Five Fantastic Reasons to Visit the Eastern Sierras In Fall

Five Fantastic Reasons to Visit the Eastern Sierras In Fall

If you are reading this then you probably already are a fan of the Eastern Sierras. “Unless I am wrong - and I am never wrong...“ (Prince Humperdink Princess Bride) you probably belong to one of two tribes:

1. Winter Skiers
2. Summer Campers/Fisherman

It’s a fact. According to a Mono County’s Impact of Tourism Report, summer and winter account for a whopping 54% of tourist visits to the county!

I bet many of you Winter and Summer tribesman don’t realize the Sierras’ actually have four seasons, not just two.

To remedy this, I am giving you 5 fantastic reasons you should visit the Sierras this fall:

Reason One – Less Freakin’ People

School is back in session (praise the Lord) and the summer crowds are gone! Fall is the area’s second busiest season. The difference between summer and fall is that during fall people are spread out more so the place seems downright deserted. This time of the year, visitors are focused on specific activities. The three top activities:

• Fishing - Fishing season does not end till November 15^th. There is a lot of fisherman around. Nice thing is that they get up early and disappear into streams and lakes for the day.
• Hiking – Another group that gets going early and dissolve into the high country.
• Photography - Photographers like to shoot in the early morning and then around sunset. Mid day they are usually napping because they get up damn early to sunrise pictures!

This makes Fall the perfect time to get away and actually be able to get away!

Reason Two - Cooler Temperatures

You say,” well duh its fall stupid.” Yes but there are a lot of places not in the mountains that are too freakin’ hot to visit in the summer. Death Valley for one (unless you really get off on 115 in the shade). Did you know, 50 miles out of Big Pine are the Eureka Dunes, which are the tallest sand dunes in the US and possibly the whole US. Trust me late fall is a much better time to visit than say July! There are tons of other stuff to see in the Owens and Long Valley (Ancient Petroglyphs, Red Rock canyons), that are too hot to visit in the summer but are very pleasant in fall.

Reason Three - The Chance of a Surprise Gift

During Fall the weather can be downright unpredictable. Stay with me, I am not crazy, this is a good thing. You’re up to view the fall colors (oops, I am giving away Reason Five) and suddenly a storm blows in. There is a good chance it might snow! You are saying “oh crap chains required”. I am saying, most of the time, it is usually a “dusting” of snow; no chains required, fun to play in, and goes away about the same time you’re tired of it. Trust me, there are very few things more exciting to waking up to a light snow or seeing beautiful fall colors with snow on the ground.

Reason Four - You Will Stay Drier When Hiking (Well Maybe)

If you are a hiker the streams are no way near as high as they are in the spring or even summer. That means you are more likely to find the rocks to cross the stream and keep your socks dry. In the heading I said maybe. I hedge my bet because there is a higher chance of getting rained on.

Reason Five – See Fall Colors In California

The main reason to visit is in late September and early October is that the Aspens change colors and put on a magnificent display of color. When the trees have turned, the South Lake section of Bishop Canyon is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Another is the June Lake Loop. When and how long the colors stay is kind of finicky. A snow or wind storm can wipe the colors out overnight.

There are plenty of web sites that give you real time info on where the best locations are for viewing. Here is a great guide to where the best places are to see the Fall Colors are. Here is another link that has a list of resources to check on what the Fall Color conditions are like.

Where to stay

I hope this convinced you that fall is a great time to visit the Eastern Sierras. Now hold on to your wallet here comes the sales pitch. If you are looking for a great place to stay, rent our place at Snow Flower 13. It is located in Mammoth convenient to most of the Fall Color hot spots. If you are interested in staying at Snow Flower 13 check out its Facebook page. It has pictures so you can see the place and on the wall links on how to make a reservation. If the first five reasons weren’t enough to get you going, I will throw in a 20x30 high quality photograph of Crowley Lake taken from the dam to the first person that makes a reservation for three days or more and mentions the code (FiveReasons) when they make a reservation for Snow Flower 13.