Foliage Reports September/October 2016 :

Jackson Hole & Grand Teton National Park

During September, I’ll work on two pages simultaneously. This September Foliage 2016 post will contain more specific information about the ever changing foliage status in the area. The September 2016 Daily Journal of Photos & Comments for Grand Teton National Park & JH Page will contain some foliage information, but will focus more on wildlife and landscapes. You’ll want to go to both regularly.

Note: Think of this page as a day to day or week to week resource containing mainly “record shots”. The photos are not intended to be “wall hangers”, but more documentary in nature. Also, this page will grow in size and scope as the month progresses. Check back regularly!

Archived Resources:

You can go back to the September Daily Updates and Photos pages for the previous two years and probably get a good idea of how the entire month unfolds.

September 2015 | September 2014: | September 2013: It will probably be apparent that not all areas change at the same time and some of the fall foliage can go well into October.

Foliage Scale 2016

This scale should help with visualizing the approximate color hues. On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being summer green and 10 being peak), I will give a three part number. The first one is an average of the least changed. The middle number is the overall average and the last number is the status of the most advanced trees in an area. Note: Some aspens and some Mountain Maple turn orange and red, while many aspens, cottonwoods, and willows peak at something in the 8 or 9 range before the leaves fall or turn brown.

Remember, peak Fall foliage is not a one day event! It evolves over several weeks. Some areas go first, then lose leaves while others are just beginning. You should be able to find colorful foliage anytime from around the 10th of September to the first week in October.

Berry Fire: The month starts out with several forest fires in the region. Unless we get a freak snow storm or a few days of extended rain, expect skies to have varying degrees of haze and smoke. You might find this page of value: Days of Rose, Amber, and Gold.

Berry Fire Sept 15 Update: Recent rain and snow have essentially put this fire out. Smoke is currently non-existant — just in time for Fall Foliage Season!

October 16, 2016 – Sunday

Fall Maple Leaves: By now, fall leaves have fallen in much of the valley. Still, it doesn’t take much effort to find brilliant color in and around town.

Fall Leaves:

Maple Leaf: This leaf was sandwiched between two thin sheets of glass, then backlit with a desk lamp.

Leaf Detail: For the leaf shots, I used a Nikon D810 and Nikon 70-180mm Zoom Micro lens.

October 12, 2016 – Wednesday

Stand of Aspens: I took this image at the Moose entrance station. There are lots of colorful trees in that zone. Other good color is developing south on the Moose-Wilson Road near the Death Canyon Road.

Color is also very good in and around the Town of Jackson. The JH News and Guide Daily included a photo on the front page saying there is great color on the Idaho side of the Teton Range.

October 9, 2016 – Saturday

Wilson Horses: There’s still some color in Wilson and south along Fish Creek Road.

Fish Creek Barn: Even though this is the Fish Creek Ranch barn, it is on Fall Creek Road in the Wilson area.

Wilson Barn:

Red Leaves: You can still find bright leaves and underbrush in many areas.

Fall Creek Road Aspens:

Other Notes: Most of the Cottonwoods along the Snake River south of Jackson are now blown off. Munger Mountain is also mostly blown off.

October 6, 2016 – Thursday

Crossing Gros Ventre: Aspens and Cottonwoods are still yellow in the Gros Ventre, but are beginning to dull and fall.

Shane Cabin: Most of the aspens have fallen around the cabin, but it’s not too late!

Light Snow at the John Moulton Barn.

October 5, 2016 – Wednesday

Orange Aspens: Overnight snows added a different look this morning.

Frosted Aspens: Taken near Oxbow Bend before the snow began melting in the area.

Cottonwoods and Aspens near Oxbow Bend.

Cabin at Taggart Lake Trailhead:

Aspens and Snow at the Jackson Lake Dam.

Aspens at the John Moulton Homestead: The valley floor did not receive the same volume of snow as the mountains and highlands. By noon, most of it had melted on the valley floor.

October 4, 2016 – Tuesday

Peach House: This image shows the status of the aspens at the John Moulton Homestead along Antelope Flats Road.

Kelly Cottonwoods: The sun broke through for a few minutes, lighting up a few cottonwoods in the Kelly area.

Fences: Also taken in Kelly.

The color is still out there!

October 3, 2016 – Monday

Leaves and Rocks: I hiked about 3 miles in each direction on the Gros Ventre River today, looking mainly for moose. Along the way, I stopped to photograph interesting little subjects like this. This was hand held using a Nikon D500 and Nikon 28-300mm lens. It’s a nice, lightweight option for strolling through the river bottom when searching for the “large” subjects.

