Me and Bobby McGee Canyon: Freedom’s Just Another Word for Leaf-Peeping Without Tourists

McGee Canyon fall colors are at peak right now! Drop everything and cruise up Highway 395 towards Mammoth Lkaes, California. These golds and yellows right now are some of the very best autumn hues I have ever seen. They basically scream Pumpkin Spiced Latte. These aspen and birch leaves blowing in the mountain breeze will make you believe in fall again. But how to avoid the kinds of crowds that make you question humanity? “Freedom’s just another word for hiking midweek.”

Orange aspens, red willows, yellow birches — McGee Canyon fall colors, basically nature’s version of a sunset cocktail, it’s all right there, oh so close to Mammoth Lakes at Mcgee Canyon. Yet how can you enjoy these fall colors and avoid the weekend Disneyland-like tourist crowds? Well, that is the question. “Through all kinds of weather, through everything we done — except for weekends, because no one deserves that.” Seriously, if you try to leaf-peep here on a Saturday, you’ll swear you accidentally wandered into Disneyland’s “Frontierland: Aspen Edition.

If Janis had ever traded her Southern Comfort for a Hydro Flask, she’d have written Me and McGee Canyon. Right after she tied up her hair in her dusty red bandana to avoid these wind gusts and high-tailed it to McGee Canyon fall colors.

And as I drove my Jeep along the bumpy dirt road to the Mcgee parking area two days ago, along with all those leaf peppers in Uggs that were clearly not meant for hiking, these were my thoughts (Often sung by Janis Joplin in my head)

Freedom’s just another word for not hiking McGee Canyon on a weekend

Are you searching for hundreds of tourists, all wearing matching flannel and clutching pumpkin spice lattes, clogging the first mile like a Starbucks drive-thru? Yeah, that is Mcgee Creek on the first weekend in October. But midweek? Oh, honey, that’s where the magic happens. Golden aspens shimmer like they’ve been dipped in butter, the birch trees are blushing redder than a Taylor Swift as she sings about Travis Kelcie’s manhood, and the cottonwoods are tossing their yellow leaves around like it’s the final rose ceremony. I started my hike at 8 a.m., when the light hit the canyon just right and the only sound was my boots crunching leaves—and possibly me humming Me and Bobby McGee. Feelin’ good was easy, Lord, when the Tesla-driving soccer mom’s stayed at home.

McGee Canyon fall colors. GO NOW!

Feelin’ good is also easy when the aspens are glowing neon gold and there’s not a single tour bus in sight. Amen. Here we are in Bishop, California, over a holiday weekend and Hurricane Priscilla is sitting off the coast of Baja, California. Which means the Sierras have wind. And I don’t mean a gentle breeze. I mean 50 MPH gusts. That means if yoi want to see some green and gold aspen leaves, GO NOW, before they are sailing down the 395 along with all the other tourists and leaf peepers cruising back to L.A. on Monday morning.  Trust me, don’t go on the weekends, that is such a huge hint to enjoy this scenic area.

McGee Canyon fall colors. Do it

To reach the McGee Canyon trailhead, you’ve got to brave a two-mile dirt road that’s your first test of commitment to the fall color gods. It’s a perfectly fine graded road by Eastern Sierra standards—but apparently a near-death experience for city folks in their Teslas. I watched several white-knuckled drivers creeping along at two miles an hour, praying to the ghosts of their anxiety while dodging pebbles like they were landmines.

To reach the Mcgee Trailhead, you have to drive around two miles up a dirt road. This is an eastern Sierra typical graded dirt road but may be a little scary for city folks in their Teslas. (Remember, if you are arriving in a Tesla, charging stations are rare in the Eastern Sierra and Teslas have their batteries on the bottom of the vehicle. So they are not a good off-road driving vehicle as you don’t want to hit one of the many bumps, rocks and ditches and scrape that battery. Is this drive worth it to your mental health just to take selfies with aspen trees?

“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.”
— Unless it’s your parking spot at McGee Canyon on a Saturday morning. Then freedom looks a lot like circling the dirt lot while a guy from Encino tries to parallel park his Rivian next to a boulder.

Windshield wipers slappin’ time… probably on all those rental SUVs parked crooked on the trailhead road

There’s a small parking lot at the end of the road, and if you show up before 8 a.m., you might actually snag a spot before the leaf-peeping masses roll in. Starting early also means you’ll catch that moment when the aspens turn from “pretty” to holy crap, is this a Bob Ross fever dream? The sun hits those golden canopies just right, and the canyon glows like it’s been Photoshopped by nature herself.

