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CALIFORNIA WILDFLOWER
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Cuyamaca Rancho
State Park - 5/13/08 - Phillip Roullard writes: If you hike the
West Mesa fire road from Highway 79 at mile 7.3 and the Milk Ranch Road
starting at the foot of Lake Cuyamaca, you can see a variety of
wildflowers at this time. The meadow on the northern end of Cuyamaca lake
was also good a week ago and probably still is considering the temps have
been cool lately. This isn't a spectacular year, but a fair amount of
variety. Several types of baby blue eyes, false lupine, lupine, western
wall flower, scarlet bugler, violets, Indian paintbrush, silver leaf
lotus, mule's ears, California poppy, cream cups, buttercups and many
more. There are lots of other trails you can hike in the park, which is
continuing to recover from the 2003 fires. The understory of Ceanothus
(wild lilac), is coming back nicely. Even though there are lots of
blackened, dead trees, that doesn't mean the park is "dead". There are
lots of birds and we saw deer in one of the meadows before going on our
hike. So take a look at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Palomar Mountain State
Park ought to have some nice wildflowers since it burned last year. I'll
report later on after I have been there.
Lebec, Frazier Park, Cerro Noroeste Road, Tehachapi, etc. - 5/12/08 - Kimberly Perkins writes: The poppies are popping out all over the place in the mountains. Several fields of poppies can be found on Lebec Oaks Road in Lebec, near the church. I went up there on Saturday and Sunday (May 10th and 11th. Along with the poppies, I found Western Wallflowers, Speckled Clarkia, and Lupine. The colors have faded on Gorman Post Road, but the Yellow Monkeyflower is abundant, as well as Yucca, which can be found all over the hillsides. There is still Lupine, Globe Gilia, and Fremont Pincushion to be found though. I even found a few Butterfly Mariposa Lilies alongside the road. But you have to really look for these since they are not easily spotted from a moving car. Over on the other side of the freeway, at Hungry Valley OHV State Park, even more poppies can be found. You can go in free if you want to just go to the wildflower viewing area. If you want to go in further, you have to pay $5. The poppies are abundant here. I also found a few Foothill Penstemons here as well as Golden Yarrow. I don't know about the rest of the park, as I didn't have time to go in further. Going down Peace Valley Road, you can find White Lupine as well as more poppy fields. There are no real places to pull over. The road signs say "no parking," but I stopped briefly to take some pictures. There wasn't much traffic to speak of on the road, and the shoulders going south bound are wide enough to pull over. Going up Frazier Mountain Park Road, I found some Scarlet Bugler, (lots of) Yellow Pincushion, Whispering Bells, California Poppy and one lone Butterfly Mariposa Lily blooming next to some Prickly Poppies. Along Cerro Noroeste Road (goes from Lake of the Woods to highway 166), there are plenty of flowers to be found. I found Yellow Lupine, Indian Paintbrush, Mules Ears, Poppies, Purple Nightshade, Blazing Stars, Lupine, and a very few Baby Blue Eyes. The road is full of twists and turns....and some speed racers. At least there are a lot of turnouts for slowpokes like me ;) If you like Mariposa Lilies, you can take a drive to Pearblossom, CA, which is about 25 miles southwest of Lancaster, CA. The Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area has a lot of these orange-red flowers popping up along the roadsides. I also found quite a few Beavertail Cactus, Scarlet Bugler, Blue Sage, Chia, Prince's Plume, Wild Onion, Parish Larkspur, and Yerba Santa. It is free to park there, and there is a little visitor center at the park where you can get info on the hiking trails and see some live reptiles (in cages, of course - lol). Going up Fort Tejon Road in Pearblossom, CA, I found lots and lots of Thistle Sage, Sapphire Woollystar, Blazing Star, Parry's Linanthus, and Pringle's Woolly Sunflower. Going up Big Pines Highway, I found Fremont Phacelia, Mojave Linanthus, Western Wallflower, California Milkweed, Desert Calico, Black Sage, and more Yucca. The Yucca is really blooming right now. It seems like it is everywhere. Going back, I went to Tehachapi, via Tehachapi Willow Springs Road and found quite a lot of Bird's Eye Gilia, Foothill Penstemon, Desert Calico, Fremont Pincushion, Goldenhead, Phacelia, and Lupine. The biggest trouble (aside from the very windy conditions) is lack of places to pull off the road. The wind was very strong and gusty on both Saturday and Sunday. A nice change of pace with great views and more wildflowers, was Woodford Tehachapi Road, which winds around the Tehachapi Mountains and ends at Keene, CA (The Tehachapi Loop can also be seen from this road). It is very twisty and there aren't a whole lot of places to turn off, but I did find several flowers, including Western Wallflower, White Lupine and Speckled Clarkia. There were probably more, but I was running late so I didn't have time to do a whole lot of exploring. I am uploading pics to my Flickr photo album as I speak. You can see them here... http://flickr.com/photos/kimberzy/ Thanks again for this site, which I check religiously ;) And thanks to all of the people who give us great tips .... like Rick Crippen for his post about the Mariposa Lilies at Devil's Punchbowl. I had been wondering just where to find these! Happy wildflower hunting! East side of the sierra - 5/12/08 - Alan Bade writes: Hi Carol- We went over Westgard pass on highway 168 this last weekend (5/10) and found the sagebrush country east of the pass blooming really nicely. Calochortus kennedyi (desert mariposa lilies) were near a pullout 4.5 miles east of the pass at about 6000 feet elevation, and in great numbers. These are an orange shade rather than the deep red/orange we have seen at other locations, like the Haiwee reservoir site mentioned in other reports. Please be careful not to step on any, as there are many just getting ready to bud. The desert paintbrush, lupine, indigo bush, and various composites were also blooming nicely. We also drove through the volcanic tablelands and Fish Slough just north of Bishop, and they were blooming well. The BLM field office in Bishop has a webpage detailing what you can see. We saw most of what is on the list, but the blazing stars were in great sheets. Photograph early, as the midday sun is really harsh, and the Sierras will be your background, in morning light. Here is a link to the general webpage of the Bishop BLM, where they have more wildflower viewing locations: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/bishop.html . In general, things were looking really nice on the East side. We were on our way back from Utah, and Red Rock canyon in Nevada (about 5/1), and Zion National Park (5/9) had great flowers. I thought I’d throw that in, even though this is the California wildflower hotsheet! Thanks again for your site! Highway 128 - 5/12/08 - FS writes: I’m sorry I’m remiss in giving you an update of HWY 128 between Lake Berryessa and Lake Hennessy from May 3. Lots and lots of whirled lupine (pink and yellow colored- it’s everywhere!), bush monkeyflower (in excess!), yellow fairy lanterns (no shortage!), buck brush, morning glories, wyethia, wooly sunflowers, cow’s clovers, wine cup clarkias, Farewell to Spring clarkias, irises, seep monkey flowers, and a few remaining poppies are easily seen from the road. Some blue delphinium remain, but not many. And yes, that *is* poison oak still blooming! Most of the brodiaeas seem to be drying out- and fast! The few times that I got out of the car to take a closer look, I was quite happy to find blue eyed grass at every stop. It wasn’t obvious as I was driving, but I saw it every time I got out and walked. On serpentine outcroppings- particularly one good one at the intersection of HWY 128 and Lower Chiles Valley Rd.- I found stonecrop, dudleya, canyon delphinium, and various onions…plus even more blue eyed grass. Between Lake Hennessy and Silverado Trail along the creek were Chinese houses (on the shady side of the road-coating the hillside) and Clarkia Concinna Red Ribbons (on the sunny side- along the creek)! There weren’t many places to pull over here- so find a safe spot and walk! Thanks again, Carol! Sorry for the delay! Hungry Valley - 5/12/08 - Seth Hill writes: May 11 at the Gorman turnoff from I-5, Hungry Valley has many poppies. The ranger at the State Recreational Vehicle Area said wildflower enthusiasts get in for free. We drove following the posted blue wildflower signs until we got nervous at our normal car navigating the dirt roads, so we parked at the junction of Badger Trail and walked up it for a mile. Astonishing still! I saw two little flowers that were shaped like poppies but were a deep brick- maroon red; anybody know what they were? We then tried the Wheatfield entrance at the south end of Hungry Valley, and the poppies were just as lush there, with lots of lupine and other flowers I don't know the names of. In two hours we met two motorcyclists and one four-wheel guy; in other words, we were all alone on a beautiful day! Kern County - 5/12/08 - Spencer Westbrook writes: I took Friday off to travel to an area of Kern Co I had not visited for many years and never this late in the season. Friday I travelled up Breckenridge Road which is just east of Bakersfield, the road starts in the Lamont area and travels up breckenridge Mountain which rises over 7500'. the lower elevations were pretty much sun baked until about 3500' when clarkia appeared en mass along with scattering of poppies. As the road gained elevation more flower appeared including chinese houses, linanthus, penstemon, and the best find, a large, perhaps 15-20, of wind poppies. Most all the common spring flowers were sighted along this remote back road which is fun to explore and winds up at 6500+' elevation before dropping over the other side toward Walker Basin. I did not go that far but spent the night at about 5500' because of my plans for Saturday. Saturday I travelled up an old favorite I had not been on in several years, Rancheria Road, which starts just before the mouth of the Kern River Canyon and parallels Hwy 178 along the ridge tops. This is a graded dirt road (very dusty I might add) that the family car can travel on but don't venture off the main road as I did and had to 4WD back from a side trip on an un-maintained road. Of the two roads, Breckenridge and rancheria, this is by far the better to explore as there are meadows, old cabins, LOT of flowers and in particular, one I had hoped to find, five-spot. Not the desert five-spot as seen in Death Valley, but the one related to baby blue eyes, which i found as well. But I did find them at about 5000+ elevation and luckily, they love road cuts so are easily spotted. I camped at Evans Flats campground at about 6000' and it is a beautiful location with meadows that reminded me of Crane Flat in Yosemite, corn lilies (which I love to photograph in B&W) and all. The only annoyance was the fact