Flower Tips: The overnight rain left drops of water on most stems, leaves, and branches. At least to me, the droplets make a shot like this one much more interesting.

There is still a lot of color in the valley at the moment, but you have to search it out.

October 2, 2016 – Sunday

Gros Ventre Rain Drops: Gold and yellow cottonwoods and willows often reflect in pools. The rings were created by a morning rain.

Gros Ventre Cottonwoods: Dark skies and gold trees along the river.

Gros Ventre Foliage: This is a five shot pano, stitched in Lightroom. Click the image to see it much larger.

Moose Crossing the Gros Ventre:

Morning along the Gros Ventre Road: The southern end of Blacktail Butte can be seen in the distance.

October 1, 2016 – Saturday

Willows along the Gros Ventre

Washakie Crossing the Gros Ventre: Cottonwoods still look good in many areas of the Gros Ventre basin.

September 30, 2016 – Friday

Oxbow Bend: Falling leaves through the center portion of aspens at the west end of Oxbow Bend.

Cottonwoods at the TA Moulton barn. These trees are close to peak now.

Shadow Mountain: Still a few aspens, but generally past prime.

September 29, 2016 – Thursday

Oxbow Bend: A quick shot from today to show the status at Oxbow. The leaves are falling fast in some areas. Trees at the upper parking lot are even thinner.

Elk Flats: Grasses are golden in most areas.

Cunningham Fences: this shows the status of the cottonwoods in the distant Snake River basin. Not much color left there.

September 28, 2016 – Wednesday

I did a loop through the Oxbow Bend area this afternoon. The upper lot trees are what I might call “past prime”…some leaves now gone or thin. The band of trees at the west end of the Bend is also slightly “past prime”, but probably still worth shooting. The missing leases are mainly in the middle portion, while some bright red trees are on the left tip and a group of bright yellow ones remain on the right. If the wind blows hard tonight, things could change a lot. The cottonwoods and aspens at Bar-B-C ranch look really bright.

If you are looking for good color, it is still around. For the next week, expect to find color, but you will need to be creative and open to some of the other locations. Schwabacher still looked good from what I could tell from the highway. I didn’t drive down to the actual channel. There are bright yellow trees along Moose-Wilson Road.

September 27, 2016 – Tuesday

Many areas are still in Prime condition, but I am seeing some Past Prime zones now. I didn’t make it to Oxbow today, but I believe it’s best might be over. The newspaper mentioned the hydrologists began dropping the water levels coming out of the dam, which will affect the reflection pools at Oxbow bend, and it will eventually change water levels down the entire Snake River. Flow reductions are gradual to let fish move out of their current holding zones. The TA Moulton Barn should be very good right now, while the John Moulton barn and pink house will be later. The Gros Ventre is beginning to feel a little past prime, but it is still very good in most areas. Schwabacher Landing still looked good…lots of cars there each morning.

Some of the northern sections of the Snake River have cottonwoods past prime, but they look better in the southern portions. There are good stands of aspens north of Cunningham Cabin, and some south of the same zone. The Mountain Maples along Palisades Reservoir are past prime. At least from where I can see them, Shadow Mountain looks mostly past prime. Ground cover and low shrubs are still looking good.

You can still find plenty of yellow, but the window is slowly closing!

September 25, 2016 – Sunday

Mt. Moran and Aspens: This was a special morning at Oxbow Bend. Snow frosted the peaks, low clouds added interest, the leaves were at peak condition, and there was very little wind. By afternoon, most of the snow had melted, so it will be difficult to repeat this scene this year. Even without the snow, it should be great again tomorrow.

The cottonwoods across from Triangle X are dulling, while the trees along the Snake River at Schwabacher Landing look prime. The aspens at the John Moulton barn and peach house need four or five days. The lead cottonwood behind the TA Moulton barn is close to peak. Get there soon! I received a report that the Mountain Maple in the Snake River Canyon is now past peak, though I am sure you can still find color.

September 24, 2016 – Saturday

Fall Aspens: This shots shows some of the variety of colors you might find along the Moose-Wilson Road. Black Hawthorn bushes are changing to orange now. They make good backdrops from feeding Black Bears, if you can find them, and if you are allowed to stop to photograph them.

Aspen Fork: Also taken along the Moose-Wilson Road.

Gros Ventre Cottonwoods: The Gros Ventre and Snake River basins are usually lined with tall Cottonwoods. Most of them are now nearing peak colors. You can see some snow higher on the mountain today.

Cow Moose along the Gros Ventre: Colors range from green to gold!

