Take a long weekend to see fall foliage without driving across the country!
In the Gold Country, the Nevada City-Grass Valley area has become known as one of California's best areas to view autumn foliage. The best colors are located in the old-fashioned Victorian neighborhoods surrounding the downtown historic districts.
Most vivid are the century-old red maple trees planted by early settlers, homesick for New England. Church steeples add to the Vermont-like mood. Outside of Grass Valley, maples and liquidambars dot the 800-acre Empire Mine State Historic Park. And off Highway 49 near Sierra City, Gold Lake Road offers a 20-mile-long tour of deep-gold aspens and willows.
Yosemite National Park offers lots of trees. With red dogwoods and orange oaks, the best spot for leaf-peeping is along Highways 41 and 120.
In the Tahoe Basin, one lovely drive is along Highway 89 -- from Highway 50 near Lake Tahoe to the junction with Highway 88, in the middle of Hope Valley, where aspen, willows and cottonwood are plentiful. Also pretty is Highway 88 from Woodfords to Silver Lake, over Carson Pass. A little southeast of Lake Tahoe, you can see pretty aspens on Highway 89 near Markleeville and over Monitor Pass to Highway 395.
Along the eastern side of the Sierra, hues of gold mixed with some red are showing in the higher elevations -- along Bishop Creek in the upper reaches of Bishop Canyon, they're reaching their peak now. But colors are late, appearing through the end of the month, along the Owens Valley floor. One favorite sight: the aspens that line the Owens River between Mono Lake and the town of Bishop.
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