Updated October 29, 2010
I have put together all the links I could find for both California fall foliage reports and locations. If you have any suggestions for additions, please add as a comment and I will update this list. I will also make this post a permanent page on Natural History Wanderings in the near future.
Links to California Fall Foliage Reports:
Natural History Wanderings Foliage Reports fall color reports posted on Natural History Wanderings
Fall Color in California Carol Leigh is possibly the best source of postings on fall color change. It has contributors from all over California. Carol has confirmed that it will active this fall.
Nature Photographers Network – California a thread set up by the California Forum for photographers to post fall color reports.
Early Fall Color at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden - Tilden Park
California Fall Color a blog that exclusively covers California fall color. It reports that it lost some of its funding so it may have less information this season.
Sacramento Bee series of articles and weekend foliage reports.
Sierra Fall Colors Sacramento Bee map rating fall color at many Sierra Nevada locations. Updated on Thursdays.
Parchers Bishop Creek foliage for the Bishop Creek Canyon area including North Lake, South Lake, Aspendell, and Lake Sabrina.
Plumas County Fall Color foliage reports and links to drives, map and brochure.
Weather Channel Fall Foliage Map a map by the weather channel that reflects the current state of fall foliage throughout California.
Places to see Fall Foliage
The Colors of Fall in California State Parks a list of California state parks that have good fall color and contact phone numbers
Mono Country Fall Color Guide (eastern sierra brochure and map of fall foliage spots)
Wanderlust: Fall foliage in the Bay Area article in San Jose Mercury News on Bay Area Fall Foliage locations.
Discover Gold a six-day driving tour of fall foliage sites from Sacramento to Gold Country to Yosemite to the Central Valley. A possible problem is these areas don’t usually all turn at the same time, but it does cover many locations to consider.
Feather River Scenic Byway 130 mile drive starting in the Sacramento Valley , through the Sierra Nevada and finishing at the Great Basin. Considered a top 10 US fall foliage drive by Smarter Travel
Bizz Johnson Trail Fall Foliage along the trail in the Eagle Lake section of BLM near Susanville. It usually peaks between mid-Oct to early November. Call BLM at 530-257-0456 to get current conditions.
California offers Spectacular Fall Color an article by California travel and Tourism Commission on fall color locations throughout California
Discover the Grandeur of California’s Fall Foliage YubaNet article on California Wildflower locations
Finding Color in the Sierra Foothills and Beyond Sierra Foothill Magazine article includes Carson Pass, Hope Valley and Monitor Pass; Sonora Pass, Plumas County and Sierra Foothills
Autumn in Yosemite a posting on In the Moment: Michael Frye’s Landscape Photography Blog about where and when to see fall color in Yosemite
Scenic Drives for Viewing Fall Colors in Northern California by Amy Beth Beaver in Ezine
Dye Creek Preserve a Nature Conservancy preserve near Red Bluff that has free guided hikes
Total Escape has locations to see fall color including towns with good fall color
Three very useful publications but unfortunately out of print are:
Carol Leigh’s 29 California FALL COLOR Locations (used copies can be found through bookfinder.com)
Carol Leigh’s California Photographer issue September/October 2005 issue article on “Best Places for Fall Color in and around Bishop”
Carol Leigh’s California Photographer issue September/October 2006 issue article on “Best Color Locations in California’s Eastern Sierra”
Thanks so much–I’ll just was with people lamenting lack of fall color in Calif. I’d like to mention that I returned from the Eastern Sierra Thursday Sept 29, and I enjoyed “fall” in beautiful rose and potentilla hips, the purple ovaries of swamp onions and many other seedpods and berries. There was still summer in many, many flowers (some in different stages, with both flowers and seeds) :buckwheats, composites, phloxes,lupines, Newberry Gentian(the white one with green spots), Calycosa Gentian ( one of the blue ones) , Drummond’s Thistle. This was all at about 10,000 ft. at Rock creek and Minaret Summit. There were a couple of summer/fall highlights for me: The white, reflecting styles of the mountain mahogany all the way up the road along Rock Creek is spectacular now. On the way home from Yosemite, I enjoyed the big patches of pink from the STEMS of finishing Gayophytum.
Looks like I’m forced to get a camera again, as there was too much more to put into words, and too many fruits, and flower species to identify on the spot.
By: Judy Keene on September 6, 2010
at 1:40 PM
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By: Tweets that mention Best California Fall Foliage Web Sites « Natural History Wanderings -- Topsy.com on September 24, 2010
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[...] to shoot. Some of the sites I am looking at are The Sacramento Bee’s Fall Color Map and Natural History Wanderings Fall Color Reports. I’m also reading sites for ideas and inspiration. Among my favorites are the G Dan Mitchell [...]
By: Nature Light Photo » Sierra Nevada Fall Color Trip on October 5, 2010
at 8:32 AM