Aspen fall colors in the Mt. Rose Wilderness southwest of Reno, Nevada

Aspen grove seen from an upper section of the Jones White Loop Trail

October is the time when aspen fall colors paint many mountain forests of the Sierra Nevada. On Nevada 2024 (Friday, October 25) I hiked from the Galena Visitor Center up to Church Pond in the Mt. Rose Wilderness. Here, I am sharing a few snapshots of the aspen scenery along the way..

Bridge over Jones Creek near the Galena Creek Visitor Center

You don't need to walk very far from the Galena Creek Visitor Center to stroll alongside quaking aspen trees. There are stands next to the Jones Creek, which you can explore on the Visitor Center Interpretive Trail. 

Yet most impressive, in my opinion, are those yellow-gold bands and groves of aspen, which can best by seen by approaching steep mountain sides or finding the right vista point along a slope or ridge trail. The Jones White Loop Trail is such a path, which also leads through a small part of the Mt. Rose Wilderness and  connects with the Church's-Pond Trail. 

Quaking aspen fork and bark

In Nevada, not only quaking aspens display spectacular fall colors. The leaves of majestic cottonwood trees similarly turn gold or golden-orange [1].

While quaking aspen get a lot of attention for creating stunning golden vista when their heart-shaped leaves change color in the fall, the grayish white bark of aspen trees play an import role in wildlife biology [2]:

The bark layer of quaking aspens carries out photosynthesis, a task usually reserved for tree leaves. In winter, when other deciduous trees are mostly dormant, quaking aspens are able to keep producing sugar for energy. Deer, moose, and elk seek shade from aspen groves in summer. These same animals consume bark, leaves, buds, and twigs of quaking aspens throughout the year. Ruffed grouse are especially dependent on quaking aspens for food and nesting habitat.

Yellow leaves of quaking aspens "flirting" with green pine-tree needles 

References and further reading

[1] Nevada Fall Color. URL: https://nevadafallcolor.com/nevada-fall-colors-finding-gold-and-orange-and-red-in-the-silver-state.

[2] Quaking Aspen. URL: https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Plants-and-Fungi/Quaking-Aspen.