Natural History Wanderings

calphoto – Yahoo! Groups has the following fall color report for the area between Bishop and Lake Tahoe

• We were driving from OC to South Lake Tahoe over the weekend. So we just want to give you the idea of the current condition if you are not already visited.
• We didn’t go to Bishop Creek so nothing here to report. But around Bishop and outside of town, cottonwoods are turning nicely. It’s about 50-70% turning with very nice lime/yellow color.
• June Lake Loop is past peak most of the first part until June Lake town. From the town to Grant lake is peaking or almost peaking right now. It should be good for 7-10 days or so.
• It is really close to peak at Lee Vining.
• Conway Summit, some of it is past peak, majority is still peaking and there is still some green left. But it’s definitely worth a trip to go up. Some groves along the road to Virginia lake is very nice.
• Not much around Bridgeport area. But there are some nice groves just peaking along the road from Bridgeport to Sonora Pass.
• Hwy 395 from Walker to Coleville to Topaz is really nice. They’re about 60-80% peak. The cottonwoods and aspens trees make the landscape look like a painting.Especially all those barns/farmhouse/cabins underneath those trees. Just amazing.
• Hwy 89, Monitor Pass, there is only sticks up on top near the Leviathan peak. It was snowing up there, so you may need to carry chain. But the pass from Highway 4 to Highway 88 is amazing. It’s just peaking. The color is nice bright yellow, especially along the Walker river. Be sure to stop by Markleeville and go to the creek. It’s really beautiful. There is a small wooden bridge right outside of town.
• Hwy 88/89 from Woodfords to Hope valley is at peak right now. It’s just at peak. If the weather is good, it should be ok for a week or more. Sorensens resort is a little past peak already. But the area across to it is still good. However, the resort is still nice to stop by to grab a coffee or something.
• Hope Valley is peaking right now. But the famous cabin is already past peak. It’s not much left.
• Hwy 89, Luther Pass, is absolute amazing especially if you are going down from S. Lake Tahoe. There are a lot of orange color aspens mixing with yellow, lime and green make it so spectacular. On the top of Luther pass, it was snowing.
• The town of South Lake Tahoe is peaking right now. You can find color at every turn.
• From South Lake Tahoe to Emerald Bay, it’s already past peak on the main road. But if you drive off a highway a little bit into “residential” area, you can find a lot of good color.
• There is nice color on the slopes of Emerald Bay.