that off hwy vehicles (OHV) are allowed here so rude persons were running around until 7:30 at night, and again at 7:30 in the morning, on dirt bikes and ATV's. I took Sawmill Road to Lake Isabella and at lower elevations just above the lake there is an amazing display of Fremontia in full bloom, a beautiful sight. Rancheria Road was a treat with over 35 types of flower seen. The trip home down Hwy 178 was a treat as the sheer walls of the Kern River Canyon are carpeted in a beautiful display of clarkia, and I do mean carpeted thick but the canyon walls are nearly vertical. If folks love exploring backroads as I do, Rancheria Road is a must see. Take your time and enjoy Pt. Lobos - 5/12/08 - Tom Crouse writes: May 8th - There is a great display of wildflowers at the Point Lobos Preserve just south of Carmel. Too many to mention, must be 2 dozen types. Plus the birds are nesting so a great place to visit now. Feather River Canyon - 5/9/08 - Richard writes: The Feather River Canyon is in full bloom. I was thru there on Wednesday and the Calif. Poppies are all over and so deep in color. Also the Lupin are all along the road and fields of them in places just above the Rock Creek Dam. Also a few Indian Paintbrush scattered in with the Monkey Flowers. I would say if you don't see Hundreds of Thousands of Monkey Flowers then you are not into flowers. Also the geese are hatching their young so be careful while driving they do get them close to the road at times. It is so pretty watching the little Goslings bobbing up and down in the water following their Mommy and Daddy. Northern San Bernardino Mountains - 5/9/08 - John Marquis writes: I visited two of my favorite May locations in the northern San Bernardino Mountains on the 6th of this month: The Rock Camp/Pinnacles area north of Lake Arrowhead, and the pebble plains in the North Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve (and also along the nearby Gold Mountain Road). Both were satisfying stops. If you should visit, however, please respect the fragile nature of these environments -- choose your steps carefully! In the area near The Pinnacles trailhead off of CA Hwy. 173, the peak bloom is just beginning, and a diverse array of flowers can be found with only minor exploration. There is Lemmon's syntrichopappus (also called pink-ray Fremont's gold) in good numbers on barren slopes, often mixed in with small carpets of Mojave linanthus. Lavender windows line stream beds, and San Bernardino Mountains owl's clover pokes up here and there. Other finds include desert snow, Palmer's monkeyflower, cream cups, two varieties of violets, beggar's gilia, red triangles, blue flax, desert-mountain blue-eyed mary, meadow nemophila, goldenbush, ceanothus, and many others. Pacific dogwood trees will delight you on your drive through the Lake Arrowhead area; take Grass Valley Road to reach this location, though, as Hwy. 173 seems to be closed between the town of Lake Arrowhead and Grass Valley Road. I did not check the nearby burn area... this might make for an interesting project for someone with time to spare! (See map) The show is just beginning at the North Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve, with many species (southern mountain buckwheat and ash-grey paintbrush among them) just starting their bloom, many (like silverhair mousetail) not yet in bud, a few at or near peak (lavender windows and rayless shaggy fleabane among them), and some seemingly past their peak (Parish's rock cress, bitterroot, and alkali cusickiella). Big Bear Valley sandwort is there in bloom, but I'm not sure how far along the bloom curve it is. Should your favorite photographic quarry seem past its prime at NBLER, have no fear -- do what I did and hike a mile or so up the Gold Mountain Road, a dirt road that turns north off of CA Hwy 18 near the end of the western arm of Baldwin Lake. (Walk any of the numerous routes from the parking area... they all converge not far up the ridge.) Up on the pebble plains on this mountain ridge, the Parish's rock cress is apparently at its peak, with many beautiful examples easily seen just off the road. You'll also find at least a dozen or more non- pebble-plain-specific species just beginning to bloom along this road. Many of the claret cup cacti were stunning! A few photos (6 out of 300 taken, to be exact) from this outing can be found on my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wayfinder_73/ Various locations - 5/8/08 - Linda writes: Hello - Having enjoyed Henry Coe Back Country day and Ft. Hunter Liggit the last two weekends, and reading the wonderful posts, thought I'd add some local "color". (BTW: didn't see anyone mention the vernal pool still shimmering blue with downingia just out of camera's reach on the other side of the fence at the FHL exit- two weeks ago). Took the long way home last night after work from San Jose to the Santa Cruz Mountains, on the Alma Bridge/Lexington Reservoir Road. First - found my #1 search item: CA Gold Nuggets - 3 nice stands, in fields of Wine Cup Clarkia. Pale pink/white Globe lilies are blooming in profusion (100's) on the road cuts - but so cryptic against the brown grass/dirt: CA Poppies adding color at every turn along with ample Sticky Monkeyflower, with a few "gutatus" in the wet areas. "Our" pale cream/yellow iris are still in reasonably high bloom in large clusters. The bloom looked good enough, and there was enough light, that I swung up Soda Springs Road, to be rewarded with an otherwise barren/rocky hillside oozing with collinsia, red-ribbons (1000+, easy) and larkspur, followed just a short way up the road with an eye-popping stand of Canyon Larkspur. The Yerba Santa is in high bloom higher up the road. Back down on the Lexinton road on my way up the hill, I made it to my favorite road cut before dark to see the deep purple jewelflowers among the poppies. Ah - the pleasures of daylight savings! Thanks for your great site! Highway 1 to Nacimiento Fergusson Road - 5/8/08 - Carol Patterson writes: After reading that the Nacimento Fergusson road still had lots of flowers, I decided to try it for the first time on Sunday, May 4th. I took Hwy 1 up to the coastal end of the road. Hwy 1 had Seaside Daisy, bindweed, monkey flowers, Nightshade and more, but with the wind, fog and lack of places to pull over, it made the drive more one to look and enjoy than to take photos. It was extremely foggy and the Nacimento Fergusson road was a very cautious drive, it is just a bit over one lane in places and many blind corners. There are a few places to pull off and park safely, you might have to walk back to the flowers. The creek had a nice water fall and redwoods with ferns. I did not have much time to really get out and explore, but I saw Scarlet Columbines, Globe Lilies and Iris. Also, Thistles, Chia-the best I saw this year, Monkey Flowers, Clematis, Sages, Indian Paint brush and many more that I did not find a place to stop and investigate. Once I crossed the ridge in to the valley section, I found a Scarlet Larkspur, but it was very windy so few photos. Crossing on the military base was easy, Drivers License, Registration and Proof of insurance and I was set. There were a few nice views of Oaks with deep blue larkspurs under them, but other than those, the rest of the area seemed to be over taken by grasses. I could have taken the wrong roads to find flowers,but I am guessing I missed the peak of the area. I wish I had turned around and gone back to the coast in search of safe parking. Photos of my trip are here: Carol's Images- powered by SmugMug Thank you all for the tips this season and extra thanks to Carol for her site that has us out looking for more flowers. Palo Alto to Pescadero Coast - 5/7/08 - David Senesac writes: We did a day trip from Palo Alto to Pescadero coastal areas through our Santa Cruz Mountains yesterday Tuesday May 6. After a quite wet January, the last three months may have been the driest I have experienced while living three plus decades in the SF Bay Area. That is particularly apparent as one moves eastward from coastal areas towards the Central Valley. The cooler air, higher rainfall, and often foggy conditions in the immediate coastal stream valleys west of the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains has however kept those areas considerably more green than areas of the Diablo Range. Still, the dry weather has resulted in relatively mediocre wildflower conditions. I normally work flowers in the redwood forests, early March to mid April and the Skyline Boulevard open space reserves, early April thru early May and did not expect to find much at this late a date. Mainly our excursion was an excuse to get some exercise hiking and gain wisdom on what things look like after such dry conditions. The drive up Page Mill Road showed usual spring greens and flowers, however soils looked dry. We briefly checked roadside views up at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve and could see many of the usual wildflower species up on the slopes. However they were sparse with grasses shorter and overall less green than usual. Still someone interested in close-up photographer would easily find flowers to interest them in that area. Down little Alpine Road west of Skyline, higher roadside areas are now peaking with poppies, paintbrush, and vetch. We stopped along Alpine Creek at the Heritage Grove, a narrow north facing shadowy forested redwood stream canyon, and found a few western trillium were still blooming though 98% had long gone to seed like all their giant trillium. There were still some blooming redwood sorrel, redwood violets, and star solomon's seal though most of those species were also going to seed. About the only species that were in its prime were the dainty long spikes of fringe cups, star flowers, and the showy dense blue areas of forget-me-not. Continuing west, we stopped along Pescadero Creek then hiked a ways up and back along the Old Haul Road mountain bike trail as I had been curious about what that area looked liked. This was a second growth redwood area like almost all the heavily logged Santa Cruz Mountains redwood areas with small redwoods root sprouting from the old stumps of decapitated giants. Considerable understory brush and trees made for a mediocre forest compared to the dark open understories that once must have been below such giants. We continued west and stopped again along Pescadero Creek where I knew the late blooming red clintonia thrived and indeed found a few nice specimens for our little digital cameras. About noon we reached the little farming community of Pescadero where I had to stop at Norm's Market and buy one of their delicious bear claws from their Arcangeli bakery. Does that place smell wonderful! Now at Pescadero State Beach, we found vegetation there, at Bean Hollow State Beach, and Pigeon Point all looking rather dry though all the usual species like goldfields, yellow bush lupine, and scarlet pimpernell, were making a show. We return via the Gazos Creek road past Butano State Park, where we found numbers of late booming wildflowers in tall grass. Buckeye trees were starting to bloom along the well sheltered sunny lower streamside road areas. I