At about 8,000-feet elevation, I rounded a curve on South Lake Road, and the world in front of my windshield exploded in blazing yellow and gold. The colors in the Eastern Sierra peak first at high elevations, and the spectacle works its way downhill as autumn progresses.
Leaf snobs are quick to note that the West Coast doesn't have anything approaching the variety of colors that appear this time of year in New England. I still remember a drive from Montreal to Connecticut one October weekend... watching my otherwise chatty college roommate stare out the passenger window in stunned silence.
But those were just hills; the highest peak in Vermont is a touch over 4,000 feet. While the Eastern U.S. offers a resplendent fall palette, the staggering scale and grandeur of the Sierra Nevada make for their own breathtaking annual spectacle.
In Southern California, the leaves around Mt. Baldy and Big Bear Lake usually reach their peak between mid-October and early November. A reliable guide with maps and suggested viewing spots can be found at California Fall Color.
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