Mono County Fall Color Report – October 19, 2022
Pictures: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/
FALL COLOR REPORT
CURRENT FALL COLOR REPORT – October 19, 2022: The good, the bad and some silver lining…
The Good: Colors are peaking just about everywhere in Mono County right now. Throw a rock in any direction and your likely to hit a grove of peaking aspen. This years display has been vibrant and has stuck around for longer than any other in recent memory. (This makes year 11 of reporting for us!) We are attributing this to the incredible rain we received over the summer months and great weather conditions so far this fall. Generally colors are peaking at a variety of elevations and locations right now. If you have trip flexibility, come as soon as possible to guarantee seeing color at the locations listed below.
The Bad: A storm is forecasted to enter the area this weekend. As of right now the National Weather Service in Reno estimates 20-30 mph winds starting late Friday. We’ll see 1-2″ of snow possible on the sierra passes with much colder temperatures in all locations until at least Tuesday. There’s a possibility that our high elevation passes (Hwy 120 Tioga Pass, Hwy 108 Sonora Pass and Hwy 89 Monitor Pass) could be temporarily closed for the duration of the storm. If you’re coming this weekend make sure to bring a jacket and expect periods of rain/snow. We expect this to push our higher elevation locations to “past peak” by the end of the weekend. This includes areas in the 8,500’+ elevation like Conway Summit, Sonora Pass, Monitor Pass, Lobdell Lake Road, etc. These locations are all at 100% and only have a few days of color remaining.
The Silver Lining: Our favorite time to take fall color photography is just after a storm. The clouds, snow and lighting create incredible contrast and result in our best images of the season. We can guarantee we will still have fall colors at many locations after this weekend! The June Lake Loop, Convict Lake, Lee Vining Canyon, Lundy Campground, Twin Lakes Bridgeport and the towns of Walker, Coleville and Topaz will all still have leaves remaining after the storm. We will try to update this report with short blurbs as the week progress to keep you as informed as possible. And remember, for the most up-to-date conditions and pictures, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
We will update this report every Wednesday for the remainder of the season. If you’re new to fall colors in Mono County you can view images from previous years to get an idea of timing for all locations and elevations, and download our Fall Color Map to help navigate all the fall color hot spots in the Eastern Sierra.
Guide:
0-10% – Just Starting
10-50% – Patchy
50-75% – Near Peak (Go Now!)
75-100% – Peaking (GO NOW!)
Past Peak – (You Missed It)
WALKER / COLEVILLE / TOPAZ
Monitor Pass (8,314′) – 75-100% GO NOW! Still peaking but won’t be around much longer.
West Walker River, Walker, Coleville and Topaz (5,200′) – 50-75% Go Now. The best colors right now are along US 395 along the West Walker River. The cottonwood trees in Walker and Coleville will easily make it through the storm and should be peaking the first week of November.
Sonora Pass (9,623′) – 100% – Last call and should be past week after the storm.
Lobdell Lake Road (9,274′) – 100% – Only a few groves left when we were there last night. Will 100% be past peak by the time this report is updated next week.
BRIDGEPORT / VIRGINIA LAKES
Twin Lakes (7,000′) – 50-75% Go Now. Should be a great spot for pictures after the storm if we get snow at the higher elevations.
Bodie Hills (9,419′) – Past peak
Virginia Lakes (9,819’) – Past peak
Conway Summit (8,143) – 100% Groves of brilliant orange trees right now. Only a few days left.
Summers Meadow (7,200′) – 75-100% – GO NOW! Incredible from top to bottom. Should be past peak by next Wednesday but worth the trip right now.
Tioga Pass (9,943′) – Past peak
Lee Vining Canyon (6,781′) – 75-100 GO NOW! Brilliant colors in the canyon right now. Peaking aspen everywhere when we were there yesterday.
Lundy Lake & Canyon (7,858′) – 75-100% GO NOW! Terrific color from US 395 all the way up the canyon.
BENTON & 120 EAST
Sagehen Summit (8,139’) – Past peak
JUNE LAKE LOOP
June Lake Loop/Hwy 158 (7,654′
MAMMOTH LAKES – Follow Mammoth Lakes Tourism for the most up-to-date information: VisitMammoth.com
Mammoth Lakes Basin (8,996′) – 100% – Only a few days left.
CROWLEY LAKE/McGEE CREEK/CONVICT LAKE
McGee Creek Canyon (8,600’) – 75-100% GO NOW! – The best color is now along US 395 and the campground.
Around Crowley community (6,
Convict Lake (7850′) – 75100% GO NOW! This is the week to go to Convict Lake! Good color all around the lake.
ROCK CREEK CANYON
Rock Creek Road (9,600’) – 100% GO NOW! – Past peak around the lake with the best color showing up around Tom’s Place and US 395.
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(From Mono County)
