'TIS THE SEASON... to prepare for spectacular fall drives, and while the whole foliage thing hasn't yet kicked into high or even medium gear, lining up your roads, stay-over points, and gotta-see-that canyons and peaks is a pleasurable August pastime. There is some fun to be had in simply following, via web sites like California Fall Color, where the leaves are currently putting on a show, and going, but having a sense of where you'll be heading, and juuuust about when, is always a smart idea, too. And while what this fall will deliver, in terms of yellow and orange and red trees, still remains a few weeks out, you can count on Mono County, in the Eastern Sierra, serving as one of the stunning centerpoints of the Golden State leaf-peeping scene. It's a super-duper thing, then, that...
MONO COUNTY TOURISM... has an exceedingly helpful Fall Color Guide, a go-here, go-there look at what tree-filled nooks around the mountain-close area will be doing the full-on autumnal thing. Must-add places to your foliage-themed itinerary? June Lake Loop is a favorite, with its rows of lemonade-bright aspens, and Mammoth Lakes has a knack for delivering on the whole majestic front, fall-wise. Mono County Tourism also picks Lundy Canyon as a go-to see-it-and-sigh destination, and Bridgeport, too. And, of course, the Tioga Pass, which makes a fine driving road if you plan on lunching in Yosemite during your Eastern Sierra jaunt (just make sure the fabled route is still open when you visit). Ready, leaf-peppers of Californiadom? It's almost time, so best start here.
