Best Fall Color Spots in Yosemite

Autumn in Yosemite National Park is a sight to behold. Drive along Tioga Road or Glacier Point Road to see the gold and amber roadside stands of aspen trees, or, for a more secluded experience, hike the old road from Badger Pass Ski Area to Bridalveil Creek Campground where you'll find aspen groves nestled in the verdant forest. Or, simply wander through Yosemite Valley and enjoy the fall foliage. Bigleaf maples, black oaks and dogwoods add their own pops of color to the towering granite cliffs and sprawling meadows. No matter where you go in Yosemite, you're sure to find stunning fall foliage. So come and experience the magic of autumn in this iconic national park! 

The Bigleaf Maple might blend in with the oak woodlands most of the summer, but during the fall, its splash of yellow outlines riparian areas along the southern wall of Yosemite Valley from below Bridalveil Creek past Sentinel Creek and beyond Happy Isles. In general, look for mostly golden yellows to dark orange/brown on the black oaks; reds, pinks and yellow on the dogwoods; brilliant yellow on the black cottonwood; and reds, oranges and yellows on shrubs and low-growing herbaceous plants. 

Also, view a favorite fall tree: the non-native sugar maple that turns a brilliant red near the Yosemite Chapel.

Look for a lot of yellow, such as from deer brush yellows and low-growing shrubs and, in a few locations, the yellows and oranges from quaking aspen.

Look for mostly yellows and dark orange/browns on the black oaks; reds, pinks and yellow on the dogwoods; brilliant yellow on the bigleaf maple and black cottonwood; and reds, oranges and yellows on shrubs and low-growing herbaceous plants.

Look for oranges, yellows and reds from the low-growing vaccinium (grouseberry and whortleberry, for example) and other low-growing shrubs. A few small aspens, which would turn yellow, can be seen along the Highway 120 corridor.

Some meadows might have Indian hemp that turns a bright yellow, bracken ferns that can turn yellow (often just brownish), and some hedges and grasses that look golden.

Quaking aspen: Yellow

Dogwood: Red

Non-native sugar maple: Red

Bigleaf maple: Bright Yellow

Black oak: Orange/brown to golden yellow

Ceanothus/Deer brush: Yellow

White alder: Yellow

Black cottonwood/Fremont cottonwood: Yellow

Poison oak: Red to purple