Mary Ann and I went up north to see the fall colors. Mary Ann had some days off, but we didn’t plan ahead. I’ve gone to Lockett Meadow many times for fall colors, which is a great spot. We decided to try something different this year. They had an early snow in the area on Tuesday, so we went on Wednesday. We thought it would be nice to see some snow before it melted, and get there as soon as we could after the snow, since the cold weather might cause the leaves to fall.
We didn’t see any aspen groves at the peak of their color change, when they turn a bright yellow. They were mostly past prime, although some groves hadn’t changed yet (go figure). But, it was a nice trip, with mountain views in the snow, and some nice aspen colors.
Our first stop was Aspen Corner on the road to Snow Bowl, which is a skiing area. We got there at about 10:00 AM (a 2.5 hour drive). Then we went up the road to Snow Bowl. We decided not to ride the gondola to the top, because it would take too long, and we wanted to go to Hart Prairie Road.
Next we drove to Forest Road 151, aka Hart Prairie Road. We stopped at one area where there were a lot of people. Then we drove up further, and stopped by the side of the road, where there was a nice view. As it turns out, there was a parking area near where we pulled over, with access to Wilson Meadow, and we hiked from there up the trail about 1.75 miles to where the Arizona Trail went through an aspen grove. We met some locals there who were hiking the Arizona Trail. They told us where there was an aspen grove at peak colors back at Snow Bowl (but it was too late for us to go back there). They also recommended places to eat dinner in Flagstaff. Our quick stop by the side of the road turned into a 3 hour hike!
We wound up taking the ‘Humphreys Peak Loop’, which goes around Humphreys Peak, the highest point in Arizona (12,637 feet). The loop goes north on Highway 180, past Snow Bowl Road, to Hart Prairie Road, east on Forest Road 418, and south on Highway 89.
We got to Flagstaff at about 5:30 PM, and ate at Salsa Brava. It was OK, but not great.
It was a beautiful day in Northern Arizona!
2 Comments
With the colorful trees and mountains in the background it’s like fall and winter happening at the same time So pretty!
Thanks! The snow was a nice surprise.