Autumn's Ahead, So Let's Enjoy Mono County's Fall Color Map

ONWARD TO SEPTEMBER: August is ending, but toasty temperatures continue to stay robust around much of the Golden State. With that in mind, a fall fan can be forgiven for daydreaming of autumn when September, a month that is still quite summery in character, finally arrives. But dream, people do, and those fall fantasies are enhanced by the purchasing of pumpkin drinks, the watching of Halloween movies, and researching what California regions will experience the first splashes of fall color. And while we can't pick the perfect pumpkin beverage for you, nor the scariest flick, we can point up, way, way up, to indicate where the first turning trees can be found. In fact, trees are already growing more colorful August, around the higher reaches of the Sierra Nevada, but if you want to find the splashiest Eastern Sierra hues, the golden aspens and character-filled cottonwoods, later in September and much of October will be primo times to find such wonders.

MONO COUNTY TOURISM... can help us here, as they so often do. Look to the Fall Color Map, a guide to finding the prettiest and leafiest locations around the scenic area. The map includes several must-visits, like Big Pine Canyon, Virginia Lakes, and Monitor Pass, as well as a few notes about what road-trippers will potentially find at each destination. We say "potentially" because timing a successful leaf-peeping escapade is a fine art, one that requires keeping an eye on social media (where "go now!" calls often appear, letting fall fans know that foliage is peaking in a certain canyon or summit). The map suggests the various feeds to watch for all of the latest updates, as well as local fall festivals and fascinating fall facts.The map, in short, is a great jumping-off point for a joyful season of beauty, fresh air, and chillier temperatures, something many of us may be actively craving as August makes its warm wrap-up.