indicators appear by mid-September,  with the aspen color typically coming into form starting around the beginning of October. It is often often at its peak for the first couple of weeks of the month, and can still be good through the third week in some places.

Yesterday (September 22, 2018) I returned from nine days of backcountry photography in the John Muir Wilderness. This would typically be too early for most aspen photography, but we did see a good amount of early color at the highest elevations in the Rock Creek area.

At this point, my best guess is that this could be a relatively typical color season, despite the early color I described above. I have a hunch that we might see color come just a bit early, but then continue into the middle of the month (and beyond in a few places) as it usually does.

One thing to watch is the onset of possible early “autumn” storms. As I write this there are some mid-term (a week out or so) indications that there could be some early weather fronts. If so, with can sometimes bring down leaves… though still-green leaves may turn a few days later.

Watch for more specific updates here as I get back into the Eastern Sierra over the next few week, giving me a better sense of how things might evolve this year.

2016 Color Reports

I’m writing this in mid-September 2016, and it is too soon to know for sure what this coming autumn will bring when it comes to fall color. Since the four-year drought moderated but was not reversed by the 2015-16 winter, I think there is a good chance that we’ll see some similarities between the 2015 season (see old reports below) and the upcoming 2016 season. That means that we might see some anomalous early color, some trees going straight from green to no leaves, more very stressed and dead trees. But we may also see some groves, especially farther north where the precipitation was better, looking a bit better. Last fall, while the season started early and was a bit uneven, there were enough healthy trees that started on a more normal schedule that we ended up with a longer the usual aspen color season. (Reports in reverse chronological order.)

• September 30-October 2, 2016  — I’ve just returned from a full three days of autumn photography in the Eastern Sierra, plus a travel day that took me across highway 120 through Yosemite. I’ll being with a summary: In general, as compare last year’s reports to this year, I think things are playing out on a similar schedule. Again, there was early color up high, quite a bit of color by October 1, and enough fully green trees remaining to keep the color going through the first half of October.
  I spent a day and a half in the Bishop Canyon area, where color was excellent at higher elevations, especially along the South Fork of Bishop Creek, where a lot of places were, in my view, at peak in the upper canyon. (The groves of large trees just above Four Jeffrey Campground are still completely green, and there is something of a transition zone from green to color above the fake waterfall area.)
  There was a lot of great color at North Lake, though I don’t think this will be the most remarkable year ever for the iconic “river of trees.” (And, as always,  the crowds continue to grow at this spot. It was super crowded when I stopped by on a Friday morning — who knows how busy it was on Saturday and Sunday.)
  Eventually I headed north from Bishop Canyon. I did not go up the many other east side canyons until I reached the Lee Vining area, but it was easy to see that there is a lot of color all along the east side.
  I camped in Lee Vining Canyon, where the color was still somewhat so-so, but that is not unusual for this point in the season. There was a lot of color in the Virginia Lakes and Dunderberg area, especially up high. Conway Summit has not reached prime at this point, though some trees have lost a lot of leaves.
  Speaking of lost leaves… it was extremely windy between late Saturday and Sunday, and this blew down quite a few of the most colorful leaves. In addition, Tioga Pass closed (likely for a short time) on Sunday.
• September 20, 2016 — I am just back from four days in the Sierra: The Tuolumne/Tioga Pass area of Yosemite, Mono Lake and points south and east, US 395 between Conway Summit (north of Mono Lake) and Bishop, and two days in Bishop Canyon. All it is clearly way too early for the peak seasonal aspen color, I was actually surprised by how much color I could find. There was enough color to make photography worthwhile already, mostly in very high, rocky, and dry areas where smaller “scrub” trees are prominent, but also in some places in the bottoms of valleys. For example, I found some quite striking color in Bishop Canyon already.
  So, is it time to drop everything and dash to the Sierra to catch the color before it is gone? Not by a long shot. While there is some good color now if you know where to look (though it is easy to find in the Bishop Creek drainage), there are lots of very green trees that won’t change for a while yet. My sense is that anyone who is balancing between a visit earlier in October or a bit later might do well to select the earlier date… but we’ll see about that in the next couple of weeks.
  

