California Fall Foliage
rivals Vermont leaf peeping, with some of the finest visual experiences that
travelers can find on the trail for great weekend getaways. The
granddaddy of the fall foliage season, Inyo National Forest,
celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007.
Fall foliage in California is
strikingly different than Vermont's, as is its skiing. The size and
shape of the mountains and meadows help orchestrate the annual
symphony of color that is not to be missed. Californians need drive
only a few hours to enjoy stunning views shown above in
Lee Vining in Mono County.
It is part of the Inyo National Forest and is close to the well
known ski resort, Mammoth Mountain.
While the springtime offers
cacti in full bloom in the deserts after a rain, your best bet for
fall foliage with be in cities that have elevations above sea
level...mostly hills and mountains. That's why our fall list of
trips includes not only the redwood forests of Eureka and Humboldt
County, but also places such as
Idyllwild,
just a short drive outside L.A. in Southern California. Located in
the San Jacinto mountains of Southern California not far from places
such as Hemet
and Temecula wine country,
you can take in the mountain hikes, and within an hour or two be
sipping wine, or event make a jaunt over the mountain to Palm
Desert. In contrast to the heat of the Palm Spring, the autumn
takes on a crisp, cool chill before winter arrives, and even a
dusting of snow in Idyllwild. In addition to being the film location
for the Elvis movie, Kid Galahad, many a star has stayed in
Idyllwild, where a school for the performing arts takes acting as
serious as you take your weekend vacation. Maple trees turn a
brilliant red and the yellow cottonwoods begin their annual wind
dance, twisting and turning before they drop to the ground where
they eventually fade, forgotten till spring comes with a brand new
crop of leaves.
One of our favorite for
weekends in California is
fall foliage trips to Placer County. The best way to get
there if you don't live close by is flying into Sacramento Airport,
then renting a car for a short drive to the hills of gold outside of
town. Placer County features an autumn art and wine celebrations
that includes the annual
Cowboy Poetry Festival in Loomis. It's just awesome. And
being autumn, you'll find delicious just-picked crops at
celebrations of wine and fruits. Our favorite place to book a
hotel room on this drive is
Roseville
because it offers so many hotels that empty out on weekends when the
business people head home from the big corporate offices the city is
becoming known for.
Spring, summer, fall or winter...there's never a bad time to visit
Yosemite National Park, so Ansel Adams could attest. While he left
his mark with incredible contributions to the field of photography,
in Yosemite he helped create a legacy with the
Bracebridge Dinners.
While our visit there found a very mild Christmas in the mountains,
fall is actually filled with romance as the millions of tourists
head back with their kids to school and work. Granite cliffs formed
from millions of years of earth events will leave a lump in your
throat. But the trees and leaves in any season are just so stunning
in Yosemite. There are only a few
Yosemite National Park hotels so you simple find
availability, then book it and go.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon
National Parks, home to the giant Sequoia trees spanning several
millennia, both lie on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada
mountains east of San Joaquin valley. If the world's largest trees
don't wow you, the fall foliage will with the crisp colors such as
bright yellow or orange. Kings Canyon / Sequoia Park offers around
10 hotels at reasonable prices. Wuksachi Village Lodge
is a popular choice for its proximity close to shopping and dining.
Driving through the forest is only one activity in this richly
patterned tapestry of color. Crystal Cave is open for guided tours
through late October each year, and re-opens in May. Giant Forest
and the northern section of Sequoia National Park, the second oldest
National Park, includes four of the world's five largest sequoias.
http://www.sequoiahistory.org/cave/cave.htm
A weekend getaway to enjoy the leaves need not require the feeling
of roughing it. In fact, the perfect blend of nature and casinos for
gambling, nightlife and golf, make for a beautiful drive or ride in
a bus to
South Lake
Tahoe. From northern Californians it is no stretch to hop in
a car and head on over to some Stateline casino fun, while watching
the leaves turn in the fall. For Southern Californians and people
around the nation, just fly into Reno where buses will pick you up
for rides directly to the hotels in South Lake Tahoe. How cool is
that? While letting someone else do the driving, you get to watch
the beautiful leaves on the trees out the window. It's the perfect
way to unwind and soak up the fall in California, where people have
found it there really are four seasons. You just have to get away
from the Southern California beaches to see them.
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