noted bleeding heart, poppies, fringe cups, morning glory, andseveral other species. Further up the road below bigleaf maples showed vibrant new spring leaves providing bright green understories while small steelhead trout fingerlings played in the small fern lined stream pools. Below mission bells had all gone to seed while forget-me-not, Douglass's meadow foam, star flowers, and a few red clintonia provided modest flowers. To see what some of these coastal forest wildflowers look like (note the yahoo editor tends to break long links thus copy and paste instead of clicking): http://www.davidsenesac.com/slideshows/wflwr_coast/wflwr_coast_slidesh.html Or one might look up individual species directly in my wildflower species table: http://www.davidsenesac.com/slideshows/wf_species.html Antelope Valley - 5/7/08 - Joan Barnett writes: My husband and I went to the Antelope Valley last weekend (May 3) and the blooms are still spectacular! See photos here We explored along the dirt roads behind the Poppy Preserve (which would be the north-south 160th street). I was amazed at the variety in the washes along the western flank of the hills. Sunol Regional Wilderness - 5/6/08 - "kfd" writes: Last Sunday, May 4th, my husband and I hiked in the East Bay Regional Park District's Sunol Regional Wilderness, doing a loop starting with the Canyon View Trail from the park visitor center to the Camp Ohlone Road to the Backpack Road to the McCorkle Trail to Cerro Este Road, to Cave Rocks Road to Eagle View Trail to Vista Grande Road to High Valley Road to an unnamed connector trail to Indian Joe Creek Trail to Indian Joe Nature Trail to Canyon View Trail and back to the visitor center. This was the latest in spring that I've ever hiked in Sunol and, not surprisingly, most of the flowers displays were past their prime or non-existent this time around and the tall green grasses are well on their way to straw color. For the record: The section of the Canyon View Trail near the junction with the Indian Joe Creek Trail had some wind poppies growing by the side of the trail and purple clarkia (four-spotted godetia?) - which I saw scattered thinly along much of Canyon View. A little further south, as the trail follows the border between oaks on one side and grassland on the other, was a nice little patch of Ithuriel's spear with pink clarkias and tomcat clover mixed in. Like most of the flowers I saw that day, they were over topped by taller grass, which often had lots of clover mixed in. Along Camp Ohlone Road and other rocky, sunny areas we saw lots and lots of luxuriantly blooming golden sticky monkey flower. From higher points we could see a few hillsides in the distance that had been turned a dull, orangey-yellow by masses of monkey flowers. A few butterfly/white mariposa lilies bobbed in the wind by the side of the Canyon View Trail, with many more lining the Eagle View Trail. Here and there in the grasslands lupine, mostly past its prime, made small blue carpets. There were a numbers of spots in the grassy areas with splashes of California poppies, and they were particularly pretty nestled amongst rock outcroppings. Going off McCorkle Trial to a nearby knoll for our lunch we saw a small patch of white cream cups which weren't visible, due to the tall grass, until we were almost stepping on them. Clumps of mule ears were here and there, many of the flowers still opening up. White yarrow is blooming in the areas with more shade, along with an occasional blue nightshade. Light yellow seep-spring monkey flower graced a few of the brooks and formed a more extensive patch on some thoroughly cow-churned mud that clearly suited the plant just fine. On Eagle View Trail, besides the already mentioned mariposa lilies, were a few very-past-their-prime chias and more sticky monkey flowers. Lots of California fuchsia grows along the trail and other sunny, rocky areas, and should look very nice by late summer. Along Vista Grande Road were a few patches of Indian paint brush, the only ones we saw that day. At the end of our walk we saw a scrawny patch of very short, raggedy owl's clover on the Indian Joe Nature Trail, the only owl's clover seen that day, very much in contrast to earlier spring hikes at Sunol. Though I saw one very nice globe/fairy lantern lily on the hike, most were along the shady road cuts on Geary Road on the way in, with hundreds of them clinging to the rocky west side of the road. The floral highlights were the lovely mariposa lilies and lush sticky monkey flowers. The poppies and lupine and other flowers added to a lovely day of ambling among the hills of Sunol with its tranquil pastoral views, gurgling brooks and flitting butterflies, but were hardly spectacular - nothing compared to earlier in the season at Sunol. Photos: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1EZtmjNw4YsXO Various locations - 5/6/08 - Kimberly Perkins writes: There are some nice wildflower displays along Nacimiento Lake Road and Jolon Road. I found lots and lots of Purple Vetch, Chinese Houses, White Lupine, Elegant Clarkia and Lupine, as well as some Crinkled Onion, California Poppy, Johnny Jump Ups, and a few Wind Poppies as well. I heard the lupine fields going into the Fort Hunter Ligget and San Antonio Mission area are nice, but I didn't make it in there last weekend. I plan on going there this upcoming weekend. I also found some very pretty pink and white pea-looking flowers and yellow Lupine along Highway 46 west going toward Cambria. I also made trips to the Pinnacles (the east side) and to Big Sur and down Highway 1. There was lots and lots of yellow Lupine along Highway 1, as well as Bush Monkeyflower, Bush Lupine, Hedge Nettle, Morning Glory, Deerweed, and lots more. There were lots of Chinese Houses, Purple Vetch, Johnny Jump Ups, Monkeyflower, Cream Cups, California Poppy, Owl's Clover, Pretty Faces, and more at the Pinnacles (along the roadside and along the High Peaks Trail). I am uploading pics to my Flickr account as I speak. They should be all up by tomorrow (it takes a while to upload over 450 photos - lol). Here is a link to my Flickr Photo Album.... http://flickr.com/photos/kimberzy/ I love this site. Thanks for all the great info :) Mariposa lilies - 5/5/08 - Spencer Westbrook writes: Regarding Rick Crippen's comments about Mariposa lilies in Lockwood Valley area near Gorman. you are correct in stating you were too early, I would suggest about the week of the 19th of May through Memorial Day weekend. I will probably be out that way about the 24th myself if you want to go on a Mariposa hunt. Eastern Sierra High Desert - 5/5/08 - Judy Kramer writes: My husband and I just returned from an April 27--May 3 trip to the high desert east of the Sierra, traveling along Highways 14 and 395 between Red Rock Canyon State Park in the south and Fish Slough outside of Bishop in the north. The flowers were widespread and varied--we identified about 70 different flowering plants. Lots of gilia, linanthus, yellow composite bushes, apricot mallow, desert peach, Mojave asters, phacelias, white tidy tips, and so much more. Places where we saw wildflowers included Hagen Canyon and the nature trail at Red Rock Canyon State Park, Jawbone Canyon and Butterbredt Spring, Sand Canyon east of Ridgecrest, the Alabama Hills, Buttermilk Road outside of Bishop, Fish Slough and the Chalk Cliffs Road, and HIghway 178 to Walker Pass. Your CD guide was very helpful, as was the Red Rock Canyon station, the Jawbone Canyon station, and the visitor centers at Lone Pine and Bishop. Pacific Coast between Bodega Bay and Point Arena - 5/5/08 - Sue "Mazer" Mace writes: Inge, comparing to the Azaleas and Rhododendrons at the Sonoma Horticulture Nursery and having visited there a number of times, this is late in the season, even though there are some late blooming Rhodies but most everything is pretty well spend by the end of April. Hope your luck is better next year. Pacific Coast between Bodega Bay and Point Arena - 5/4/08 - Inge Fernau writes: I spent the weekend 5/3 & 5/4 along the coast (between Point Arena and Bodega Bay). Rhododendrons are blooming in the Kruse State Reserve, but they are sparse. I am not sure if I was too early or too late, because there are a lot of plants without flowers as well as some with dried up ones. Since this is my first time in this preserve I have nothing to compare this too. Bush Lupine is blooming along Highway 1 and the steep cliffs between Fort Ross and Bodega Bay. There are a few coastal Iris, but no fields of them. BTW poison oak is out in force. Mystery of Desert Mariposa Lily solved - 5/4/08 - Rick Crippen writes: Yesterday I took a trip across the north side of the San Gabriel Mountains from Phelan to Lancaster to Gorman, Frazier Park, Lockwood Valley and Cuddy Valley. There were various wildflowers everywhere but the elusive Desert Mariposa Lilies were blooming in profusion at the Devil's Punchbowl County Park. If you take CA 138 to Pearblossom, on the east side of town is Longview Road go south to the intersection with Pallett Creek Road. The southeast corner is loaded with these gorgeous flowers and to top it off the mountains in the background still have some snow! Not to mention the fantastic geologic formations below the mountains. The poppies at the Lancaster reserve were drying up compared to two weeks ago but still lots of good photography for the taking! Gorman has become a pastel palette but the tops of the hills and the poppies across the freeway in Hungry Valley are still producing some great shots. It is totally hit or miss on the Frazier Park road but there is an incredible purple lupine and flowering yucca shot just a mile or so west of I-5. So forget the price of gas (yeah, sure) and get out there for the last chance of colorful pictures because it is a countdown of days now. I recommend the Devils Punchbowl right now if you love those gorgeous orange and blue calchortus! (I found none of them this year in the Lockwood Valley area, but my timing may be off). There are other wildflowers of every color out there but very thinly scattered. Thanks to every one who advised me! Joshua Tree - 5/4/08 - Yojimbo writes: May 3rd, Hidden Valley Nature Trail, Joshua Tree National Park. Claret cup, beavertail and prickly pear cacti are now in full bloom mode. There's also a surprising large number of wildflowers still in bloom. The desert mariposa lily is abundant along the mile long nature trail. The nature trail is about ten miles southeast of West Entrance Station. Point Reyes - 5/3/08 - Duncan Carter writes: Point Reyes National Seashore May 2 - unusually good flower hunting on the Chimney Rock trail. Pussy ears in great numbers in the last 100 yards before the end of the trail - same species as at Limantour road, but much smaller in size. Yellow meadow foam at Historic A Ranch, best ever and spreading. Also in number: Mule ears, iris, mouse-eared chickweed, checker bloom, sage, flax, lupine, poppies (some open at less than 60 degrees F.) castilleja, clover, grindelia, wild pea, silene, buttercups, aster, goldfields, tidy tips Even the morning glory in delicate shades of pink drew the photographers. On the road to Heart's Desire beach, yellow sisyrinchium