  

• September 16, 2016 — Up this morning, packed and ready to begin four days in the Sierra, likely including some fall color reconnaissance on the east side. I was checking social media a few minutes ago and I’ve now seen several shares that include photographs of some early aspen color. What does this mean? First, I’ll be able to say more early next week after my personal visit to the area. Second, you may be able to find a little bit of color this early if you are in the right places and are willing to look around a bit. Third, does this mean it will be an “early season?” Hard to say, but my guess that it might be somewhat like last fall is still in play — there was early color last year, but the season continued about as long as it typically does, so the end result was a longer color season.
• September 15, 2016 — Consider this a very early pre-season report. A week ago I was in the Yosemite high country and I made a brief foray over to the east side near Lee Vining and the June Lake Loop area. As would be expected at that point in the season, there was really no aspen fall color to speak of, aside from a very small number of trees here and there that had a few yellow leaves. Other signs of impending autumn were visible as expected at this time of year: golden meadows, dry and decreasing flow creeks, low lakes, some scattered yellow leaves on willows, red bilberry, dead and dying corn lilies, and more. Check back again for more updates as the actual start of the season gets closer — that will come about the first of October.

2015 Color Reports

Leading up to the 2015 season, my prediction at this point is that some color will appear a bit early due to drought stress, but that the rest of the aspen color change will come largely on the usual cycle, though perhaps a few days earlier overall. Some areas and groves will be adversely affected by the long drought, and in this we might see some leaves go straight from green to brown. As always, I expect that roughly the first two weeks of October will bring the best color opportunities in the eastern Sierra, but with color around for those who look for it during the week before and after this time frame. (However, I’ve been doing this long enough to know that the best fall color predictions can easily end up being wrong!)

• October 19, 2015 — For the first time in a month or so , I was not in the Sierra during the past week. (I returned from my last visit back on October 12.) I missed being there… but I probably needed the break! From what I hear and see from various reports, it was a fine weekend, with the color becoming quite good at a number of the lower elevation areas, and there were still good opportunities up higher. Some are speculating that the relative warmth this fall has allowed some trees to delay their transition, even while others stressed by drought changed early. There was some weather over the past few days, including low elevation rain and snow at and above 8000′, all of which is typical for this time of year. Current forecasts are for relatively warm and dry weather for the rest of this week, but with a hint of a possible change next weekend. There’s still time to see eastern Sierra fall color though — and it won’t be too much longer until the lower elevation west side color takes off in places like Yosemite Valley and the foothills in another week or two.
• October 12, 2015 — I’m back from another few days photographing eastern Sierra fall color and a few other things, so it is time for another brief update on current conditions. This time  we visited areas between Bishop Canyon and the Virginia Creek and Conway Summit areas.  There was still excellent color in Bishop Canyon, at least in the portions we visited. The color had made it down to approximately the elevation of Aspendell, though the trees in that hamlet were still mostly green. Cardinal Resort, just above Aspendell, was very colorful as were slopes along South Fork past the village above Four Jeffrey Campground. Good aspen and cottonwood color was developing in McGee Canyon, and large and vividly colored aspen groves were seen above the trailhead. Good color is visible in many places from US 395 — near Hilton Creek, just south of Mammoth Lakes, and more. We also found good color in the Lake Mary area above Mammoth and even near Devils Postpile National Monument. Color on Parker Bench was good at dawn, but many trees have lost their leaves. Lee Vining Canyon is most certainly turning at this point, and its peak is perhaps not too far away. There is color in the Conway Summit and Virginia Lakes Road area, too. We did not personally visit Lundy Canyon, but several people I trust tell me that it was still largely green.
  Overall, I think that I’ve finally figured out the underlying pattern of this season’s color change and why it is so unusual. I believe that it is the result of two related climate-based causes that have opposite effects. The ongoing four-year drought has severely stressed trees (and other living things) in the Sierra. Drought stress probably explains the early color from some trees, the green-to-gone effect on others (where there is little or no colorful stage between green leaves and the leaves falling), and the unusual number of completely leafless groves seen very early in the season. On the other hand steadily increasing  Sierra temperatures (which most of agree are obviously linked to human-caused global climate change) have the effect of delaying the onset of fall color, thus explaining why there are still many trees that are completely green in areas where the colors might have changed in the past. The end result seems to be that things are “out of whack,” with color change not happening in the familiar sequences or at the familiar times.
  