Stripping Willows: It appears the moose are more interested in the green leaves than the yellow ones.

September 23, 2016 – Friday

Weather conditions have been all over the map over the past couple of days. It has been overcast or very cloudy during the sunrise hours, so I haven’t been driving to places like Oxbow Bend and the northern part of the park. We’ve had a little wind and some trees are losing leaves, but many still have them. There was snow in the high country, yet not as much as I had hoped to see following a big storm. Expect to see a lot of color over the next few days!

Weather Reports:

The Weather Channel

Jackson Hole Forecast : Mountain Weather

Weather Underground

NWS Forecast near Grand Teton

NWS Hourly Forecast near Grand Teton

NWS Recreational Forecast for GTNP (summer only)

Lower Saddle Weather Station (summer only)

WeatherSpark Forecast Map for GTNP

JH Forecast (Map) WU

JH Weather Access Map MW

NWS Interactive Looping U.S. Radar

NWS Pocatello/Idaho Falls, ID Radar

Real Time U.S. Satellite Animation

NWS Interactive Graphical Forecast

JH Snow Report

I should be out a lot tomorrow and should cover a lot of ground. Be sure to check back for additional reports.

September 22, 2016 – Thursday

This image, taken this morning, shows the status of the Gros Ventre river bottom.

September 21, 2016 – Wednesday

Oxbow Bend and Aspens

Bull and Cottonwoods: Taken along the highway between the airport and Gros Ventre Junction.

Oxbow in Pink: Taken from the side of the river at Oxbow Bend.

September 20, 2016 – Tuesday

Sunrise at Oxbow Bend: Peak might be tomorrow or Thursday, but it looks GREAT now. Rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Orange Aspens can be found around the valley now…9 and 10 on my scale above.

West End of Oxbow: The stand of Aspens at the west end have a variety of colors right now. The green ones should be yellow in a couple of days and hopefully before the ones on the far left blow off.

River Bottom: Another “record shot” showing the cottonwoods west of Triangle X Ranch. Cottonwoods south of town are much farther behind.

September 19, 2016 – Monday

Mt. Moran taking from the upper parking lot at Schwabacher Landing. Colors are really popping now. I would say tomorrow and Wednesday should be close to peak at Oxbow. A storm is heading our way for Thursday and Friday (assuming you can bank on mountain weather reports!) Hopefully, we get some high mountain snow, with minimal wind in the valley.

The bank of Aspens at the West End of Oxbow are turning fast. Tomorrow? I believe people lined up here today got a great show.

Arizona Meadows or Kamas Meadows is looking very good now, too. This is located a half mile past Arizona Creek if heading north.

This was taken on the drive to Two Ocean Lake.

Clouds were very moody for a while this morning. I took this one from Pacific Creek Road.

What can I say! It is beautiful here right now. I believe the next two days will be peak at Oxbow Bend. The Snake River bottom is still pre-prime, but I am sure you can get great shots anywhere you can get to the river bottom. Mormon Row Cottonwoods are behind most other stands.

I have a couple of open days without trips, so I should be out a lot on my own and should have lots of images and reports soon.

September 18, 2016 – Sunday

Canyon Color: I did a drive down the Snake River Canyon after receiving a reliable report. Mountain Maples are on fire! It is definitely worth a drive down to Alpine Junction and along the Palisades Reservoir.

Aspens and a Few Scattered Maples: Above the roadway running along Palisades Reservoir.

Mountain Maple Grove: I only had time to pull over for one zone today, but the stop was well worth it!

Vertical Grove:

All Red: Maples hold their leaves fairly well, but don’t delay! Wind is in the forecast, along with several waves of storms next week

September 17, 2016

This shots shows some of the yellow trees below Snake River Overlook.

Oxbow Bend Roadway: Lots of color above the road at Oxbow Bend!

The aspen bank along the west end of Oxbow are changing. I would expect really good color there Tuesday and Wednesday.

I stopped at one of the turnouts to snap this quick photo of the river bottom along the Snake River.

September 15, 2016

Snake River Bottom: This is a shot from an area not too far from Snake River Overlook, aiming mostly north over the river bottom. It is not peak yet down there, but the trees are definitely changing.

Schwabacher Landing: This area has a mixture of changing trees and green trees. Some of the willows along the river just downstream from this spot are farther along.

Changing Hillside: Look for yellow and gold, and you can find it now! Taken not far from Snake River Overlook.

September 14, 2016

West End of Oxbow Bend: I’ve had a few people write, asking when I thought the aspen stands at Oxbow Bend would be prime. I took this image today to help document the status. Four or five days? I really can only guess! The upper parking area’s stand is essentially the same.

