Autumn color moves into southern Vermont, New Hampshire, and along the coast of Maine during the first two weeks of October, a good time for lighthouse photography. Acadia National Park usually sees the peak of Fall color by October 10, about the same time New York’s Lake District and Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton reaches the peak of color. Mid-October is the best time to drive the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. State Parks in northern Connecticut see their peak color during the third week of October. Autumn color spreads south, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where the color peaks in late October. Nevada has four great autumn color locations: Rainbow Canyon, Mt. Charleston, Lamoile Canyon, and Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park. Cottonwoods in Arizona’s Canyon del Muerto and Canyon de Chelly are bright yellow during the last week of October. Most of the cottonwoods along the Virgin River through Zion National Park are bright yellow in late October. The river level is usually low enough to safely wade up the Zion Narrows.
The most colorful and most beautiful petrified wood in the world is found in the northeastern part of Arizona. The Petrified Forest National Park, an area of 147 square miles, is twenty-four miles east of Holbrook, Arizona. Hike into remote wilderness areas to photograph strange formations that are off the paved roads and the marked trails. Photograph colorful expanses of the Painted Desert from the highest overlooks in the northern reaches of the park and large log jams of brilliantly-colored tree trunks washed into ancient seas. The petrified logs date back 225 million years. The Indian ruins and petroglyphs date back 1,000 years.
Zion Canyon is a great destination for nature photography in the Southwest. Wildflowers and cactus blossoms bloom in the spring, and autumn color comes out in the fall. Here are the best spots to explore during each of the four seasons in Zion. Discover the best trails to the high overlooks and the hidden side canyons. Explore Clear Creek Canyon for great autumn color. Hike up the Virgin River Narrows to photograph one of the deepest slot canyons in the world. Explore the Kolob Canyons on the west side of Zion. Discover overlooks at Bryce Canyon plus the locations of the best sunrise and sunset spots in both national parks.
California’s Sacramento River Delta flows into the San Francisco Bay to form the largest estuarine ecosystem on the entire west coast of both North and South America. Scattered along the shoreline of San Francisco and the Delta are many wildlife refuges and ecological preserves covering much of the shoreline. From November through January, millions of water birds arrive from their northern breeding grounds to feed in the marshes. Some of the refuges are remote, and others fill the spaces between the waters of the bay and populated communities. Here are places to photograph San Francisco Bay Area wildlife.
One of the most popular summer destinations for east coast vacationers is a great place for nature photographers during the off-season. Cape Cod has picturesque beaches, rustic fishing harbors, deep forests and abundant wildlife. Photograph classic New England villages and gray-shingled beach cottages on remote Atlantic headlands. You’ll have the beaches and trails to yourself and you’ll discover more photographic opportunities. This newsletter has information on the best time of day, recommended lenses, and the most convenient areas to stay.
Discover the best of the panoramic views of San Francisco’s Golden Gate. Winding across the steep and rolling headlands of Marin County, the Coastal Trail climbs to viewpoints of The City, framed by green hills and then crosses the Golden Gate Bridge and follows the surf along Baker Beach. The trail winds through dense forests of cypress and eucalyptus to some great viewpoints on Lands End before reaching Seal Rocks. You’ll find the best panoramic landscapes along the wide, sandy Ocean Beach south, through the Golden Gate Park to Fort Funston.
West of Lake Powell and north of the Grand Canyon, in a remote desert wilderness area, are the Coyote Buttes. Scattered across a bizarre red sandstone landscape are sculptured formations. The largest concentration of these stone patterns are on the Utah-Arizona border. Flat sandstone plateaus crisscross with knee-high stone fins. Included are directions to an area of balancing mushroom rocks near Glen Canyon Dam. Striped sandstone, weather-worn and eroded into sensuous curves, are great nature images.
In the middle of a vast desert they call badlands in northwestern New Mexico is a remote wilderness protected by the Navajo Nation and the BLM. Called Ah-shi-sle-pah, the unpronounceable Navajo term for grey salt, this vast geological fantasyland has not been promoted in any travel magazines I’ve seen and is hard to find, located at the end of a rough road and a long walk. I was the only person out there during my four-day stay and the silence was wonderful. Tall stone pedestals balance flat caps like giant mushrooms.
The mountainous western region of the state of Massachusetts is called the Berkshires. Hardwood forests in the higher elevations across the northern parts of the Berkshires typically start to turn red and yellow in early October. Forests at lower elevations across the southern parts of the Berkshires may reach their peak color during the third or fourth week of October. All photographers looking for new and different New England autumn color images should add the Berkshires to their calendars.
Stovepipe Wells dunes, Zabriskie Point, and Badwater are some of the best places to set up a tripod at sunrise. The mysterious sliding rocks on the Racetrack must be photographed. Dante’s View, Ubehebe Crater, and Titus Canyon should be on the list of any visiting photographer. A single creosote bush at the base of a dune at sunrise or a stone on the edge of a salt pond at sunset can also inspire a photographer to create unique images of Death Valley. Photograph all the icons, the postcard views, but stay long enough to drive some back roads and hike a few desert trails. Be out there at sunrise and sunset and the desert light will inspire you. Death Valley is a wonderful winter destination for nature photographers.
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BlogNotes and images from Bob Hitchman. Archives
April 2024
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