Western Montana is awash in fall colors, and more should be on the way!

For me, the first seasonal changes were seen around the streets of Missoula and in Pattee Canyon. And recent outings suggest that larch trees should be going golden in the Rattlesnake Recreation Area and the Seeley Lake area soon – in the past week, both were between yellow and green.

Here are some fall color resources:

• The U.S. Forest Service has a dedicated website with a hotline, and science and multimedia resources.
• Among western Montana national forests, the Flathead appears to be the only one with tips on its site.
• Glacier National Park also has a fall section on its site. And photos are regularly posted on the Glacier Facebook page.

For any photographers out there, Missoulian is running a fall photo contest on its Facebook page. The top three vote-getters will receive prizes.

Here are the rules:

• Upload up to 5 photos a day.
• Must be a fall photo.
• Must be from this year.
• Must be from the Missoula Valley.
• Deadline to enter is Nov. 2.
• Voting ends Nov. 9.