Tips for seeing California’s fall colors

Say goodbye to gray freeways, black clothing and brown haze and head for the hills. CaliforniaFallColor.com tells you where you can find the best fall foliage within driving distance of Los Angeles or San Francisco.

What’s hot: New England is not the only place that puts on a show of red, orange and yellow after summer fades. You can get the California Fall Color Report by RSS for weekly updates on how the trees are progressing through their cycle and where the best spots are to see the color. Click on the small photos, and the picture will expand to show a larger, stunning moment from the current season. The author doesn’t assume we know the intimate details of how the colors peak and gives us such straight-up info as: “One of the most popular spots for photographers in the canyon is Weir Pond at 9,592 feet in elevation. A large grove of quaking aspen on the west wall of the canyon is beginning to turn yellow.”

What’s not: Although packed with enough detail to get us to where the color is and with photographs to prove it, the new website lacks more helpful tools such as Google maps of the locations being referenced. A glossary of terms and more information about the trees would also be nice.

-- Jen Leo