Autumn beckons us, awakening our senses to Mother Nature's little treasures reserved for this time of year.

It's a season when cooler morning air kisses our cheeks, the scent of fresh mint wafts along river banks and leaves turn into canvases of yellow, orange, red and rust.

These are welcome signs after months of Valley heat.

Autumn, with all its splendor, calls us back outdoors.

To rivers. To the foothills. To hiking and biking trails. To vineyards and the high country for the fall colors. These are the reasons we enjoy living here.

Runners on the Eaton Trail soak in sunrises and sunsets as deer along the San Joaquin River munch on rose hips turning vibrant red and warblers on the river banks sing their melodies.

Dave Koehler, executive director of the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, says people feel a sense of new life outdoors after taking refuge where there's air conditioning all summer.

"It lifts your spirits -- and outdoors has a way of doing that," he says. "Fall gives you that extra boost. It's a great time to connect to the natural world. ... Fall is a fabulous time of year on the river."

Now is the time to get outdoors -- to see the leaves change and to hike, bike, paddle and bird-watch -- and just get away.

You have plenty of options to see fall colors, nature's eye candy.

Keep in mind the color change works its way down about 1,000 feet in elevation per week. Leaves should have started changing at 5,000 feet by this time, but the recent storm is delaying the usual pattern by about two weeks.

Leaves were turning at around 8,500 to 9,000 feet this past week, according to Californiafallcolor.com, a website that tracks fall foliage. The change won't happen at 5,000 feet -- about the elevation of Fish Camp and Shaver Lake -- until the end of October.

That means you still have ample time to plan trips to the eastern Sierra and other high areas. Some places to see:

• McKinley Grove, about 30 minutes from Shaver Lake, which offers flaming dogwoods that look spectacular surrounded by giant sequoias. Contact: Sierra National Forest at (559) 855-5355, or fs.fed.us/r5/sierra.

• Yosemite Valley, which becomes a sea of color. Dogwoods growing along the Merced River between El Capitan Meadow and El Portal are especially pretty to see.

John Poimiroo, webmaster and blogger for californiafallcolor.com, says Fern Spring Valley on the Yosemite floor features stunning black-leaf maple turning yellow near overflowing ponds. Poimiroo also recommends seeing the sugar maple changing near Yosemite Chapel.

Contact: Yosemite National Park at (209) 372-0200 or nps.gov/yose.

• Quaking Aspen Campground, along Highway 190 above Springville at 7,000 feet, has one of the largest accessible displays of aspen trees. Contact: Giant Sequoia National Monument, (559) 784-1500 or www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia.

You also can stay in the Valley to see the fall colors. Vineyards are lush with Thompson seedless leaves turning red and the Valley's black oak.

"It's the 'Halloween' tree of California because the trunk of the oak is black and the leaves turn orange – and they really stand out against a blue sky," Poimiroo says.

Dave Koehler, executive director of the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, says the San Joaquin River provides "gorgeous yellows and golds" that are part of the stream canopy beneath towering sycamore and Valley oak.

"We've had some clear days when you see a marvelous backdrop of the Sierra," he says. "Although you're a long way from it, you feel connected to it."