The Anza-Borrego wildflower bloom boom

The wildflowers at the north end of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, about 90 miles east of San Diego, are stunning right now. On Sunday, I walked up Palm Canyon through forests of periwinkle phacelia, blazing yellow brittlebush, faint-smelling desert lavender, bright red phacelia that burst from what looks like a jumble of dead branches — and hordes of sweaty people.

Families, flower-lovers and hikers merged into a nonstop traffic flow that transformed the main 1.5-mile hiking trail from the desert floor to the palm oasis (and some well-earned shade) into the 405 Freeway. The car traffic was so jammed at the trail head, I wound up starting my hike at the visitor center, adding a few flower-filled miles to my walk. Among my favorites: patches of the tiny Bigelow’s monkey flower (pictured) that sprouts about a half-inch off the ground.

Park Superintendent Mark Jorgensen said the visitor center logged about 9,500 guests over the weekend (they usually get about 1,000), and he estimates total visitors in other parts of the park add up to about five times that number. So why the crowds? Well, it’s the best wildflower bloom in about five years — and there’s more to come.

Jorgensen says the annuals — those desert flowers that pop up only when there’s the perfect combination of rain and shine — could continue to show off through March if temperatures don’t heat up and force them to seed and if high winds don’t rake the blossoms. Of course, a little more rain to sustain the blooms wouldn’t hurt either. Of course the ocotillo and the different cacti haven’t even started their show, so brace yourself for a prolonged desert bloom.

Here are some tips for avoiding the throngs and reveling in the flowers at Anza-Borrego:

Start early. If you plan to hike up Palm Canyon, get there by around 8 a.m. and you might just have it all to yourself. Ditto for other heavily trafficked parts of the park where folks go to gawk. Visiting from Monday through Thursday helps cut down on the crush of flesh too.

Get a map. The park’s website has an excellent downloadable map (current to March 8) with specifics on where to go in the park and what flowers to see. The southern end of the park is at higher elevation, so blooms won’t be popping for a while. Grab yourself a desert flower book in advance or buy a flower pamphlet at the visitor center if you want to figure out what you’re seeing.

Be prepared. There are plenty of areas in the park, such as Henderson or Coyote canyons, where you can pull off the road and start snapping photographs; these areas are studded with big, creamy-colored desert primrose amid bright pink sand verbena. But if you’re going to do any hiking, make sure you have plenty of water, food, sunscreen, a hat and proper clothing and footwear.

Click here for a roundup of other places to see wildflowers around Southern California and a photo gallery of blooms.

— Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

[Photo: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park website]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Monday, March 10, 2008 at 6:45 pm by Mary Forgione and is filed under California, Los Angeles, Outdoors & Adventure, San Diego, Spring, 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.