  

• October 9, 2015 — From what I’m seeing, things are progressing much as I expected, though perhaps the higher elevation color is being sustained a bit longer than I expected. We were briefly in upper Bishop Canyon yesterday and the color is arriving around Aspendell — though someone the grove that the town is within is still very green. There is good color both above and below this. South Fork color is likewise progressing down the canyon. The large groves near the fake waterfall at South Fork are picking up a lot of intense color, though there are also still very green trees. We saw good color up near Lake Mary above Mammoth Lakes, and McGee Canyon aspens (and cottonwoods) are producing a lot of color right now. We’ll visit a few other spots today and I’ll likely post another report tomorrow. We haven’t been there yet, but I’m hearing rumors that June Lake Loop is still not peaking.
• October 7, 2015 — This isn’t going to be as much a report as it will be a set of predictions and guesses about what’s going to happen with Sierra Nevada aspen color over the next few days. There is an element of the report it what follows, as my guesses and predictions are based on what I’ve seen on location during the past month or so, and as recently as just a few days ago. No guarantees, but you might find this interesting…
  What is finished? — Last week some of the very early colors at high elevation in places such as upper Bishop Canyon were somewhere between final peak and already done. I would not expect too much at these highest locations over the coming week. As always, there will be exceptions — a few small groves here and there that may be spectacular — but I think the best color is likely to be lower now. For example, North Lake was spectacular last Saturday and Sunday, so I expect it to be attractive but with less color this week. My visits to Monitor and Carson Passes (including Hope Valley) last week revealed many trees that had passed their autumn prime — so I probably wouldn’t expect to find a lot of color there.
  What is likely coming into prime condition? Last week I drove the June Lakes Loop once and visited parts of it a second time. While there were some very colorful trees, overall the area had not yet reached its peak. I think that this holds quite a bit of promise for the upcoming week and it wouldn’t surprise me to see peak color in the next few days. Conway Summit also still had a lot of green trees, so I’m expecting better this week — though I also think that this may not end up being a banner year for that location due to the drought. Deep, lower elevation east-side canyons hold a lot of promise, since they held a lot of green trees last week! I’m thinking of places like Lee Vining and Lundy Canyons and similar. Lower Bishop Canyon locations should also start to become colorful, and groves along US 395 will also provide some color. (Don’t overlook the beautiful cottonwood trees there!)
  Will this be the end of the show? — While a lot of the most obvious color will probably diminish after this week, if you look around you’ll still be able to find beautiful aspens in the eastern Sierra for a bit longer. Obviously the best bets will be at lower locations, and you may focus on a few beautiful groves and trees rather than looking for entire colorful hillsides.
• October 4, 2015 — After investigating a few somewhat less traveled high locations yesterday, I headed south and again ended up in the Bishop Creek drainage, where I photographed yesterday (10/3) afternoon and evening and again this morning. There is a lot of good color in this general area of South, North, and Sabrina Lakes. Some of the groves that turned early this year have now lost many leaves, but there is still a lot of good color at elevations above Aspendell or so — saw good color appearing at Cardinal Resort on Saturday. Woke up this morning at my 8000′ camp to snow pellets and cloudy skies. Made it back up to North Lake, where I would say colors are at peak right now, with some slightly past. Photographed there in more light snow pellets at about 37 degrees. Took one last trip up the south fork and started photographing before the weather (heavier snow pellets plus wind) drove me off the mountain. On the south fork, color begins above the fake waterfall (unfortunately, a well known icon) and soon becomes quite good. I think this area is at peak now and will likely not be as good, at least up high, next week. However, lower trees in this area should be in good shape soon.
  

