Fall colors in the Tahoe area are typically produced exclusively by aspens, which can be very hit or miss, and you kind of need to know where to find them, as most of the trees around Tahoe are conifers. As the fall season approached around the Tahoe area, a friend of mine asked me where she could find brilliant fall colors. After some discussion, she decided she’d enjoy taking a Jeep ride with her son, so we planned a day-trip to take her to see Lobdell Lake Road fall colors in the Jeep.

In October of 2024, my husband and I took a Jeep ride, venturing to this same area along Lobdell Lake Road for fall colors, and were impressed with what we saw. This time around, based on the fall color maps available online, we suspected we might be hitting the colors at their peak.

Lobdell Lake Road Fall Colors

We picked up my friend and her son at 7:00 am and headed to Hwy 395 South.

And once again, I returned to my favorite little creek surrounded by all the aspen trees. 💛 (Where I got stung by nettles last year!)

Mt. Patterson

After wandering around for a little while, the four of us hopped back in the Jeep and continued on Lobdell Lake Road to get to the turnoff for Mt. Patterson.

Mt. Patterson is the highest peak in California, at 11,654 ft., outside of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It is part of the Sweetwater Mountain range, which is comprised of a mix of volcanic and plutonic rocks.

The Jeep road to Mt. Patterson is mostly rocky washout with some steep and rocky sections and a few tight and steep hairpin turns. It was bumpy and relatively slow going. The last time we navigated up to Mt. Patterson, we had a 2-door Jeep, so this was our first time going up it in a 4-door Jeep, which has a longer wheelbase, making it slightly less agile on the hairpin turns. Vehicles with low gears and high ground clearance are recommended.

The final stretch to the top of Mt. Patterson is a much smoother terrain comprised of rhyolite rock, but it’s still a very steep grade.

At the top of Mt. Patterson, we battled frigid mainline winds, so we didn’t spend a lot of time outside the Jeep.

Montague Mine Cabin

Before returning to the base, we took the short route down the mountain to see this old mining cabin from the late 1800s.

Once back on the forest road, we couldn’t help but stop a few more times to get some fall color shots.

More Fall Colors Along Lobdell Lake Road

I’d say we successfully hit the peak for Lobdell Lake Road fall colors!