Tag Archives: finding fall colors

Autumn sneaks up on us in Zion. The temperatures stop breaking 100 sometime in early September, then the weather turns various shades of gorgeous for the next two months – highs in the 70′s and 70′s, crisp nights – while each day whittles back its daylight hours. For a hardwoods Midwesterner like me, it doesn’t really feel like fall until the leaves change colors, and on the canyon floor, this happens quite late.  Since the cottonwood trees along the creeks and rivers don’t take color until early November, it’s easy to forget about fall colors… sometimes I miss them altogether. But if you love fall foliage (and who doesn’t) it’s not too difficult to find it in spades around here… you just have to know where to look. Go up high. Leaves begin changing as early as mid-September in the highest regions of the Park. One of my favorite autumn drives is the loop from Springdale up to the Cedar Breaks high country and back, which typically packs a wallop of arboreal majesty. To make the most of this trip, don’t use the highway. Instead, take SR 9 from Springdale to Virgin, then turn up the Kolob Terrace Road, ascending … Continue reading →