The turning of the leaves in the fall always sneaks up on me. I’m merrily rolling along on dusty hikes followed by a brisk dip into the lake, when boom, it’s cold and the aspens suddenly are covered with yellow and orange leaves.
Given that most of Tahoe’s trees are conifers, which remain green all year round, the Sierra doesn’t get the massive waves of bright colors like other parts of the US, which are dominated by deciduous trees. Instead, our excitement comes from narrow bands of bright yellow, red and orange leaves which contrasts so deliciously with the deep green of the pines and firs, and the dark blue of our clear, crisp sky.
One of my favorite places to observe fall colors is Page Meadows. The series of meadows are located about two miles from Tahoe City between Alpine Peaks and Talmont Estates. Each meadow has a different orientation to the sun, so you get several weeks of peak viewing. When one side of the meadow might just be reaching the peak of color, on the other side the aspen leaves are still green.
The photos provided here were taken on October 6th, when much of Page Meadows was at the peak of color. Fortunately, a few sections still have a few weeks left, but I wouldn’t dilly dally. Winter is coming, when hopefully all that yellow and orange will be replaced by a blanket of white.