Favorite fall-color drives - Best of the West

Sunset, Oct, 1994 by Bill Crosby

Given the range of responses to our request for favorite fall-color excursions in the West, it's clear that New England has no monopoly on the changing of the seasons. Sunset readers suggested drives in Washington, Oregon, Northern and Southern California, Utah, and Colorado, for everything from red vine maples and gold quaking aspen to the aroma of baking pies in the chill breeze.

Marla Cooper of Ferndale, Washington, was one of many readers who recommended the Mount Baker Highway (State 542), which runs along the Nooksack River east from Bellingham up to Mount Shuksan. "Most of the route is lined with bigleaf maples, cottonwood, and birch. In October and November, the colors are orange and yellow, with Douglas fir giving them a dark green backdrop."

Two other readers recommended passes in the Oregon Cascades. Lesley Johnson of Salem picked Santiam (State 22) as her favorite, for the contrasting beauty of red vine maples among evergreens and dark lava rocks. A trip west on State 242 to State 126 sold Vicki Walters and her husband, Mike, of Escondido, California, on MacKenzie Pass. "This was easily the most colorful country we have seen in our many travels in the West," she said.

Northern California favorites ranged from mountain to valley. Linda Morsani of Carson City, Nevada, described the quaking aspen along State 88 through Hope Valley in the Eastern Sierra as "shining gold against a dark green pine forest with a clear blue sky overhead." For Kathy Ornellas of Castro Valley, California, the Napa Valley is best, almost anywhere you look: "When grapevines turn to gold, red, and orange, one has never seen such a beautiful sight!"

In Southern California, Sally Milano of Rowland Heights makes sure to save a fall weekend for a family drive to Oak Glen (on Interstate 10 east of Redlands), as much for brunch at Law's restaurant as for fall color. "We leave very early on Sunday morning to arrive at 8 A.M. At this time, the chill is in the air and breezes make the changing leaves ripple. The restaurant is busy at this hour completing baking of apple pies, and the aroma and inviting fireplace warming the air and the brunch/breakfast buffet make fall exciting for our family."

A move to Utah for college introduced Pomona, California, reader Deana Giles to her perfect fall-color drive, which she and her husband and friends would make on Sunday afternoons. "No question, the most awwwwwesome fall colors can be seen on a drive through the Alpine Loop. This narrow, winding 40-minute drive is on State 92 between Provo and Alpine, and encompasses Sundance Resort. The broad red maple leaves, golden leaves from the scrub oak, and the yellow half-dollar-size leaves of the quaking aspen all mixed through the forest of green pine trees are a beautiful foreground for majestic Mount Timpanogos."

And finally, Albuquerque reader Noreen Breeding's favorite view of fall color is from a train along the route of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad outside Antonito, Colorado, where "flaming orange aspens and spectacular mountainsides of yellow range for thousands of feet from valley to summit, and there are no cars, roads, or wires to spoil the view."