more numerous than usual. Plumas County - 5/2/08 - Karen Kleven reports: The Feather River Canyon (part of the Feather River Scenic Byway) is located in the sierra neveda mountains of northeastern California. The sixty mile drive between Oroville and Quincy on highway 70 is home to a variety of wildflowers which creep up the canyon as the elevation increases. Presently from Pulga to Belden you will find a nice display of jumbo lupine plus some smaller lupine, fritillary, wallflowers, dogwood, penstemon and bush monkey flower that are just starting to hang off the rocks. As a bonus there are some splendid waterfalls on the road or easy walking distance off the road. For up to date reports check out the Plumas County Visitors Bureau Bloom Blog. Coast Ranges - 5/2/08 - Cinda MacKinnon writes: N-Central Coast Ranges. We just returned from a trip up Mt Hamilton, east-SE of San Jose, and then along Del Puerto to HW 5. There is a wonderful SC County Park with acres of rolling hills and no people on a Sunday night! Good thing as on the way up there are hardly any places to pull over (but I took advantage of two turnouts that were worthwhile) on the steep and winding road before then. There are flowers along San B(?) Trail ( on the west side of the campsites) you can make an easy loop through the poppies visible on your left. Shooting stars and trilliums were still out – but will be fading by the time you read this. Also saw lots the usual suspects as well as meadow foam and penstemon. Continue driving up Mt Ham. and the last trailhead before leaving the park offers views and more flowers: Poppies, Indian paintbrush, Chinese houses (white ones on the west side of Mt Ham and lots of dark purple on the east side = Del Puerto Rd), Checkerblooms etc. Some of the same down Del Puerto in addition to blazing stars and several types of Clarkias and more blue penstemon. We hit H Coe Park last and were rewarded with Calochortus venustus (a mariposa lily) and albus (globe lily) and linanthus. "kfd" covers Coe in depth below on April 22 so will not repeat. (Note that we mainly hiked the east side, which is only open one weekend a year and worth while for flower chasers to make a reservation.) Ithuriels spears and lupines were out in force, esp. in the last two places. Hey – anyone in Marin Co seen Mariposa lilies? (Sue Mace have you been to Ring Mt? If so- any sign of the Tiburon lily yet?) What is happening in northern California and the Gold Country? Hungry Valley - 5/1/08 - Christine Johnson writes: Go to Gorman, take Gorman exit, but turn west away from Gorman. There will be a sign. Hi, I was just up there yesterday. Only had a car so was limited to Gold Hill paved road, but at almost any point along Gold Hill Road wildflowers were "busting out all over." Many hills covered with purple lupines and (don't know the names of most of these) those little yellow daisies that come on small bushes... Acton daisies?? Those were all over. Plus many other species of purple and yellow what-have-yous. At the intersection of Gold Hill and Hungry Valley Roads, taking the right hand fork and driving up Gold Hill Road to the Los Padres Forest, there were many, many of those long spikey orange/red flowers. I don't know the name but whenever I see red in So Cal this is what it is. Sorry, couldn't find a picture of it. Very pretty drive up there, but somewhat bad road and isolated. Best wildflower display with more variety than anything I've seen this or any other year. Returning to the freeway along Hungry Valley Road, not much there, but what there was, was different from what was along Gold Hill Road. I didn't recognize anything. A small patch of cacti with pink flowers. Sorry about my lack of knowledge of names, but this is a great spot right now. Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve - 4/28/08 - Jeff Conrad writes: I took the Ridge Trail and returned via the Ancient Oaks Trail. Although there are many opportunities for closeups and small groups of flowers (especially miniature lupine and California poppies), there are no large fields of flowers such as I have sometimes seen in the past. The grass is also quite long, in many cases dominating the flowers. I did encounter most of the usual suspects in the usual places: California buttercups, checkerbloom, blue-eyed grass, popcorn flowers, owlclover, tomcat clover, California manroot, vetch, red maids, a few Mule's ears, and California golden violets (near the top of Borel Hill). Slightly past Borel Hill, there's some paintbrush and checkerbloom. The west side of the loop has some poppies and lupine near the trail, as well as a few fiddlenecks, but it's not much of a show compared with what I have seen in some other years. Again, the grass seems to have the upper hand. On the shaded part of the trail connecting to the Ancient Oaks Trail is lots of miners lettuce, just starting to bloom. There's a tiny bit of hounds tongue, but it's in pretty sad shape. On the open portion of the Ancient Oaks Trail are more poppies, miniature lupine, tomcat clover, and vetch, but much of it is hard to see because of the tall grass. In summary, the best displays are on the Ridge Trail from the Alpine Rd. parking lot to a bit beyond Borel Hill. But you won't mistake them for the Gorman Hills. Note: Russian Ridge OSP is located at SR 35 (Skyline Blvd) and Page Mill Rd. in San Mateo County. Monterey County - 4/28/08 - Duncan Carter writes: King City - Jolon - Hunter-Liggett, Nacimiento Road to SR1. A couple of days before the Darocy's visit we took the same path and noted all they reported except Bigelow thistle. Also we noted castilleja, red maids, lomatium, vetch, filaree, blow wives, pink clover, linanthus, bird's-eye gilia, cream cups, pea, woodland star, miner's lettuce, violets, plectritis, tidy tips, meadow foam, melilotus, chia, scarlet bugler, winecup and elegant clarkias, calochortus, silene, ball headed gilia, sedum, canyon delphinium, morning glory, woolly sunflower, hedge nettle. Del Venturi road was posted. Guards indicated stopping to take pictures is OK, but not to roam the fields. Gorman - 4/28/08 - Spencer Westbrook writes: I took a day off work on Friday, April 25th and travelled to Gorman arriving about 9:45 AM, and to my amazement, there was little to no wind, a rare occurrence in Gorman. Most of the color appears to be near the top of the hills so my friend and I hiked up and worked among the flowers for about 4 hours. The bloom this year is good, I rate it about a 7-7.5 scale with most color being from phacellia and ball gilia, light blue hues, with poppies mixed in, in several places, en mass. These areas are not visible from the road below but as mentioned in another posting, if you go to the opposite side of the freeway on the dirt frontage road you can get a better idea of the flower locations. Just a note, there appears to be a nice poppy bloom in the Hungry Valley State Park as well. Antelope Valley - 4/27/08 - Jeffrey Sipress writes: You're right, Carol! I was at Antelope Valley on the day you were flying overhead. [Aha! So that was you? That handsome guy with the camera waving up at the plane? :-) ] I think it is the best bloom I have ever seen there. The largest areas are on both sides of 150th Street, and around the large power towers, but it just kept on going as I continued to drive. I was very fortunate to be passing thru (on my way home from Moab) at around 10 AM. The sun was out so the blooms were open, and there was minimal wind. I have not been there with any still air for over five years. I shot for over an hour and then had to continue along. So many solid fields of pure orange. Silverwood Lake - San Bernardino County - 4/26/08 - Cap van Balgooy writes: Friday, April 25, I drove to Silverwood Lake and I was surprised to see fields/hillsides of Tree Poppies, Dendromencon rigida. For those who are interested to see hillsides of Tree Poppies I recommend that place To get there take FW 15 North from Ontario, get off at HW 138 and go East. There is big sign with Silverwood Lake written on it. From the off ramp to the lake is about 9 miles. As soon as you see the lake you will see the Tree Poppies. While on HW 138 you will see quite a few other flowers, like Primrose, Penstemon, Blue Dicks and of course DYC-s. I recommend parking and walking, two legs are better than four wheels when photographing. But be careful with parking, there are too many people trying to show their driving skills. And don’t buy the gasoline at $ 4.40 a gallon. Antelope Valley - 4/26/08 - Clark Rogers writes: Carol, your timing was great to fly over the Antelope Valley on April 24 and view the poppy color from 37,000 feet (about 7 miles up). Your post inspired me to take another look next day, my 5th trip in 2 weeks. Each time I have visited, the displays have been more beautiful. Some folks who have been able to visit the area each year over many years may have seen better but this is the best and most widespread display of poppies I have seen. It is spectacular on the loop around the Poppy Reserve and Fairmont Butte as described below. Exit I-14 at Avenue I (eye), follow it west to 120th St. West, go north and turn west on Lancaster Road which winds through the California Poppy Reserve about 15 miles west of Lancaster. Roadside poppies start just west of 70th St. West on Avenue I. Poppy Reserve information and a map can be found at: Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve: http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=627 There are also directions on the website to get there from I-5. A scenic loop for poppy displays can be had by continuing to drive west from the Interpretive Center and turn north on 170th St. West to Avenue D (Hwy 138), east on Avenue D, turn south on 110th St. West back to Avenue I. There are small and large fields of poppies, some with dense growth all around that loop. Possibly the best and most accessible is under and near the power lines at the northeast corner of 140th St. West and Avenue D. There are a variety of flowers in addition to poppies, The goldfields are mostly dry. For those who do not want power lines to show in pictures, one can stand under the lines and shoot eastward where the poppies extend a long way. 110th St. West has nice displays of poppies as well as lesser numbers of other flowers. The poppies vary from light orange to dark orange to orange with a narrow yellow band around the outside edge of the petals. There are also some yellow poppies. That loop around the Poppy Reserve will probably provide the best views of a large number of poppy fields this year. It is likely that the weather which is now warming will soon bring a end to the beautiful poppy displays but as of April 25 they were great. Monterey County - 4/25/08 - Tom Deyerle writes: Hunter Liggett and the famous Lupine medows of the nearby Los Padres National Forest are in glorious, intoxicating bloom! The Lupine fields along the road to Santa Lucia Memorial Park outside of the military reservation boundary are not to be missed! More detail here http://web.mac.com/tdeyerle/Site_6/Blog/Blog.html Thanks for this site, Carol. It really is great!! Monterey County - 4/25/08 - Colette and Alex Darocy write: Right now is the time to visit Fort Hunter Liggett[Monterey Co.] Wonderful display of poppies and lupines on Jolon road. Large show of poppies near the Mission. Both Del Venturi road and Nacimiento Ferguson road have large expanses of wonderfully fragant lupines. Other species included a variety of lupines, goldfields, buttercups, popcorn flower, ceanothus, stickey monkey, checkerbloom, owls clover, hummingbird and black sage, chinese houses, Bigelow thistle, phacelias, blue Dicks, brodiaeas and blue eyed grass. !