What's autumn like in west Oregon? (Portland, Eugene: school, floor, mall)

[victorianpunk]

Hello, I am from Jersey ( *sniff* *sniff* I hate it here...) and am probably moving to Portland in a year and a thought accord to me...seeing all those pictures of Pines pines and NOTHING BUT PINES, I was wondering, what does Fall look like in western Oregon? I mean...are there ANY Deciduous trees over there, are is it all evergreens? That's one thing I would HATE to give up, is the beauty of fall leaves... and the SMELL of them! I went hiking in the Catskills last year in November, and it was like walking in mountains of colorful Potpourr. I lost myself for HOURS singing Dead Can Dance and U2 songs to the trees while hiking around...(btw, 99% of Jersians hate the outdoors and their idea of a "hike" is walking through the mall to get yet another pair of $85 dollar pants with the word "Pink" written accross the booty)

Anyhow, is there any color-change in western Oregon? As nice as the pictures of Hood and the Olympic national forests look, I would hate to have to give up the kind of scenery that gave rise to the "Hudson River school" of art...ohh, and this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited: Kaaterskill Falls in the Catskills...now, imagine how this would look with every tree a different color, from red to orange to yellow...with yellow leaves thrown around the ground like the coins of a dragon's hord, and then you'll get an idea of what I don't want to miss.

[BLAZER PROPHET]

It depends. There are some areas of Portland where colors splash in the fall. However, if it's rainy or too cold too soon, fall is a few days long. On other years, it's terrific. That said, a drive thru from Hood River down the Columbia River Gorge in the fall is spellbinding.

Yeah, we have our moments.

[seashelly]

Here along the Coast.......there are a few yellow leaves but mostly tall green pines. For color....in December the cranberry bogs are red and the gorse turns bright yellow and in August the Dahlias are as huge as dinner plates.

[Silverfall]

We get color. The white oak is a native oak tree here.

It's not like Boston though where it seems like it is all maples and oaks. It's mixed in.

[Terryj]

I agree, we do get color, but nothing like the Northeast. In southern Oregon there are allot of Oak, Cottonwood and other deciduous trees that add some color. The majority of the trees here are Douglas Fir. Along the coast you have Hemlock, Spruce and Cedar as you go inland it will change to Doug Fir, then as you top the Cascade Range it will mostly be Pines.

[John Shaft]

I am very impressed with Oregon autumns in general, but I have extremely limted exposure to New England autumns for comparison. In some places driving through the Cascades (if you hit it at just the right time) the colors are amazing, and within the rugged lava rock.

[Patti LeBlanc]

Wow! What a beautiful waterfall!! I think you will find beautiful fall foilage in the Willamette valley. The deciduous trees are especially beautiful next to the deep green of our lovely fir trees. Walking in the woods in the fall, you will see a lot of color. I have not had the priviliage to visit New England in the fall, so it would be hard for me to compare. I believe you would find fall in the Northwest to be gorgeous!!

[woerkilt]

The Willamette Valley floor is predominantly dediciuous, as Oregon White Oak dominates along with alders, dogwood, willows, cherry trees, yews, and so forth. A lot of orchards exist out here as well. At the same time, christmas trees are a major industry around here, and so farms, feral stands, and native forests of fir and pine definetely exist--especially in the hills 'n' buttes which dot the floor, while many of the mountain passes are also dominated by evergreens.

[Bosco Richfield, Jr.]

Speaking from Eugene, there are numerous deciduous trees here and very vivid colors. Maybe not as
beautiful as the Northeast, but you should see California where you'd never know it was Fall.

[Hawk J]