SOLID GOLD
Since trees start changing color at highest elevations first, make sure to check out Aspen Corner early in the month. Located 6.5 miles up Snow Bowl Road off of Highway 180, this road-tripper’s favorite foliage-viewing spot is accessed via paved roads. Aspens are so spectacular that you’ll see commercial photographers capturing images of couples and families for upcoming holiday photos. From here, hike or bike a portion of the Arizona Trail to Bismarck Lake (9 miles round trip) or simply continue the drive up to Arizona Snowbowl where the Scenic Chairlift elevates you to 11,500 feet for bird’s- eye views of the colors. Visit snowbowl.ski or call 928-779-1951 for times.
WORTH ITS WEIGHT
Lockett Meadow also bursts into color early in the season. Driving the narrow mountain road is not for the faint of heart, but the highland scenery is worth every inch of the bumpy, sinuous, single-lane gravel road. Once in the backcountry meadow, nerves will calm with the sound of quaking-aspen leaves. Walk through canopies of color to the Inner Basin on the 3.4-mile Inner Basin Loop Trail in the Kachina Peaks Wilderness Area. Those in the know avoid traffic by making the expedition on weekdays or early mornings. Visit fs.usda.gov for driving instructions.
CANOPY OF COLOR
With the progressive changing of the leaves, Hart Prairie near the San Francisco Peaks surrounds you in color a bit later than at higher elevations. The autumn scenery is accessed via Highway 180 and Hart Prairie Road (Forest Service Road 151) and/or Forest Service Road 418. Awesome views are had through the windshield of your vehicle as you drive on unpaved roads or get out and explore mountain biking and hiking trails that wind through the aspen groves. Take your fall-foliage adventure overnight by “glamping” in a yurt at nearby Arizona Nordic Village. Visit arizonanordicvillage.com or call 928-220-0550.
AUTUMN BLISS
Historic Downtown Flagstaff is a great place to experience the colors of the season. City streets are lined with trees that give up the golden hue later in October. Warner’s Nursery, with its abundance of red maples and other deciduous trees, makes for perfect, Instagrammable photos. Besides the well-tended landscape displays, Warner’s creates a fanciful hay maze and pumpkin patch. Check out Warner’s Oct. 20 Fall Festival at warnercompanies.com.
CAN’T LET GO
Late in October, Flagstaff leafers head to Pumphouse Wash (Forest Road 237) to scout rust-colored oaks, orangey sugar sumacs and flaming-red Virginia Creepers. To catch late-season color, hike down informal trails from Pumphouse Wash Dispersed Camping Area, following the drainage towards the southeast. The popular camping area on Forest Road 237 is 11 miles south of Flagstaff and 5 miles north of Oak Creek Canyon. Visit fs.usda.gov/recarea/coconino/recarea/?recid=81580.
FOR REPORTS OF CHANGING COLORS, CHECK OUT:
•FLAGSTAFF CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU’S LEAF-OMETER AT FLAGSTAFFARIZONA.ORG/LEAFOMETER
•COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST FALL COLOR REPORT AT BIT.LY/COCOCOLORS
•FOLLOW @COCONINONF ON TWITTER WITH #FALLCOLOR
THIS MONTH IN FLAGSTAFF
Sept. 9: Riordan Second Sunday Special Tour – Tea on the Veranda; Riordan Mansion State Historic Park; azstateparks.com/riordan-mansion
Sept. 12: Flagstaff Lunar Legacy Lecture Series; Coconino Community College – Lone Tree Campus; flagstaffarizona.org/lunarlegacy
Sept. 30: Flagstaff Community Market; Flagstaff City Hall parking lot; flagstaffmarket.com/farmers-market.html
Stacey Wittig is an award-winning travel writer and author located in Flagstaff, Arizona. For more travel & world-wide adventures visit Stacey’s website at unstoppablestaceytravel.com.