-2 miles on Del Venturi was the largest patch of delphinium we have ever seen. Contrary to the posting of 4/12 it is now permissible to park and get out of the vehicle. Taking non military pictures is also allowed. Various locations - 4/24/08 - Kimberly Perkins writes: I went on a few road trips this last weekend. The first was to Big Sur on Friday, April 18th. The roadsides were lovely and blooming with flowers along Highway 1. I wasn't able to take many pictures though (had company with me and was on a time limit - lol). I did spot quite a lot of Yellow Bush Lupine (as well as purple Lupines), Bush Monkeyflower, Morning Glory, some Thistle, Black Sage, Scarlet Pimpernel, Blue-Eyed Grass, and more. I want to make a return trip, as the waterfall trail at Julia Pfeiffer-Burns State Park was closed then. I had wanted to go there. The next day, I went to Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave State Preserve. Joshua Tree was blooming with Desert Dandelions, Desert Globemallow, Desert Pincushion, White Tidy-Tips, Phacelia, Golden Gilia, Mojave Aster and various cacti, including Claret Cup Cactus, Silver Cholla, and Hedgehog Cactus. If you look closely at the ground, you can spot Desert Calico, Filaree, Desert Star, Wallace's Wolly Daisy, and Rattlesnake Weed. There was a large field of Golden Gilia and Desert Dandelions as well. At the Twentynine Palms side, there were more cacti, Indigo Bush, Desert Senna, Desert Eriastrum, White Rhatany and more. Not the large fields of flowers as there were at the Joshua Tree side, but there were many different types of flowers here. I didn't make it to the Cottonwood Road side of the park this time. I went down Iron Age Road (off of Amboy Road, between Twentynine Palms and Amboy), but was disappointed to find only a few Desert Lilies, Sand Verbena and Desert Calico (which were fading fast) left. At the Mojave National Preserve, there wasn't much color left at all. There were a few patches of Canterbury Bells, Phacelia, Jimson Weed along Kelbaker Road, and a few Dune Evening Primrose and Sand Verbena at the Kelso Dunes area. There were quite a lot of cacti, however, along the road between Baker and the Kelso Depot Visitor Center. Gorman Post Road was alive with color on Sunday, April 20th. Lots and lots of Globe Gilia, Phacelia, California Poppies, Lupine, Pincushion, and Coreopsis. The hills were coated with patches of gold and purple. Very pretty! But it was very cold and windy that day. Antelope Valley is still in full bloom. There are acres of California Poppy along the roadsides, as well as in the preserve. It was pretty crowded that day, and extremely windy. Sometimes it was so windy it was hard to open my car door. I posted pictures on my blog at http://www.kimmerzy.blogspot.com if you want to see :) Antelope Valley/Gorman - 4/24/08 - "lcc" writes: I made the trek on Tuesday and was pleasantly surprised. If the Poppy Reserve is too jammed with cars next weekend, you can still see carpets of poppies along the west side of 110th Street (north of Lancaster Rd.) among other places. Contrary to one of the previous reports, I would recommend a brief stop at Ripley Woodland Park if you’re heading across to Gorman. The blue sage, which I don’t think I’ve seen elsewhere, is a gorgeous deep blue, much more intensely colored than most sage. As for Gorman, I would rate it a 6 on a scale from 1 to 10. As Dan Blackburn noted, the soil is extremely dry. So much so, that it was a true struggle climbing the hill, as the ground kept crumbling under my feet. But, yes, I was crazy enough to hike all the way to the top, and there were beautiful areas higher up, dense with the light blue of lacy phacelia and globe gilia, along with a generous sprinkling of poppies. In fact, there were millions of buds higher up, so if it isn’t too dry, the best might still be yet to come. I didn’t see any snakes, but ran into the same stinging nettle that got me years ago (you’d think I’d have learned by now!). Watch out for it along the stream; it’s very nasty. Antelope Valley - 4/24/08 - Carol Leigh writes: I flew on Alaska Airlines from San Diego to Portland, Oregon on Wednesday and, from 37,000 feet, I could CLEARLY see the huge poppy bloom below! It was so exciting and I was thinking of you all as we cruised overhead. The bloom seemed most concentrated just north of Fairmont Butte, but I could tell there was still quite a lot in bloom all around that area. Photos? Of course not! The window was really foggy and the sun was glinting off of it, so I took "neurochromes" instead and will never forget the sight. Death Valley - 4/24/08 - Mark Pribble writes: I just returned from a trip to Death Valley (4/18-4/21). The wildflowers were everywhere. Although I have not been there before at this time of year, it looked like a great year to me. Most of the areas at 2,000' and above had flowers. Of particular beauty was the Emigrant Canyon road that runs south from Highway 178. Once you climb up the bajada and pass through the rocks, the sight begins. I don't know my flowers, but there were multitudes of yellow ones lining the road. Lots of Indian Paintbrush, three varieties of purple flowers, and many others. Cacti were blooming along the Racetrack Road and at Augerberry Point. We left on Monday the 21st, but I would expect the flowers would still be going this weekend by the looks of them. Thanks for the hotsheet...it is great! Bear Valley - 4/24/08 - Noa and Roy write: This might be a bit late, but i kept forgetting to email you... we saw amazing fields of California Poppies at the intersection of routs 16 and 20, known as Bear valley, near cache creek. another great field of poppies and a couple of lupine fields were across the Cowboy's camp, a couple of miles south to the junction on rout 16. we saw these field in 2004 as well and they are definitely as pretty this year as they were then, just a bit less diverse... we saw these on April 13th but i bet they are still there. the weather has been nice and all the poppies where we live, in Davis, are still in full bloom... Thanks a lot for keeping this website, we love it, Sequoia oak woodland and Gorman - 4/23/08 - Erick writes: I went to Sequioa on Saturday, and stopped by Gorman on my way back on Sunday. First I drove a up past lodgepole, which was still thick with snow and made a quick stop in at the giant forest, nice bright snow sets off the red and green of the trees nicely, but I was here to see flowers so I knew my real destination was below. I descended back down to oak woodland with nice displays of lupine, poppies, coreopsis, baby blues, monkey flower, yucca and red bud along the way.The red bud is really great in the late afternoon light, the color is so intense. I stayed at the the buckeye campground and kaweah river had a lot of stuff flowering; triteleia, bleeding heart, gilia, milkweed, a fushia colored fairy lantern, chineses houses, wild hyacinth, brodiaea, along with the stuff from before. Lots of stuff not yet open. On the way home I stopped at Gorman and as I suspected the wind was extreme, forget close-ups. Still the sight is spectacular, maybe not the best its ever been but goo. Lots of really neat blotches of different color and intensity, the lupine is especially cool and looks like smudged pastels. Lots a people tramping around. Why is this not a state park? Also saw a flock of black birds flying through the flowers. They would appear out the grass in endless moving wave. Sonoma Horticulture Nursery - 4/23/08 - Sue "Mazer" Mace writes: Highway 101 to Cotati, highway 116 to Hessel Road (the second Hessel Road not the first) follow signs to Azalea way. The nursery is opn everyday now and everything is in bloom. This is a list of what I recall. Probably close to a hundred different rhododendren and azaleas, in every color, yellow (light cream to butter), orange, red, purple, magenta, white, blush, pink, multi colored. The dogwoods are in bloom, I think we saw three or four different types, the redbuds are in bloom, viburnum, columbine - white, purple and blue, chinese primrose - red and yellow. Daphnes, helleborus, a way cool plant called a voodoo plant which looks like a cobra lily with an array of leaves over the top of the flower - dark green with dark stripes and dots on it, clematis, chrysanthemum "limelight" a very bright chartruese color, magnolias, camelias all too much to list. You can google Sonoma Horticulture Nursery to find out more about the nursery. They do provide picnic tables and do not allow dogs - they have two rhodesian ridgebacks in residence - nice dogs. The area is also home to a number of hummingbirds and dragonflies. Riverside County - 4/22/08 - John Warden writes: Those of you who might be still looking for wildflowers this year in the lower elevations near the Coachella Valley (Riverside Cnty) will be rewarded if you venture into the Santa Rosa Wilderness. Both Cactus and annuals are still in bloom. Especially the Englemann's Hedgehog cactus. Golden poppies line the trail just past the portal sign into the wilderness. Temperatures are still fairly mild. There is water in Horsethief Creek. I don't know the names of all the flowers but many colors abound. Hiking out on this trail is what I would call strenuous so be prepared. Various locations - 4/22/08 - Howard Levin writes: This Saturday and Sunday I visited these three spots. Cottonwood Canyon was a real disappointment by this time, unless you like dried flower arrangements. On the other hand, the hills alongside State Highway 166 about 5 miles east of US Route 101 were quite nice, though it's challenging to find a good place to stop for photos -- the highway is very busy and fast. Hunter-Liggett was also disappointing. There were a few pretty good patches of blue on Jolon Road south out of King City perhaps 10 miles or so; nothing to speak of at the base entrance at Jolon; and some not bad areas in the main base area, such as Del Venturi Road perhaps 100 yards or so off Mission Road and a mile or so down Mission Creek Road heading north to the right (east) of the mission itself (take the right fork, not the left fork that goes to the mission). Nothing much going on in the fields out Naciemiento-Fergusson Road, either, all the way to the coast. Also, I was stopped by an off duty military policeman after a while, who said picture taking was strictly prohibited for any reason on the base, without a photo permit which I would never get. He referred me to HQ on pain of getting a ticket. I checked with HQ and found a very nice Deputy Commander, who said the policeman was not quite correct. It's OK to make photographs from the roadway or shoulder itself, but not even a few steps into the fields. The