  

  After lunch in Bishop I started home. It rained quite hard at times on the drive, and I could see that it was snowing above perhaps 9000′ or so. I arrived at Lee Vining to find Tioga Pass closed, so continued north on 395 to find that Sonora Pass was also closed. Eventually I was able to cross the range via Monitor and Carson Passes. Monitor has huge groves of aspens, especially near the top, but they have mostly passed their peak and many are bare or nearly so. Descending the far side of Monitor Pass the road passes though the devastation of this summer’s fire. I took a few aspen groves along the descent, though it spared others, and the bottom of the lower canyon was largely spared. The ascent to Carson Pass passes through Hope Valley, another location with many aspens. Again, though, most of the trees were past prime and some were completely bare. Even the trees around Sorenson’s, usually a good spot of color at this time of year, have already lost their leaves. On the west side of the pass there were some still-green trees just over the top, but soon I encountered more trees that were past prime.
  To generalize, the high areas that have color are pretty much peaking now, though there are still a lot of completely green trees at middle and lower elevations, and I believe that they are likely to produce good color over the next week or more.

• October 2, 2015 — I got a late start today, but once again I’m back on the east side of the Sierra and looking for fall color. I came over Tioga Pass in the early afternoon and saw a dusting of snow on the highest peaks near the pass. There isn’t a lot of color along Tioga Road (that’s normal) but I began to see a bit more after crossing the pass, near and below the Ellery Lake area. The bottom of Lee Vining Canyon is still almost completely green. I made a quick run up toward Conway Summit and then up the road toward Virginia Lakes. There isn’t much going on at Conway yet, though up higher toward Virginia Lakes there some good examples of aspen color. From here I headed back through Lee Vining on 395 and then drove the June Lakes Loop from north to south. There is a bit more color, especially on the higher hillsides, but there is also still a lot of green — this area’s peak is perhaps at least a week away. More to come soon…
• October 1, 2015 — I’m not in the Sierra at the moment, though I’ll be back there very soon. With that in mind I’ve been watching various sources to see what’s going on. The weather is worth watching this coming weekend. There is, according to a number of  sources, a reasonable probability of some precipitation on Sunday, perhaps later in the day and into the evening. It would be rain at lower elevations but possible snow at higher elevations close to and above 10,000′. Rain is a bit tougher to shoot in, but it can saturate the colors and create some lovely effects. Snow is more fun with aspens, and I love to photograph them when we are lucky enough to get autumn snow! One concern — some storms bring wind, and wind can blow down aspen leaves. If this happens, the green leaves usually remain on the trees and once they turn the color will be back. (One fun weather source for the Sierra is the Dweeb Report: http://mammothweather.com)
  Watching posts and shared photographs from various folks on social media, it looks like good color development continues. I just saw some nice photographs showing good color in the popular and beautiful Hope Valley area. (I might pass that way in the next few days.) I’m anticipating that much of the very highest elevation color may be at or past prime this weekend, with slightly lower areas coming into good form.
  

  

• September 30, 2015 — There are some interesting developments in the weather forecasts that bear watching over the next few days. Today a slightly surprising little weather system dropped light rain on many Central/Northern California areas — not enough to make things very wet, but enough to lower temperatures and bring clouds to the area. In addition, there is now a pretty decent indication that there may be another weather system over the weekend that may bring colder temperatures and possibly some higher elevation snow to some parts of the Sierra. If this happens, and it isn’t quite certain yet, the most recent forecast that I saw suggests that there could be some possibility of snow below 10,000′ with rain elsewhere. It is possible that higher elevations could see a half foot of snow or more, and if some of this gets down below 10,000′ there could be some affects on trans-Sierra passes between late Saturday and Sunday. Aspen photographers will want to check this out before heading to the mountains!
• September 27, 2015 — I just published an extensive summary of what I saw on my first eastern Sierra visit of the fall color season: Sierra Fall Color — Late September 2015. One photo from this visit, from the North Lake area…
  

  

