Fall Colors in California State Parks

By John McKinney

California is one of the few states that can boast of honest-to-goodness four-season hiking. State Parks offer marvelous desert trails in the winter, wildflower walks in the spring and alpine sojourns in the summer.

As for that fourth season, the Golden State tends to get dissed by hikers from across the nation (and even around California) convinced that you have to go to New England to see leaves changing color. Nonsense. Many California state parks offer fine displays of autumn foliage. Here are a half-dozen of my fall classics.

SoCal

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, northeast of San Diego, (760) 765-0755. One of the Southland's most splendid autumn pathways is the Kelly Ditch Trail, which travels 5.5 miles from Cuyamaca Reservoir at the north end of State Park to William Heise Park. En route, you'll cross mile-high slopes, which host rich forests of ponderosa and Jeffrey pine, fir and incense cedar, as well as some wonderful specimens of live and black oak.

You hike through a pastoral Southern California that you thought had disappeared a hundred years ago. Gnarled old oaks stand above a blanket of ferns and dry grasses, autumn-colored in soft shades of yellow and brown. Through gaps in the oak canopy, you get glimpses of nearby canyons aflame with fall color and when the light is just right--the blue Pacific.

(Nearby Palomar Mountain State Park features meadows full of bracken fern in rich golden brown hues.)
     
Point Mugu State Park, off Highway 1, 32 miles up-coast from Santa Monica, (805) 986-8951

All monarch butterflies west of the Rockies head for California in the fall; one of the best places in Southern California to observe the arriving monarchs is in Big Sycamore Canyon at Point Mugu State Park.

Sycamore Canyon Trail (6.5 miles round trip to Deer Camp Junction) takes you through a peaceful wooded canyon, where a multitude of monarchs dwell, and past some magnificent sycamores. The sycamores that shade the canyon bearing their name are incomparable.

During October and November, Sycamore Canyon offers the twin delights of falling autumn leaves and fluttering butterflies. (Ask park rangers where the monarchs cluster in large numbers.)

Wine Country

Annadel State Park in Sonoma County, east of Santa Rosa (707) 539-3911, 938-1519. Black oaks and big-leaf maples along the park’s creeks are the autumnal attractions of this park. A favorite hike is the 5-mile round trip to Lake Ilsanjo. Do note that in some areas of the park and elsewhere around California the yellow of the maple leaves may be as much due to drought stress as to seasonal change.

Bothe-Napa Valley State Park in Napa/Sonoma counties, just north of St. Helena, (707) 942-4575, 938-1519. Sure the black oaks and big-leaf maple can put on quite a color show, but even if they don’t this park is worth a stop and short hike. Take a walk along redwood-lined Ritchey Creek or a trek (6.5 miles round trip) up to Coyote Peak for commanding wine country panoramas. If you’re Napa Valley wine touring during the fall grape harvest season, this state park is a perfect place for a picnic.

Lake Tahoe Area

Sugar Pine Point State Park, south of Tahoe City, (530) 525-7982, 526-7232. Think Tahoe and we tree lovers naturally think conifers: firs, pines, incense cedar. In autumn, however, we turn to deciduous delights. Some of the best colors in the Tahoe area can be found on the drive along Highway 89 from South Lake Tahoe to the state park.

In autumn, the black cottonwood and quaking aspen along the General Creek Trail (4.5 mile loop) are something to behold.

Grover Hot Springs State Park, south of Lake Tahoe, just west of Markleeville, (530) 694-2248, 525-7232. Easy family hikes include a nature trail called Transition Walk that loops around the park’s alpine meadow and a 3-mile round trip walk to a waterfall on Hot Springs Creek. The quaking aspen fringing the meadow are particularly showy in autumn when the fluttering leaves turn orange and gold.

After your hike in the brisk alpine air, take a soothing soak in the park hot springs (102 to 105 degrees F).

For more information

California State Parks Communications Office, (916) 653-6995 or visit the state parks web site at www.parks.ca.gov

California State Parks Foundation (800) 963-7275 or visit www.calparks.org

Publications: California State Parks Official Map (California Department of Parks and Recreation, $2.95) is available at many parks. Day Hiker’s Guide to California’s State Parks (Olympus Press, $14.95) by John McKinney is available at Automobile Club of Southern California offices, which offers members many free regional maps that highlight state parks.