Other aspens on the hillside above the road at Oxbow are going off now. Park wide, there are plenty of aspens in near prime condition. Cottonwoods in the river bottoms are catching up fast. I’ll try to get a shot or two of them soon.

Aspens and Spruce: I took these near the Lodge on Togwottee Pass. I used a polarizing filter on it.

Buffalo Valley Horses: They are not wild horses, but they still make a good foreground subject to go with the stands of cottonwoods. The cottonwoods at the John Moulton Barn are just starting to change.

It would be easy to spend the entire day around Oxbow Bend, up Pacific Creek and Two Ocean Lake road taking colorful photos of aspens and cottonwoods now. The recent rain and snow seems to have put a big damper on the regional fires. I didn’t see smoke or haze today.

September 2016 Daily Journal of Photos & Comments for Grand Teton National Park & JH

September 13, 2016

Check out this new Feature Post: Fall Morning on the Upper Gros Ventre. I’ll add some more comments here tonight, but for now, this post will give you a LOT of good info if you are willing to explore a wilder area of the region.

September 12, 2016

Oxbow Bend: There have been a lot of changes around Oxbow Bend since I was there last, especially above the road. The Berry Fire was pumping smoke into the northern portion of the park, and closed the Highway north of Leeks Marina junction to Grant Village in Yellowstone. I shot this with a telephoto lens to show the haze and smoke in the area. The Weather Channel predicted SW winds by afternoon, but I never saw it. Winds stayed from the NW all day. The stand of aspens at the far west end of “the bend” have shifting trees at each end, with mostly green trees in the middle. The stand of aspens west of the upper parking lot are also shifting or changing, but are still mostly green.

Pacific Creek Road: I drove east as little as a mile and the smoke was almost non existent.

Two Ocean Lake Road: Pacific Creek Road and Two Ocean Lake Road have a lot of yellow foliage now.

September 2016 Daily Journal of Photos & Comments for Grand Teton National Park & JH has a couple of other photos from today. I was able to get a few shots through the smoke.

Cottonwoods in the Snake River bottom are now shifting in color.

September 11, 2016

Aging Leaf: This is a shot of one of the large leaves found along many roadways and paths. Some are still vivid green, while some are aging towards brown.

Black Hawthorn Berries: You’ll find berry bushes in the full spectrum of colors. These berries are the big draw for many of the Black Bears along the Snake River corridor.

Black Bears are adept in climbing onto the thick branches of the Black Hawthorn bushes to get to the berry crop.

Leaves were casting a crisp, interesting shadow of a large tree. I would like the same shot even more if the leaves were bright red and orange, but this was still worth a shot or two.

Mule Deer: This Deer was in the Gros Ventre river bottom early today. Willow and cottonwood leaves are turning and falling now along that drainage.

September 10, 2016

The Gros Ventre: I put my waders on this morning and took this quick shot from a side channel of the Gros Ventre. If using my color chart above, it appears to be in the 4,5,6 range.

September 9, 2016

Robin and Choke Cherries: Robins, Crows and Starlings are actively feeding on the berry crops around town and in the Park. I’ve seen more Cedar Waxwings in the Park than around town, but they may still find this tree before the Robins clean it off.

Foliage Update: I did a quick loop around the southern portion of GTNP this morning. The trees are gradually changing everywhere, moving more towards the 3 and 4 color stage shown on my chart above. Some of the stands of aspens along the East Boundary Road are in the 4,5, 6 range, and Aspens along Spring Gulch Road are even brighter. The willows and cottonwoods along the Gros Ventre River are also in the 4,5,6 range. The Choke Cherry bushes along the Moose-Wilson Road are more red and orange than the one in the photo above.

September 7, 2016

Down the Canyon! Outside the Park: Alternative Places to Visit, Hike, Fish, and Photograph

Mountain Maple are on fire in many areas of the lower Snake River Canyon and along the Palisades Reservoir. I wouldn’t quite call them “peak” yet, but it shouldn’t be much longer. Some of the leaves, like the ones above, will become brighter red, and some will turn maroon! Other Mountain Maple stands are just beginning to turn. Aspens are still mostly green. The link contains a map and dots at some of my favorite spots along the Reservoir. Outside the Park: Alternative Places to Visit, Hike, Fish, and Photograph (Look for the map in the Down the Canyon section)

Mountain Maple Hillside: On some years, the Maples and Aspens turn at about the same time. Not yet this year!

