By John Turner, For Iron County Today
Just about this time last year I took a lot of pictures up in our mountains of the many aspen trees turning to vibrant fall colors and also wrote an article about just how beautiful our mountains become during the Fall season. I also urged you all to try to visit the many different locations where the turning leaves were really at their peak. I remember that by the time I took all these photos, wrote the story and had it published in our newspaper that Autumn was coming to an end and there was not enough time left for the readers to drive up into the mountains and see all the colors for themselves.
So, this year, I thought it would be a lot more helpful to share with you my earlier photos, and list the many locations where you still have an opportunity to see the changing colors. Just up the canyon from Cedar City, on most days, you can take a drive and be sure to see red rocks, green trees and a blue sky. This is the time of year when you get a bonus from Mother Nature and you can enjoy your mountain surroundings in a whole new dazzling light.
The elevation of the trees is key to when the colors are peaking. At the very top, they are probably at their best in late September, and the colors move down the mountain as the season progresses. You will still see colors at lower elevations well into October. There are a number of ways to check the status and location of the colors. Try visitcedarcity.com and click on the Fall Colors link for the progress of the colors in our local mountains, look at live traffic cams in the specific areas on the UDOT app, or call one of the stores in Duck Creek Village. You can even just look across the Walmart parking lot toward the “C” on the hill and get a pretty good idea.
If you do plan a trip beginning from Cedar City on Highway 14, you will start to ascend the mountain and pass by at least a dozen different spots that are overflowing with yellow, orange and red shimmering leaves, but unfortunately, at mile one, you will pass a hideous looking quarry that our local authorities seem to think is appropriate along a National Scenic Byway. After the quarry, you will encounter many cottonwood trees along Coal Creek, also showing off their beautiful display of colors to enjoy. For best color viewing, you will have a 2 to 3-week window that begins near the end of September and peaks and then disappears in mid-October. It’s interesting to note that each aspen grove, or sometimes an entire forest all originate from the same root system, that can spread for many dozens of acres. Each tree has identical DNA so it is all one giant organism.
Some other good locations along Highway 14 are Webster Flat at the sand cut near milepost 16, where you drive through some very mature groves of aspen. Mileposts 17 through 21 cover several miles of meadows surrounded by trees of varying colors. At mile 25 take the turn-off for Navajo Lake, and continue on this road for about 6 miles to the end of the lake where there is a campground set amidst a dense mature aspen grove. If you continue your trip toward Duck Creek Village at around mile 26, you will see aspens growing out of the lava fields. Duck Creek Pond is on your left and just past that is a gravel road turn off going toward Aspen Mirror Lake which is about a half a mile in and out hike. Both of these lakes have aspen reflecting off the water which is nature at its best, and a scenic spot to have a picnic.
Duck Creek Village has a variety of restaurants if you didn’t bring a picnic, and just past the Village you’ll find plenty of other groves along Mammoth Creek Road at milepost 31 and Strawberry Point Road at milepost 33.
If I were to suggest just one location to visit, and if you only have a couple of hours, I would highly recommend a drive just up the canyon from Parowan, on Highway 143. At mile 10 there is a right-hand turn with a sign to Dry Lakes Road. From here you will begin an eight-mile drive where you will see the tallest and most dense aspen forest I have ever seen in this area. Once you turn off the highway, you will first ascend into a couple of miles of maples and scrub-oaks, but soon after you will start seeing 60 to 80 ft tall large aspen groves. The canopy of color filters the sunlight but the glow from the turning leaves will dazzle you. Much of the drive is fenced private property that you need to be aware of. There are a few clearings with some cabins, where, if the timing is right, you will see some of the richest red trees I have ever photographed. The road continues on up the mountain, and eventually meets up again with Highway 143, just above Brian Head Resort. From there you can continue on through Cedar Breaks National Monument, and take a look at their brand- new visitors center. You can then take Highway 14 back down to Cedar City, where you’ll see many more aspen groves and several turn outs for views across the canyons, all the way to the top peaks of Zion National Park, about 25 miles in the distance.
I can’t imagine anyone could visit all these locations in one day, but I am hoping many of you will take me up on this invitation, at least for a couple of hours. A fall drive through our magnificent colors is an Iron County version of “stop and smell the roses”. Scenery that should be seen……
You should definitely bring your camera, or at least your phone, sturdy shoes and a jacket for this time of year. There’s lots of great places to take a family picture for the upcoming Holiday season. On a weekend, you’ll likely encounter the most visitors, and some of the roads get dusty. Weekdays are slower, if you able to go then.
A couple of photography tips: Keep your windshield clean and turn some music on, because late in the day, someone from the passenger seat shooting a video of the sun setting through the shimmering leaves is a great souvenir of a colorful trip. Another very cool shot is a close-up of a single aspen leaf with the sun shining through it (called back-lighting) which illuminates the veins and detailed structure of the leaf itself.
As I have said there are turnouts all along the roads up there for you to stop and admire the view, and/or take a picture, but I have found there’s usually some people that still think it’s OK to drive at 70 miles an hour on a scenic highway, so please be careful, pull as far off the road as you can, and exit your car via the passenger’s side when possible. Not everyone seems to be there to “smell the roses”.
If you’ve lived here all your life, you still owe yourself an annual trip up the mountain to see the colors, or, if you have just moved here, take some time and invite friends or family to enjoy the magnificence of our local mountains for the first time where the colors make you think that God is showing off his wonderful workmanship, and we get to be His audience. Enjoy!