Facilities are limited to a pit toilet that currently looks like a post-apocalyptic horror movie—thanks, government shutdown. And listen, I shouldn’t have to say this, but apparently, I do: if you’re going to relieve yourself in the woods, do it like a grown-up. Pack it out. If you can afford a $3,000 camera and $600 hiking boots, you can afford a doggy poop bag for your own business. Nothing ruins a spiritual communion with nature faster than toilet paper tumbleweeds fluttering through the aspens.

So yes, freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose—except your dignity, if you don’t handle your bathroom situation responsibly.

Orange Aspens, Red Leaves, and the Blues: Singing My Way Through McGee Canyon

Once you hit the McGee Canyon trail, prepare yourself for sensory overload. The colors are so spectacular they make Vermont look like it phoned it in. Yes, I’m looking at you, Bernie Sanders. Every aspen and birch has gone full Hollywood glam—gold sequins, red lipstick, and just enough breeze to make them shimmer like they’re auditioning for a Taylor Swift video. The cottonwoods? They’re tossing yellow confetti in the air like they just found out PSL season got extended.

From the Mammoth Looney Bean coffee line to the McGee Canyon climb, I’ve never seen so many people dressed like REI mannequins. Prepare yourself, the TikTok stars and the influencers have descended on this special place.

But let’s not get too romantic. This is still California, and if you’re hiking in early October, you’re not alone. Even midweek, I saw a shocking number of people actually hiking past the first viewpoint—like, cardio was being done voluntarily. I half-expected to find a craft coffee cart around mile two. But once you get about three miles up the canyon, the crowd thins, the noise fades, and you can finally hear yourself think—or, in my case, sing.

That’s when I caught myself softly crooning “Feelin’ good was easy, Lord, when you hike past the crowds…” while wading through a grove of orange aspens lit up by the morning sun. And it really was easy. There’s something about that crisp mountain air and the crunch of leaves underfoot that makes all your petty annoyances fade away. Well, except for the guy in the neon puffer jacket who decided to blare the new Taylor Swift album from his Bluetooth speaker. Maybe one day, hikers will remember nature makes its own playlist.

Here’s the thing—McGee Canyon isn’t just a fall color spot; it’s a full-blown experience. Between the fiery aspens, the rust-red canyon walls, and the occasional mule deer side-eyeing you for baking your own Spicy Curried Trail Mix, it’s the kind of place that makes you forget real life for a few hours.

Through all kinds of fall weather, through everything we done… yeah, Bobby McGee Canyon fall colors, baby, kept me from the cold.

This hike is very close to Mammoth Lakes, California. The first weekend in October, Mcgee Canyon is just full of a rainbow of oranges, reds and yellows. If you are up for a long hike, you can hike deep into the canyon to fish for rainbow and brookie trout at Big Mcgee Lake. It’s a fourteen-mile round trip hike with over 2,700 feet of altitude gain. This hike is not for those IG influencers in their Uggs!

After six plus miles of fall color bliss and light people-dodging cardio, I decided to skip the circus at the trailhead and wandered down toward McGee Creek for lunch. I had powered through all the way back to the beaver ponds and that right there was he most epic part of the hike for me. Wow, was that a gorgous spot! While everyone else was elbowing each other for one last Instagram shot with “peak gold” aspens, I found a quiet spot by the water, kicked off my hiking boots, and soaked my trail-sore ankles in the icy creek. The aspens here were pure gold, glowing in the afternoon sun like they’d been blessed by Midas himself.

There are a few picnic tables scattered around the creek area, but honestly, most people were too busy chasing the perfect selfie to notice them. Which worked out perfectly for me—just me, my dirty red bandana, a Peach Caprese Salad, and the sound of cottonwood leaves clapping in the breeze.

That’s the thing about McGee Canyon—you don’t need a fancy resort or a spa day to feel rejuvenated. Just a weekday morning, a good pair of boots, and enough common sense not to leave toilet paper blowing through paradise. When the light hits those aspens and the creek sparkles just right, you remember exactly why we chase fall in the first place. And you know what? Feelin’ good was good enough for me.

Good enough for me—and my Bobby McGee Canyon fall colors hike.