• September 26, 2015 — Today (and yesterday evening) I photographed in the Bishop Canyon area, mostly around North Lake. Anyone going up there right now will find plenty of color to photograph, especially at the higher elevations. (Above North Lake, Sabrina Lake, and South Lake there is a lot of color from small aspen trees growing at high elevations in rocky areas.) There was some very good color on the slopes above and just before Parcher’s Resort. Having said that, note that there are still a lot of green trees — for example there is almost no color at Aspendell yet — so the potential for good color in another week or more is still excellent.
  UPDATE: I’ll have more to say tomorrow, with a summary of what I saw on this quick visit and what I think it might mean for the rest of the Sierra fall color season. But for now… after leaving the Bishop area I decided to make a few reconnaissance detours on the way home, taking a look at places like McGee Creek (too early still), Lundy Canyon (a bit of color but a long ways to go before reaching its peak), Conway Summit (a bit of a complicated story — watch for my update), and Sonora Pass (some fine color at the higher elevations). A photograph from today near Sonora Pass…
  

  

• September 25, 2015 — Today I drove across Tioga Pass and down the east side of the Sierra as far as Bishop. (So far… my day is not over yet!) Peak fall color is most definitely not here just yet, but I was surprised by how much color I did see. In quite a few places the very small aspens that grow at higher elevations like 9000′ or so have substantially turned. At lower elevations (for example, Lee Vining Canyon) virtually all the trees are still quite green, though with a few spots of early color here and there. Driving south on US 395 I saw quite a bit of high elevation color above the June Lake area. A photograph from today in Sabrina Basin…
  

  

• September 24, 2015 — I was very briefly (2 hours!) in Yosemite Valley late today. This is typically not  the season for fall color there just yet — the usual peak in The Valley is roughly around Halloween at the very end of October and the beginning of November. However, somewhat to my surprise, there is some color there. I wouldn’t say it is close to enough to warrant a special trip to The Valley at this point, but if you are up there take look around. I saw a few dogwood trees with enough color that they could make interesting subjects in the right light. Some maples are starting to change, too, though many remain quite green. Cottonwoods aren’t changing color, though it seems that some have simply lost their leaves. My overall feeling is that we are seeing effects of the drought here more than an early fall color change and that those trees that are in better shape may well still change at the usual time.
• September 21, 2015 — Michael Frye posted a report on early fall color today. He has been in the Bishop area and took advantage of this to visit several of the well known aspen locations. I’ll let you follow the link to his report for the details, but the short story is that while there is (as always!) some early color, the overall timing looks like it may be more or less the usual. If so — and Michael knows his aspens! — there may be a little more color this weekend, but the best color is perhaps another week or two ahead of us.  (For my part, I expect to make it to the east side again in a few days, and I’ll share a report after the visit.)
• September 20, 2015 — If you are on Facebook… take a look at the Sierra Nevada: Photographs from the Range of Light group that I moderate. Members have started sharing fall2015 photographs there, and these can give you an idea of the progression of the color. (Note that group memberships have to be individually approved, and that this might take a few days.)
• September 19, 2015 — I was in the Yosemite backcountry for a week in mid-September, and during that time I was keeping an eye out for aspen conditions. The usual signs of the autumn change were there: lots of red bilberry color in meadows, plenty of corn lily plants turning yellow/brown and falling over, colorful meadow grasses and more. Around September 9 I was in the Lee Vining Canyon to Tuolumne area, where almost all trees were still completely green, with the exception of a grove of very small trees near the top of the climb to Ellery Lake and Tioga Pass, where a few trees showed a bit of yellow.Around September 16 I came out of the backcountry and drove out over Tioga Pass Road. I checked out an “indicator” grove that I often watch, where a few aspens grow at the crossing of Yosemite Creek. Generally these trees were still completely green, though there were a very few yellow leaves on one or two trees. Dry meadow grasses from the area where we worked…
  

  

• September 17, 2015 — This is a second hand report, since I have not inspected this area myself yet this season. Recently I saw a photograph of the Sabrina Lake area that was reportedly made on this rather early date, and I was surprised to see that it included some vivid aspen color. Before this I had only seen photographs of very small and very early patches of color, but this one looked more significant. (This would mark a very early date for such color in this location!)
• Links to 2015 fall color articles. (Links to still-useful older articles are found lower on this page.)
  • Sierra Fall Color — Late September 2015 (an update published on 9/27/15)
  • Autumn Color is Right Around the Corner
  • Michael Frye posted a report on his web site on September 21.

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G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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