best of the three visits was to Figueroa Mountain, accessible heading north out of Los Olivos on Figueroa Mountain Road. There is a nice high hill / mountain ridge perhaps a dozen miles out that is covered with lupine, accessible by a tough climb if you're so inclined. And a variety of other blooms along that road and circling out on Happy Canyon Road [which is very rough for a few miles after you're out of the national forest]. Henry Coe State Park - 4/22/08 - "kfd" writes: I'd recommend a visit to Henry Coe State Park for beautiful countryside. The flowers are the frosting on the cake, definitely not the reason to go there if one is hankering for color splashed photos of flowers spreading to the horizon. Read on if you're curious as to what we saw hiking from Pine Ridge to Middle Ridge and back: We did a loop in Henry Coe, starting and ending at the Pine Ridge headquarters. We took the Corral Trail to Forest Trail to Manzanita Point Road to China Hole Trail to China Hole, then the Creekside Trail to Poverty Flat Road to Middle Ridge Trail to Frog Lake Trail to Flat Frog Trail to Corral Trail, and back to park headquarters. Tributaries to the branches of Coyote Creek were all dry and the hills are well on their way to straw color. The unusually hot days last week probably sped up the flowering cycle for a lot of plants, but the last few days have been unseasonably cool (it was 38 F at 6pm when we got back to park headquarters) and there *might* be rain this week, so that should slow things down a little before the temperatures climb again. We did not see anything eye-popping, no thick patches of color (other than green) larger than a typical suburban front lawn. We did see lots of flowers, but mostly mixed in with tall grass or in onesies and twosies. The madrones are in full bloom, sprinkling the trails with their waxy little flowers. We saw evidence of spectacular spreads of Indian Warriors and shooting stars, most now well past their prime, plus lots of hound's tongue gone to seed. There's lots and lots of globe lilies coming up, which should be really nice, provided the weather is cooperative. Saw one fritillaria in full bloom amongst the globe lilies. Lots of yarrow and soap plant yet to bloom, along with some California yarrow and dudleya yet to flower. Going down Pine Ridge, in the shady areas, we saw a few white baby blue eyes, a few small patches of violets, some yellow sanicles, a lomatium, a beeplant, a few ground iris, purple sanicle edging the trail, some lupine and dark blue/purple delphinium, a few bushes of blue witch, and patches of white-ish Chinese houses. In more open areas we saw a tiny patch of going-over-the-hill goldfields, plenty of fiddleneck, a sprinkling of poppies, lots of hawksbeard, blue dicks scattered thinly about, occasional mule ears and quite a lot of blue-eyed grass and buttercups. Between Manzanita Point and China Hole we saw common linanthus, slender cotton weed, two spectacular fuchsia-flowered gooseberry bushes and two lovely California milkweeds, with the buds just opening. Here and there were a few owl's clover edging the trail. The flowers along Middle Ridge were similar to those on Pine Ride, though along the shady sections of Middle Ridge Trail we saw quite a lot more ground iris, ranging from very light to dark purplish-blue. Quite a few had buds yet to open, so they'll be blooming a while longer. As with Pine Ridge, where were scatterings of sanicles, mostly purple, lots of hound's breath gone to seed, some fiddleneck, blue-dicks, buttercups and blue-eyed grass. On one of the forested knolls on top of the ridge we saw a huge mass of spent Indian warriors under the trees - like a thick carpet in all directions. Just south of the junction with Frog Lake Trail, the Middle Ridge Trail passed over a knoll thick with clumps of California false lupine, then the grassy swale below was tinged blue with miniature lupine. Flat Frog Trail passed through the least dry part of our loop. Along with one giant trillium, we saw lots more fresh shooting stars, more delphinium, nice almost-white patches of Chinese houses, fringe pod catching the light of the late afternoon sun and lots of small, thick patches of blue gillia. Miner's lettuce still lined dried up brooks and, draped over some bushes were a few wild cucumber vines in bloom. There may be better displays of flowers further to the east of Pine Ridge. According to the folks at the headquarters, the Bell's Station entrance, which gives access to areas far from Pine Ridge, should open May 1st. Photos: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1EZtmjNw4YsWK Various locations - 4/21/08 - Kahlee Brighton writes: VARIOUS L.A., KERN and SANTA BARBARA COUNTY LOCATIONS -- Here's the news from my latest "Windflower" adventure. (Yes, that says "wind" flower -- as in blown away by both the beauty and the beastly breezes everywhere.)
Mt. Diablo and Hwy 4 - 4/22/08 - Sue "Mazer" Mace writes: Took off for Mitch3ell Canyon today, along the way there are several homes with outstanding landscaping along Mitchell Canyon Road. The Canyon is still very green right now. There were ground squirrels and wild turkeys greeting us at the parking lot. We took the path out of the canyon and followed it to the Globe lily pathway. Along the main path we found chinese houses and blue eyed mary, pea, vetch, soap root (in bud), silver bush lupine (blue), ithuriels spear, sticky monkey flower, linear leaf goldenbush, elderberry, manroot (some with fruit), buttercup, rigid hedge nettle, filaree, ookow, blue dicks, delphinium (some past peak), blue eyed grass, woodland star, miners lettuce, and up on the globe lily trail were yarrow, sticky monkey flower, ookow, blue dicks, clemetis, pom pon onion, q tip flower, paintbrush, a bush salvia, yellow globe lilysticky monkey flower. On the way back along highway 4 the butter lupine is in full bloom and looking wonderful (use the exit ramps to safely take pictures) they are abundant and combined with some sort of vetch and mustard. This is not a complete list. Orange mariposa lilies - 4/21/08 - Kahlee Brighton writes: Hi Carol -- I have a regular report to send you shortly, but this is just a quick note to answer Rick's question posted today about the "orange Mariposa Lilies." Currently, they have been spotted in the El Paso Mtns near Ridgecrest (4x4 access only). In the past, I have found them in profusion on several short spur roads around Hiawee Reservoir off the 395 (That's in the area located north of Little Lake and south of Olancha). If they're happening, they're pretty easy to spot from the highway as the orange is singularly distinctive from poppies and is so vivid, even single blooms can be spotted from quite a distance. Janet Westbrook of the Maturango Museum is a great person to check with as she really keeps up with the Ridgecrest and lower Owens Valley/Northern Mojave canyon areas. Her website is http://www.maturango.org/Trips.html You can email or call her as well. She's just wonderful! Mariposa lilies - 4/21/08 - Spencer Westbrook writes: Regarding Rick Crippen's request for information on location desert Mariposa Lilies, here is one of my favorite locations. Mariposa lilies are my favorite wildflower, among the most beautiful flowers in nature. I have found them in all colors throughout Calif but one of my favorite locations is just west of Frazier Park off the I-5 (just north of Gorman) on Lockwood Valley Road. Exit I-5 and head west, the only direction you can go on the road at this point, pass through Frazier Park, and at the intersection of Lockwood Valley road head west, (i.e, turn left). The first several miles the road winds through hills and through open meadows which often have a variety of flowers (the elevation here is about 4,000'). Once you reach the west side of the meadows you will enter a pine woods area with scrub brush. I find desert mariposa here along with white and red mariposa and a variety of other flowers. You can usually spot them right along side the road. Speaking of red mariposa, which is my very favorite flower, there is often a large stand of them at the intersection of Cuddy Valley road, which is the road that continues on from Frazier Park if you do not turn onto Lockwood Valley Road, and Pine Mountain Road, several miles up the road from where you turned mentioned above. If you continue on Pine Mtn Rd to the end, I have seen a large hillside of baby-blue-eyes, and at the meadow at the end of the road, wild iris. I would say another week or two since the elevation here is 4,000' +. Another interesting area in this region is Mutau Flat where I had found fields of red mariposa some years ago but the road has been closed for years. The road and gate is off Lockwood Valley Rd at the west end of the meadows mentioned above. A strange find here some years ago in an old campground beyond the gate was bitterroot, always beautiful to fine. Giving away all my secrets! Yosemite dogwoods - 4/21/08 - Michael Frye writes: I've seen some green buds starting to come out. It looks like the dogwoods will be on their normal schedule, which means they'll start blooming around near the end of this month. Peak photographic season is usually right around the end of April and beginning of May. Pinnacles Nat'l Monument - 4/21/08 - Stacie Wolny writes: I have so appreciated this site, and got to make good use of it on a recent trip to Southern California (including my first time to Cottonwood Canyon!) Someone recently asked about Pinnacles, so I wanted to finally contribute... Pinnacles - 4/20/08 - It's a great time to visit Pinnacles. I drove in the west side, and there were hills completely covered in blooming black sage along the way, as well as indian paintbrush in full bloom. My hike went along Juniper Canyon, High Peaks, Old Pinnacles and Balconies trails, where there was a nice variety of plants in bloom and many others just getting started. One ranger said that the east side of the park is equally lovely. Along most of my route, there were lots of chinese houses, blue fiesta flower, stinging phacelia, bush poppies, Parry's larkspur and blue dicks. Also many shooting stars, profusely blooming pipestems (at higher elevations), buck brush, gorgeous clumps of Woolly Indian paintbrush, large patches of Johnny jump-ups (lower elevations), white fiesta flower, various lupines, lomatiums, Indian warriors under the chaparral (most past peak.) Some Douglas' wallflower, fiddleneck, senecio, popcorn flower, gilia, wind poppies, clarkia, purple nightshade, Triteleia, CA poppies. Just a few jewelflowers, bitter root, Fremont's star lily, but blooming nicely, and one lovely scarlet bugler. Just starting: monkeyflower, yarrow, stone crop, mule's ears, hedge nettle. On the trails, black sage was blooming beautifully at the highest elevations, still in bud lower down. Getting ready: venus thistle, Dudleya, buckwheat, buckeye. Plus quite a few other unidentified species along the way. Thanks to Carol and everyone taking the time to post here, who helped me have a fabulous wildflower-hunting roadtrip through southern California earlier this month. Mt. Tamalpais - 4/20/08 - Sue "Mazer" Mace writes: Most of - not all - the calypso orchids