Catch California’s wildflower bloom, before it’s too late

We visited the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve today – it was spectacular.

We joined the crowds (including the populations of two tour buses) strolling along concrete and dirt paths. We admired the wildflowers, took endless photos (thank goodness for digital) and just generally enjoyed the fields brilliantly awash in color on a beautiful, hot-but-breezy day.

Blanketed by native orange California poppies but also punctuated with other wildflowers from lupines to forget-me-nots, the fields here this year are indeed special – it’s the best year for poppies that the region has seen in a long time, according to Marsha Neill, a Lancaster resident who has been a volunteer docent at Antelope Valley reserve for five years.

I asked Neill whether this weekend was considered peak season, given the sheer fabulousness of the scene before us. You never know until after the fact, she said.

“It’s better this weekend than it was last weekend,” she said. “If you were to tell people when to come, I’d say come now because I don’t know how long it will last. If it gets too hot, that will start killing the flowers.”

She did add, though, that she anticipates this bloom lasting till at least the end of April.

But why take chances? Go now. The park trails are open sunrise to sunset. The earlier in the morning you go, the better to avoid crowds and the weekend line of cars waiting to enter the parking lot (there was a line today; arriving at noon-ish, we waited about 15 minutes).

Bear in mind, though, that even if you’re an early riser, the poppies themselves like to sleep in. The flowers here open at 9:30 or 10 a.m., according to Neill, and close up around 5 p.m., to protect themselves from cold and the elements. “They call them the lazy flower,” she said.

Lazy or not, they are well worth the effort to go see. Bring a hat, sunscreen, plenty of water, food for picnicking (there are several shaded tables) and a charged-up camera ready to snap away.

Contact: Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, (661) 724-1180 [park hotline]

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photos: Susan Derby / Special to the Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at 10:45 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Family & Kids, Los Angeles, National Parks, News, Tips & Advice, Outdoors & Adventure, Palm Springs, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.