Fall Colors in Southern California?

[musey]

My FI and I are loosely planning on a fall 2008 wedding. I''ve always wanted an autumn wedding, with oranges, reds, yellows, browns... but I don''t know if/where we''re going to find those colors in Southern Cal! We live in Los Angeles and we see a little bit of color change, but it''s nothing like where we each grew up (Illinois and New Jersey), and I''d love to find a place that gets lots of natural fall color.

We''re pretty set on having it locally, and I''d like to keep it within comfortable driving distance of LA (~3 hours MAX) so that our local guests won''t have to book unnecessary hotel rooms. Maybe Big Bear? Lake Arrowhead? Any suggestions you have are appreciated!

 

[cellososweet]

hey sweetie. . i live in long beach and it takes me about 2 hours to get to Julian (it''s by San Diego in the mountains). The fall colors there are absolutely beautiful. But. . . you might want to look at private estates for the wedding. The wedding venues suck. There is angel''s landing and resort (looks like a porta-potty no joke) and there is a rustic lodge. Looks like summer camp. If you can find a private ranch or something or other, i would highly recommend it. don''t go with anything online because they aren''t nice. But. . . the colors are absolutely superb. HTH.

 

[musey]

Thank you so much for the tip, cello!

 

[AChiOAlumna]

You don''t say where in So Cal you''re at, but in downtown Claremont (91711 zip code), there are the old Pomona Colleges. Very ivy league and they have mansions that they rent out for weddings. The trees are old and they turn color in the August months.

My dentist is in that area and since I was a little girl, going through the college areas always reminded me of the East Coast (I''m originally from NY) in the Fall.

Hope this helps!

 

[musey]

Date: 2/13/2007 3:13:42 PM
Author: AChiOAlumna
You don''t say where in So Cal you''re at, but in downtown Claremont (91711 zip code), there are the old Pomona Colleges. Very ivy league and they have mansions that they rent out for weddings. The trees are old and they turn color in the August months.


My dentist is in that area and since I was a little girl, going through the college areas always reminded me of the East Coast (I''m originally from NY) in the Fall.


Hope this helps!

Thanks ACO, I didn''t know that Claremont got fall colors (I''ve only been there in November, maybe they were gona by then?). That would work for us (since we live in LA).

 

[diamondfan]

I do not know if they do events nor do I know what the foliage is like there, but maybe the Descanso Gardens? ETA: just went on their site, they do weddings and in October they list fall foliage...I would check it out.

Three hours from L.A. will barely get you to central California, and I think unless you go north to the wine region you may not find true color changing.

There might be some sights in La Canada or Pasadena that work, but again, I lived in L.A. my whole life and do not recall a lot of foliage change. There is a hotel that is famous and the museums like the Norton Simon and Huntington Hartford. Again, you would need to check availability for an event, I am not sure who allows what, but worth looking into...