are gone, there are very few left. Mission bells, and spotted coral root have taken their place. The spotted coral root are located on Cataract trail past the fallen tree - starting from the top of the trail at Laurel Dell, just above the retaining walls on the left side of the trail. They are within 10 feet of the trail. And there are still some shooting stars left near the rock outcropping just before the 5th bridge on Cataract Trail. Abundant all over the mountain are blue eyed grass, annual and bush lupine (both blue) false lupine, california poppies, goldfields (serpentine outcrop across from laurel dell), buttercups, indian warrior and paintbrush can be found at East Peak as well as bush lupine and some ceanothus. Ceanothus is in bloom all over the mountain, as well as manzanita, madrone trees, Buckeyes are just starting to bud out. Oakland Star tuplips can be found on Panoramic highway going up the mountain from highway one just before 4 corners on the bay side (look for a small uphill trail) Western hounds tongues are starting to fade, sticky blue eyed mary, fiddlenecks, purple sanicle, mitella, red maids, popcorn flower, vetch, wild strawberry, bindweed, mist maiden, hill lotus, cow parsnip, mustang linanthus, sticky monkey flower (look for seep spring monkey flower along the fairfa - bolinas road on the western side, along the road on the right side of the road as you are driving towards the mountain), There area massive amounts of iris all over the mountain, in pastels of yellow, pink and purple. There are some really dense stands alongside the road on West Ridgecrest towards the Fairfax - Bolinas Road side Various locations - 4/19/08 - Duncan Carter writes: April 16 - Mix Canyon Road off Pleasant's Valley Road between Fairfield and Lake Berryessa (exit I80 at Pena adobe). Dominant plant purple vetch. First , enroute via SR 680 near Cordelia, large carpet of field orthocarpus. In the canyon, mustard, mule ears, woolly sunflower,white nemophila, Chinese houses, blue dicks, buttercups, prairie star, humming bird sage, yarrow, yellow lupine, yellow poppies, maroon pea, blue lupine, pink thistle, ceanothus, globe lily, miner's lettuce, sticky monkey, canyon delphinium, castilleja, nightshade, pink clover, Bermuda trumpet, yerba santa, sunflower, filaree, clematis, pedicularis, star zygadiene. On SR 16 from Esparto, off I505, yerba santa, red bud in seed, sticky monkey, castilleja, blue elderberry, bicolored lupine, nightshade, clematis, woolly sunflower, Chinese houses, blue dicks, laxa, owl clover, yarrow, amsinckia, flax, tamarisk, lomatium, buckwheat, tidy tips, field alyssum, popcorn flower. At the equestrian facility south of route 20, carpets of poppies on the hillside. On Bear Valley Road off SR20 just west of SR 16, masses of tidy tips in the corrals near the entrance. From there north toward Ladoga Road, lupine, poppies, lomatium, red maids, amsinckia, checker bloom, wild onion, laxa, yellow poppies, wallflower, blow wives, blue phacelia, purple vetch, choke cherry, globe lily, castilleja, dudleya, mule ears, white nemophila, blue delphinium (fewer than usual), gold fields, sanicle, pineapple weed, cream cups, large flowered star tulip (best find), buttercups. Pitstop in Cordelia, pitstop and picnic in a park at the end of Pleasant's Valley Road, pitstop at the equestrian facility on SR 16, pitstop and dinner in Maxwell. 4/19/08 - Antelope Valley - Bob Rutledge writes: The poppies are out in profusion at the AV Poppy Reserve and vicinity. As you travel north on Munz Ranch Road and cross over the aqueduct, you will see vast fields of orange north of Lancaster Road. Saturday was windy, but if there is a clear and calm day this week, that is the time to go. Even if you go on a windy day, it is still worthwhile. 4/19/08 - Gorman - Dan Blackburn writes: The hillsides around Gorman are the best they have been in five years. If you consider the bloom five years ago to have been a 10, then this year is a good 7. Not only do you see poppies, although not in great profusion, but also lupine, phacelia, baby blue eyes, cream cups, and more. They area seems to be at or very near peak right now. The hills have been severely battered by very high winds and, as a result, a ranger advised that the bloom will not last long because the winds really have sucked the moisture out of the ground and off the flowers. As a result, the ground feels very dry. The wind also has left many of the poppies looking somewhat battered when you see them close up. Nonetheless, the splash of color across the hillsides is quite nice. An added benefit is that there are good poppy displays and some lupine along highway 138 southeast of Gorman. Some of the best appear to be against the hills to the north of the highway but that area is not accessible due to fences and gates across private ranch land, as has been the frustrating case for several years. So, no one should think they will be able to drive to them thar hills. Before you get to the fences, however, there are nice blooms and worth a look. 4/19/08 - Lytle Creek - Rick Crippen writes: I went up Lytle Creek on the way to the Devils Punchbowl. It was full of clumps of yellow flowers, also yellow monkeyflowers were growing straight out of the cliffs. But best of all was that Ceanothus (Calif Lilac) were in profusion everywhere. They were in every color I have ever seen plus one new one which was a very light violet, almost white. Their blooms were the fullest I have seen anywhere also. This has been the most amazing year in the most unusual places! When I got to the top of the canyon the Forest Service had me turn around and go all the way back to I-15 because they were fighting a fire farther up. Later on the way home going east on CA138 the smoke was trailing off to the east from the mountain tops. Desert mariposa lilies question - Rick Crippen writes: Does anyone out there know good locations for the Desert Mariposa Lily? (the bright orange flower) I was at the Devil's Punchbowl out east of Palmdale today and they said to expect them in about a week in that area, but I was wondering if there are other areas. Antelope Valley - 4/18/08 - Dan Pierce writes: I got to Gorman before 10 am today (Fri. 4/18) and it was calm, but the breeze started up shortly after. The yellow coreopsis (that were dominant the past month) have significantly declined, and some grasses have grown up. Because of this, I would suggest that last weekend may have been the peak overall. However, there is a lot of blue/purple and orange all over the hills. I wouldn't necessarily recommend driving a long way to see it, but if you like Gorman and want to go, you can find enough to photograph as long as the wind is not too strong. The whole Antelope Valley has large patches of poppies scattered all over. Some of the fields are very dense and bright -- if you can find them, or get to them. The wind was not real strong, but it never let up for even a moment all afternoon. Unfortunately, one of the most impressive blooms (poppies, lupines and coreopsis) is inaccessible on Tejon Ranch land. Here is a link to a photo I took today in the Antelope Valley. But its not necessarily easy to find these spots. 4/18/08 - Shell Beach to Red Hill, Sonoma County - Gus diZerega writes: This short hike to the top of a high hill along the coast below the Russian River begins pleasantly but not spectacularly, but once you gain some elevation there are wonderful fields of poppies, buttercups, and daisies as well as the beginning of lots of annual lupines. They are in bloom on top of the hill, but coming along more slowly lower down. Many other flowers are also present. This is the best flower display I personally have seen on the north coast. Be very careful of nettles and new poison oak entering and (especially) leaving the last patch of redwoods before you get to the top of the hill. 4/18/08 - Antelope Valley - Clark Rogers writes: First, I want to thank you for this great website which I check every day, thanks to all those who send updates and those who are able to share their photos. Now that I have enough years behind me to be called an Old Fossil and no longer have the energy to travel long distances, it helps a lot to be able to know when the time is ripe to visit areas within my reach. It is also great to see the beautiful pictures from areas too far away for me. I have made trips around the Antelope Valley where I live in the past few days. The large variety of flowers in great numbers which I have seen in many previous years is just not present this year. They are around but in fewer locations and smaller numbers. That does not apply to poppies. This could be called The Year of the Poppy. Although some areas which have had lush growth in the past have very few this year, there are many areas from a few miles west of I-14 Antelope Valley Freeway to Gorman where there are large, sometimes very large patches. The poppies are almost absent in some of the usual areas but I have seen sizeable patches which show from a distance in a large number of areas where I never saw them before. The best views, in my opinion, can be found by exiting I-14 at Avenue I (eye), follow it west to 120th St. West, go north and turn west on Lancaster Road which winds through the California Poppy Reserve about 15 miles west of Lancaster. Roadside poppies start just west of 70th St. West on Avenue I. Poppy Reserve information and a map can be found at: Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve: http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=627 There are also directions on the website to get there from I-5 and directions to the nearby Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park, about 7 miles to the west on Lancaster Road, which is interesting in some years but has few flowers this year other than on the forest of Joshua Trees and their flowers are drying up. After a stop at the Interpretive Center and perhaps a walk on the trails, a scenic loop for poppy displays can be had by continuing to drive west and turn north on 170th St. West to Avenue D (Hwy 138), east on Avenue D, turn south on 110th St. West back to Avenue I. There are small and large fields of poppies, some with dense growth all around that loop. Possibly the best and most accessible is under and near the power lines at the northeast corner of 140th St. West and Avenue D. There are a variety of flowers in addition to poppies, The goldfields are mostly dry. For those who do not want power lines to show in pictures, one can stand under the lines and shoot eastward where the poppies extend a long way. 110th St. West has nice displays of poppies as well as lesser numbers of other flowers. The poppies vary from light orange to dark orange to orange with a narrow yellow band around the outside edge of the petals. There are also some yellow poppies. That loop around the Poppy Reserve will probably provide the best views of a large number of poppy fields this year. I drove through Leona Valley also on 4/17/08. It is reached by going west from I-14 on Palmdale Blvd. and continuing on it when it becomes Elizabeth Lake Road at 10th St. West. About 2 miles beyond there it becomes a winding road through the Leona