Best Wildflower Displays in San Francisco Bay Area March 2008?
Will
Francisco Bay Area? I prefer South Bay but would consider specific
locations in Marin or East Bay.
--
Will
y_p_w
Chimney Rock at Point Reyes National Seashore is pretty nice. I went
on a ranger led wildflower hike last year in late March. I
encountered the most unique looking California golden poppy I've ever
seen. The terrain itself is like the coast of Scotland. You could
also make a trip to the lighthouse.
http://img72.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img3363yg7.jpg
Mission Peak in Fremont is supposed to be pretty good this time of
year.
http://www.ebparks.org/files/EBRPD_files/photoguides/EBRPD_Mission_Peak_Wildflowers.pdf
If you can spend a few days, Death Valley can be spectacular.
Bruce Jensen
> On Mar 20, 6:19 pm, "Will" <westes-...@noemail.nospam> wrote:
>
> > Which hiking areas currently have the best wildflower displays in the San
> > Francisco Bay Area? I prefer South Bay but would consider specific
> > locations in Marin or East Bay.
>
> Chimney Rock at Point Reyes National Seashore is pretty nice. I went
> on a ranger led wildflower hike last year in late March. I
> encountered the most unique looking California golden poppy I've ever
> seen. The terrain itself is like the coast of Scotland. You could
> also make a trip to the lighthouse.
>
> http://img72.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img3363yg7.jpg
>
> Mission Peak in Fremont is supposed to be pretty good this time of
> year.
>
>
> If you can spend a few days, Death Valley can be spectacular.
>
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7182113
I agree with Point Reyes. Very good display overall.
I have had excellent luck in the past at Sunol Regional Wilderness.
The Canyon View Trail heads up toward the south and east from HQ, and
it passes through several habitats that support an abundant variety of
flowers. It also crosses some serpentine outcrops and other bare
mineral areas that have unusual combinations. On single trips we've
seen three varieties of poppies, chinese houses, various brodiaea
species (Blue Dicks, Ithuriels Spears, Golden Br.), owl's clover, tall
"mariposa lilies" (?), paintbrush, baby blue eyes, grass nuts, various
lupines and many others. The Hayfield Road Trail also hosts a fine
variety of flora.
I have heard that Edgewood County Park in San Mateo County is
excellent; but firsthand I've seen Los Trancos, right across from
Montebello, and it is primo - beautiful floral displays in meadows and
woods.
Happy hunting!
Bruce Jensen
Bruce Jensen
Update - My son and I just took a 14-mile walk today to Peter's Creek
Grove at Portola Redwoods SP near Skylonda. The flowers in the
woodlands were pretty extravagant, with milkmaids, redwood sorrell,
hound's tongue, forget-me-nots, white trilliums, violet trilliums all
in full bloom, especially in the old growth Peter's Creek Grove (which
is a major destination and a delightful place, by the way). In my
experience, these woodland varieties are the flowers that show up
first; and if they are still out, then it is possible that the meadow/
prairie flowers are not yet blooming, although California poppies and
lupine sps. are going full blast by the roadsides. We saw lots of
people at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve, but I am not sure what
they are seeing today. Two weeks ago we saw zigadenes blooming full
at Pt. Lobos, and they are also an early flower. Later this coming
week, we are heaidng up to the Palomarin Trail at Pt. Reyes, where we
expect to see several of the above-mentioned flowers plkus lots of
irises. For what it's worth. Good luck!
dianac...@gmail.com
South Bay:
Pinnacles, High Peaks Trail.
Santa Teresa County Park, Serpentine Trail.
Russian Ridge Open Space.
Edgewood County Park.
North Bay:
Mount Burdell Open Space.
Mount Tamalpais, Steep Ravine Trail.
