With fall colors still several weeks away below 4,000 feet, Tahoe National Forest officials offer scenic drives for earlier "leaf peepers" wishing to see colors through mid-October.
Highway 49 from Nevada City through Downieville to Sierra City features big-leaf maple, oak, locust and dogwood as one winds through the North Yuba River canyon.
On Gold Lakes Road in the Sierra Buttes vicinity, aspen and maple colors are at their peak, and views of and from the buttes are outstanding, said Ann Westling, the forest's public affairs officer.
Highway 89 north from Truckee to Sierraville is especially picturesque, she said – with aspens, willows and cottonwoods. Expanding the drive from Sierraville west via Highway 49 over Yuba Pass provides spectacular views of the Sierra Valley.
East of Highway 89 and north of Boca Reservoir, cottonwoods, aspens and willows follow the Little Truckee River. The drive from Highway 89 through Kyburz Flat and Sardine Valley is also nice, with changing grasses, willows, cottonwoods and aspens.
On Highway 267 from Truckee south toward Lake Tahoe through Martis Valley, the gold and browns of willows and grasses contrast with the expanse of the Sierra and the deep green of the pines.
East of Nevada City on Highway 20, look for the crimson hues of dogwood and bright yellows of the big-leaf maples.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
• Read more articles by Barbara Osborn
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
Order Reprint
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.