Valley. Although it is a pleasant drive, it is not worth wasting valuable time looking for flowers there this year. A few poppies along the roadside but not much else. They have had much better years. I drove beyond Lake Hughes, turned back and went north on Munz Ranch Road. A hillside at the intersection of Elizabeth Lake Road and Munz Ranch Road which has been productive in the past may yet show more bloom but is not good yet. As I came down toward the Antelope Valley on Munz Ranch Road, a turnout provided a spectacular view of miles and miles of poppy fields. Anyone wanting a wide angle shot might find it nice to drive a few miles up Munz Ranch Road to that spot. I also drove north on 90th St. West through the windmill farms to Tehachapi. There were some flowers not seen lower, starting a few miles north of Rosamond Blvd to near the windmills. Not enough to make it worth the trip. Lancaster has a nice park in the city called Prime Desert Woodlands at 43201 35th Street West (K-8 & 35th St West) which is a 100 acre preserve of native vegetation. It often has a nice growth of wildflowers but on my last visit a few days ago there were very few. http://www.cityoflancasterca.org/Index.aspx?page=101 No, I am not part of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and I live in Palmdale. I just think it could be fun for those without my arthritis who can walk around a lot better than I. Hope you enjoy the flowers as I have. Springtime without them is pretty dull. 4/17/08 - Secret locations - Rick Crippen writes: In thinking about wildflowers and obscure locations I just recalled a great place I stumbled onto about ten years ago on a rockhound expedition out of Reno. This is for anyone who likes to travel a distance and loves Indian Paintbrush. If you go about 100 miles northeast of Reno, Nevada there is a town called Gerlach. It is at the south end of the playa of the Black Rock Desert, where the land speed record was established a few years ago and also where the wild and crazy "Burning Man" is usually held (in the fall). While driving north on Highway 447 about 10 miles out of Gerlach in June, I noticed a lot of color on the sides of the road (a rare occurrence in Nevada). What it turned out to be was every color of Indian Paintbrush that I have ever seen all growing together. (except the Magenta that grows in the Pacific Northwest) There were red, orange, peach, yellow, white and even a light green. Another great place for photographing I.P. is Highway 168 northeast of Big Pine, CA (the road that goes to the Bristlecone Pines). You keep going NE toward Nevada past the BP turnoff which is at a pass. You then go back downhill to an area called Deep Springs. After that is another pass you cross before entering Nevada. Up toward that pass is a hillside full of red paintbrush. If anyone gets up to either of those areas in June there may still be some snow on distant mountains for a background as well. Mariposa - 4/17/08 - Luda Fiske writes: On the way into Mariposa one passes through Catheys Valley and the Old Highway turnoff. Take that road several miles to highway 49 then turn left and go a mile into Mariposa. The Old Highway is loaded with roadside lupine in several colors. Additionally you may turn and take the road to Raymond where there are large acreages of color. From Mariposa down to the Merced River there are large lupine everywhere. Indeed it seems to be the year for it. More can be found on the drive north from Mariposa to Sonora. Zero poppies and just a few other species but if you like lupine this is your year. Once in Yosemite Valley it looks more like winter with the dogwoods barely beginning to bud. Nights are cold and the Red Bud is coming to an end. Not the greatest of spring displays unless you are a lupine fan like me. Gorman/Shell Creek - 4/17/08 - Tim Vo writes: Several folks already gave good descriptions of these areas. Below are some pictures within the last week to give an idea whether to visit. I suspect both are near/just pass peak now. Shell Creek/Hwy 58 intersection (San Luis Obispo) Figueroa Mountain - 4/16/08 - Joan Barnett writes: Still really beautiful on Figueroa Mountain in SB county. Went up there today (4/16) and took these photos: http://jbarnett.smugmug.com/gallery/4737632_kKTTh#280623570_2rcze Also had a fox and a bobcat cross the road in front of me, the fox near the campground, and the bobcat near a stream on Happy Canyon Rd. Austin Creek State Recreation Area - 4/16/08 - Catherine Montague writes: I hiked down Austin Creek Fire Road and came back up the Gilliam Creek trail on Sunday. The show is astounding this year! Many varieties I hadn't seen before. There were Douglas Iris, buttercups, lupine (tall and short), poppies, blue dicks, baby blue eyes, and various vetch/field pea varieties. There were also some shade plants I didn't recognize: photo attached is cropped from original so it won't be too huge! There was a fire out there in June 2007 so it may have stimulated some varieties. All the usual suspects can be seen from the paved road, but more varieties lurk out along the trails for those who can hike 2-3 miles (elevation change of nearly 1000 feet in our 4+ mile loop.) Lots of newts in the creek, too. Get out there soon- the hills are drying up quickly! Call in sick, whatever- just go! Pt. Reyes - 4/16/08 - Charlene Burge writes: I visited Point Reyes National Seashore on Friday April 11, with my main destination being Chimney Rock. As previously noted, the shuttle buses do run on winter weekends during the whale-watching season. I believe the last day was April 13, but people can check for current conditions (including shuttle bus schedule) on the park website at www.nps.gov/pore At Chimney Rock I found that conditions were a little dryer than I have seen in previous years, a symptom of a month without rain. There's still lots of luscious wildflowers out near the end of the trail, but some areas of prostrate flowers like goldfields are already drying up. This should not be considered an all-inclusive list: Dog Violet, Pacific Coast (or Douglas) Iris, Pussy Ears, three colors of Paintbrush (brilliant orange, faded orange, and pale yellow), Lupine, Bush Lupine (yellow), California Poppy, Larkspur, Checkerbloom, Wallflower, Mules Ears, Johnny-Tuck (Butter and Eggs is another name for this I think), Blue-eyed Grass, Goldfields, Cow Parsnip, etc. We've also been up Kings Ridge Road in Sonoma County (above Cazadero). This is a narrow, one and a half lane road that wanders through the backcountry north from the Russian River area. Along the way we saw a number of flowers blooming, including Scarlet Larkspur, Lupine, Diogenese Lantern, Paintbrush, all too much Cranes-bill Fillaree (a noxious weed), Popcorn Flower, Fiddlenecks, and Ookow (or Blue Dicks, I never remember the differences). There's also lots of emergent, very green and delicate ferns along shady road cuts. Thanks for maintaining such a great website for our use! Various locations - 4/17/08 - Sue "Mazer" Mace writes: Mount Tam is going well, annual lupines, goldfields, orchids etc, I will be going to Point Reyes within the next week, I think alot of people are put off by the bus shuttle to get to Chimney Rock. Ring Mountain is looking good right now and everywhere around Marin the bush lupine, annual lupine and buttercups are all in full bloom. Kern County/Antelope Valley - 4/15/08 - Chao Lin writes: My husband and I went to Antelope Poppy Reserve again on 4/13, I agree it will be great this coming weekend if wind is not a problem. 4/14, On the way back, we took side trip to Kern county from I-99 to route 155 to Woody, then Woody Granite Rd back to SR-46 to I-5. We saw a few area with pink poppies that was very exciting. It took us about 4 hours for this side trip include photograph time. It was well worth the trip. Please check out my photos for those two locations. http://www.pbase.com/chaolin/california_poppy_ http://www.pbase.com/chaolin/wildflower_in_poppy_reserve Antelope Valley - 4/15/08 - Sue writes: Poppies seem about peak on the west end of the valley, some very nice displays tho the plants are quite short this year. The orange is very brilliant. There are also a lot of fiddlenecks but not an overwhelming amount of grass or mustard as in some years. We did not go the preserve tho the color on the hills there can be seen for miles! 110th St. west has lots of patches of poppies tho it is somewhat hard to get nice backgrounds with all the transmission lines, closeups are good tho.The majority of flowers this year seem concentrated in the west end of the valley and the hills to the south, we have seen very little in the central parts of the valley. In my neighborhood there was a small field of tidy tips, some dwarf lupines, pincushion, a few desert dandelion and a few other things, I think it would have been a very good year if the rain hadn't stopped prematurely as there were a lot of plants that did germinate but they got stunted. Goldfields were sparser than usual and past their peak now in the central valley as are some Joshuas which did have a nice bloom. We really enjoyed driving Leona Valley after going over Godde Pass from Quartz Hill. There are some flowers sprinkled on the hills over the pass, not as many as some years but still pretty. Be very careful pulling over on the pass! Leona Valley is green and lots of poppies scattered around in private yards and the lilacs are in full bloom, also native tamarisks. Photo ops of horses and cattle and even llamas in one pasture tho the flowers are mostly up on the hill sides and not on the valley floor. We stopped at Elizabeth Lake and I climbed the hill directly across from the lake parking area (adventure pass required for the parking lot but it is possible to park on the shoulder of the road outside). The hill has some color which did not look too spectacular from a distance but I got some really nice closeups of mixed phacelia, tidy tips, chia, lupine and some poppies. Be extremely careful of snakes if going back in this area!!! I actually wouldn't recommend doing it but I got a little carried away. We turned around at the lake but a nice long loop could have been made by continuing on all the way past Lake Hughes to Three Points and then taking the pass back down (north) into the western Antelope Valley. It has been extremely windy here today (Apr. 15) gusting over 40 and this weekend is expected to be cool so I would suggest going soon. If possible try to get off the main highways for the best pictures and least crowds, west Ave I seems the most travelled. Also this coming weekend Apr. 19-20 is the Poppy Festival in Lancaster which could easily be combined with a drive out to see the flowers making for a pleasant weekend. Feather River Canyon - 4/15/08 - Richard writes: The wild flowers are just starting to become very pretty in the Feather River Canyon, the gateway to Plumas County. The California Poppy are so pretty now with Indian Paint Brush scattered around with them. The redbud is so pretty along the highway and other brush that I have no idea the name is gorgeous also. In the spring the canyon is so pretty before the flowers with all the great green moss hanging on everything. |