Bruce Jensen
Again, a second to some of these suggestions. We have visited
Pinnacles twice in the last few weeks, and this past week the flowers,
while not quite as extravagant as prior years (low recent rainfalls),
were still resplendent in some locations. Shooting stars, goldfields,
poppies, fiddlenecks, indian warriors, paintbrush, western
wallflowers, yellow bush poppies, and many tiny woodland flowers were
in abundance. We also saw woodpeckers, hummingbirds, vultures,
condors, raptors, swallows, and the usual amazing assortment of
magnificent rocks. Also, the Bear Gulch Caves are *completely* open
through Sunday March 30 (and this weekend Pinnacles celebrates its
100th anniversary). Pinnacles is very hard to beat when all of this
is happening.
Bruce Jensen
y_p_w
> Again, a second to some of these suggestions. We have visited
> Pinnacles twice in the last few weeks, and this past week the flowers,
> while not quite as extravagant as prior years (low recent rainfalls),
> were still resplendent in some locations. Shooting stars, goldfields,
> poppies, fiddlenecks, indian warriors, paintbrush, western
> wallflowers, yellow bush poppies, and many tiny woodland flowers were
> in abundance. We also saw woodpeckers, hummingbirds, vultures,
> condors, raptors, swallows, and the usual amazing assortment of
> magnificent rocks. Also, the Bear Gulch Caves are *completely* open
> through Sunday March 30 (and this weekend Pinnacles celebrates its
> 100th anniversary). Pinnacles is very hard to beat when all of this
> is happening.
I was at Pinnacles a couple of weeks ago. Didn't see a whole lot of
flowers, but saw a bit of snow just off the Rim Trail. Went through
Upper Bear Gulch Cave, and got my jeans a bit wet. Didn't see any of
the condors though, although I already saw several of the ones
released in the Grand Canyon. The rock climbers were all over the
formations near the Bear Gulch Nature Center.
Maybe I'll try the High Peaks in the fall.
Plotinus
Could anyone recommend where to hike in the San Francisco area for
wildflower displays in early May?
doofy
> Will wrote:
>
>> Which hiking areas currently have the best wildflower displays in the
>> San Francisco Bay Area? I prefer South Bay but would consider
>> specific locations in Marin or East Bay.
>>
Edgewood Preserve in Redwood City.
Plotinus
doofy
Just went this weekend and it's going on. Someone else told me May is
prime time.
Plotinus
There is an impressive wildflower photo gallery at
http://photos.friendsofedgewood.org/
Bruce Jensen
> Looks great, thank you.
> There is an impressive wildflower photo gallery athttp://photos.friendsofedgewood.org/
It looks like a great site, but I'll be danged if I can figure out how
to view the photos. I admit it, I'm not up on the way every web gizmo
works. Very confusing.
Bruce
Bruce Jensen
Did a longish hike (16 miles) on Saturday April 19, 2008, up at Mt.
Tamalpais in Marin. Wildflowers were generally very good, if not
quite as abundant as in best rain/warm weather cutoff years. Started
and ended at Muir Woods, Ben Johnson Trail - Dipsea Trail - Steep
Ravine uphill - Matt Davis Trail - Coastal Trail - Laurel Dell -
Cataract Trail - Old Mine Trail - Alpine Trail to Van Wyck Meadow -
Troop 80 Trail - Sierra and Fern Canyon Trails back to Muir Woods.
Many of the woodland flowers were well over - orchids and milkmaids
and trilliums were gone by. A few straglers were left, but the real
show was in the open areas.
On the Coastal Trail north of Pantoll, they were fairly extravagant -
I've never seen so many lupines anywhere (several different
varieties), and baby-blue-eyes, blue-eyed grass, two kinds of poppies,
larkspurs, Clarkia, cow parsnip, brodiae, and many other varieties
were extant. Lovely yellow lupines, *not* the bush variety, at Van
Wyck Meadows. Plenty of tiny ceanothus and others along the Troop 80
trail. The vegetation was generally lush as you'd expect to see in
springtime. Saw some cute constrictor snakes and a passell of lizards
too. Beautiful weather, cool and slightly breezy in the open, a very
fine walk.
Bruce Jensen