Fall Colors -- you might not think we have them in or area but that's not true. While not as spectacular as springtime and the pastel colors of wildflowers covering the hillsides, there is a fall season.

In the front country, fall colors are understated, mostly the light yellows and hints of orange found as the sycamore and an occasional big-leaf maple turn color before dropping off and covering the canyon floor with their colorful leaf litter.

Seasons in the Santa Barbara area are a bit unusual--summer is more like winter elsewhere, a season of drought where the vegetation scales back its activity to hoard precious water for the long dry period. A hibernation of sorts.

Fall begins late here, the colors not turning in most parts of the county until very late October and usually not until well into November. With early rains like this year, fall, winter and spring can begin almost on top of each other, with green shoots sprouting almost immediately after the rain has stopped. It is not uncommon to have shooting stars popping up as the yellow sycamore leaves begin to fall.

Though the water in the creeks is still sparse in the fall months, the hiking is nice. With the temperatures cooling, the flies beginning to go away and the colors of the sycamore (and in the interior the cottonwoods) beginning to fill the canyons, it is indeed a nice time to get out on the trail.

There are a number of hikes I would recommend if you want a taste of the fall colors. These include:

• Buena Vista Canyon
• Cold Springs
• Fir Canyon
• SY River Loop
• Cold Springs Backside