All of my Nikon camera bodies are Full Frame right now. When in this area, I typically use a Nikon 24-70mm lens, a Nikon 70-200mm lens and isolate zones using a longer telephoto lens like a Nikon 200-500mm or Tamron 150-600mm lens. If you are using a crop factor camera, simply adjust the lens as needed. Actually, if I had a Nikon D500, I’d use the exact same lenses! Also, remember it is possible to do panoramic images in both the horizontal and vertical orientation.

Okay…I couldn’t resist! This is the same photo as the one above. I added saturation using a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and brought up the overall saturation slightly, then targeted the yellows and saturated them a bit more. It takes a little “self control” to override Nature!

One of my favorite spots is about a mile from the Palisades Dam. (Roughly between mile marker 389 and 390)

This small canyon is still in shadows until around 9:00 to 9:30am at this time of the year. No need to hurry to be there for first light. Many of the zones work fine on an overcast day, as you seldom need to include sky. In case you thought it might be “really good” if you were hike to the bottom of this canyon, I can save you the trip! It’s better from the road!

Mountain Maple trees in our region grow to a height of between 10 and 30 feet. They are much smaller than the New England species of maple, but are usually equally colorful.

Not every hillside is covered with Maples like this one, but if you pay attention, you can find them. Power lines run through the region, so you have to be creative and selective at times.

Some hillsides are more vivid than others, and of course, you can bump up the saturation in Lightroom or Photoshop. Many point and shoot cameras shoot in JPG format, with Hue and Saturation settings defaulted to make landscapes more attractive. RAW shooters will need to adjust their settings in Post Production.

Don’t expect to see much in the way of wildlife on a trip down the canyon. They are there, but not often by the road! Elk, Deer, Mountain Goats, and Mountain Lions live in the area, along with Foxes and Coyotes. You will more likely see various Hawks, Osprey, Eagles, and Herons, but most of them will be well off the road.

Additional Notes: On my drive south towards the Canyon, I kept an eye out for “color” in the willows, cottonwoods, and aspens. Generally, everything south of town is still green. On my chart, most is a 1 or 2, with an occasional 3.

September 5, 2016

I did a quick loop to Oxbow Bend and around the Teton Park Road late this afternoon. Overall, it appears this year is on track with last year: Foliage Reports September/October 2015. Some of the Gros Ventre looks to be a little ahead of last year. The hillside above the road at Oxbow Bend is more yellow than the lower portions near the river. Spring Gulch is well ahead of the rest of the area. There are a few yellow tree stands near Triangle X and other scattered around the hillsides. I have reports of the Mountain Maple turning bright in the Canyon, but didn’t have a chance to go there over the long weekend.

I read a newspaper report of predictions of a short or poor foliage season in New England. The story blamed drought conditions. Around here, things look on track for another good year. I’m not an expert on the subject, of course! I don’t see many stands of trees indicating they will be turning brown, as they did several years ago.

The photo above should give people an idea of the status. There will be a few trees turning yellow mixed in with trees that are still fully green.

September 4, 2016

Gros Ventre Willows: You might see very slight distant haze on some days. Actually, that’s common this time of the year.

Underbrush: Low bushes and underbrush are turning in most areas now.

Hillside: This hillside has a mixture of green and gold, taken along Spring Gulch Road.

September 1, 2016

Sleeping Indian

Blacktail Butte and early light on the Tetons:

Gros Ventre: I took this image along the Gros Ventre River near the JH Golf and Tennis Club. Lots of green, but more gold than I ever recall for September 1.

Actually, I took this moody image late last evening and posted it on the September Journal page, but it seems to be worth adding here. Give this hillside a couple of days and all of it will be yellow!

August 31, 2016 (begins with photos taken on August 30 and 31)

I took this shot above Flat Creek Motel, just north of town on August 31st. I don’t recall ever seeing this much yellow this early! With that said, there’s still a lot of green, and using the scale, most of the deciduous trees are in the 1 – 3 stage. Underbrush is a little farther ahead.

East Boundary Road: This shot (August 31), taken at about 150 yards and through a smoke haze, should give people an idea of what you might see right now. If you want to find yellow, you can! Hillsides above Oxbow Bend are changing fast. The banks of aspens by the bend are still green.

Red Leaves: You don’t have to look too hard to find berry leaves with bright colors. (August 31 photo)

Schwabacher Landing: Taken August 30, 2016. Some leaves can appear brighter, and more yellow if backlit, as seen in the photo above. Still, some parts of the valley are getting a jump start this year.

Spring Gulch Road: Wow! There’s a lot of color along Spring Gulch Road already! (August 31)

This page should give you an idea of how 2016 will unfold: Foliage Reports September/October 2015:

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