5 great places to see California’s wildflower season, possibly the best in 20 years

Love wildflowers? Boy, you’re in for a treat this year.

“I think this is going to be the best spring in terms of diversity and flowers in Northern California – and probably the entire state – in 20 years,” says Seth Adams, land conservation director for the nonprofit Save Mount Diablo.

Back up for a second. What is this “spring”? All we’ve seen so far is rain, more rain, snow, a lot more snow, rain, flooding, hail, snow and some rain. Well, it turns out wildflowers love that stuff – they thrive on the ecological adversity California’s recently encountered.

“Three years ago, we had giant fires on four sides of the Bay Area and almost no rain. The next year, we had really heavy, early rains that then stopped, and now we have so much rain it’s record-breaking and flooding,” says Adams. “Now, a lot of the areas that have the best wildflower blooms are places that’ve burned or have disturbed ground from erosion. So the state’s taken a big drink of water, and we’re going to see regeneration in all kinds of places.”

Tsunamis of brilliant-orange poppies, shimmering hills of yellow mustard, vast oases of color in sparse desert regions – despite cold weather pushing it off, California’s wildflowers are coming soon (and many are already here).

“Since California was fortunate to receive more rain last fall and this winter, public land managers are expecting ‘good’ to ‘better-than-average’ wildflower blooms in spring, depending on the continued weather conditions,” the California Department of Parks and Recreation recently announced. “Depending on the park, visitors may see colorful California poppies, sand verbena, desert sunflowers, evening primrose, popcorn flowers or desert lilies.”

In the Bay Area, where are the best places to see the blooms? The Mercury News interviewed several parks-and-nature folks and has put together a short list – see below. But first, these folks stress that if you head out this spring for some flower watching, be sure to observe the proper etiquette.

“If you go off the trail and trample those flowers before they go to seed, it means you won’t see them the next year,” says Kristin Perry, a supervising ranger at the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. The district still has natural areas that were packed down to bare dirt from wildflower tourism several years ago, and is running an educational campaign tagged #Don’tDoomTheBloom. “From an aesthetic viewpoint, people were not leaving flowers for others to enjoy.”

And don’t pick them. Aside from being rude and against regulations, it has a bad ripple effect. “Wildflowers can serve a multitude of purposes – they attract pollinators and could be food for endangered species that call these protected areas home,” says Alexis Jones, supervising ranger at Trione-Annadel State Park in Sonoma. Jones advises people who absolutely must have pretty flowers to instead “buy a ranunculus at Trader Joe’s.”

Forthwith, find some great places to observe 2023’s wildflower blooms. Note that many parks and nature areas were hit hard by the storms and may have suffered damage. Always check their websites for current conditions and seasonal closures. And until the rain stops, expect mud — lots and lots of mud.

Mount Tamalpais State Park, Marin

The wooded peak overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge experiences all kinds of blossoming in April and May. Expect to see California poppies, purple lupine, narrow-leaf mule’s ear, violet Ithuriel’s spear and (don’t giggle) blue dicks. “Mount Tam is always great,” says Jones. “Easy Grade Trail is an excellent option for wildflowers, and the Coast View Trail has great options.”

Details: parks.ca.gov/?page_id=471

Diablo Range, East and South Bays

“All across Mount Hamilton is one of the best places to see wildflowers in the whole Bay Area,” says Adams. “I would encourage people to check out Mines Road, Mount Hamilton Road and the San Antonio Valley south of Livermore. There’s tremendous diversity in the south Diablo Range.”

Further north, the geography and shallow soils of Mount Diablo make it a year-round hotspot for wildflowers. “You can see 100 to 150 different kinds of flowers during the season,” Adams says, “and it’s already started.”

Maps and audio guides: savemountdiablo.org/experience/field-guides

Calero County Park, San Jose