Wildflower Bloom Reports (Recent wildflower bloom reports and updates on Natural History Wanderings)
Northern California Wildflower Hotspots: a series of articles on wildflower hotspots on Natural History Wanderings)
Wildflower Hikes (Articles on hikes and wildflower areas on Natural History Wanderings)
California Plant Floras and Wildflower Field Guides (List of mostly print California plant floras and field guides to help in your plant exploration and identification
California Plant Lists (Detailed plant lists for many California Parks and Wildflower sites)
Arizona Wildflower Websites and Books
Colorado Wildflower Websites and Books
Nevada Wildflower Websites and Books
New Mexico Wildflower Websites and Books
Oregon and Washington Wildflower Websites and Books
Texas Wildflower Sites
Utah Wildflower Websites and Books
National Forest Wildflower Viewing Areas
Wildflower Photography Tips (Articles on wildflower photography)
Western Native Plant Societies, Scientific Societies, and Botanical Institutions
How To Read A Wildflower Report (Article on Natural History Wanderings)
Links to California Wildflower Websites:
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Theodore Payne Wildflower Hotline (March to May)
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Calphoto: Where to photograph in California (yahoo discussion group that is a good source of wildflower bloom information; must sign up to have access)
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Anza-Borrego Wildflowers (natural history association site)
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Anza-Borrego State Park (has link to wildflower report and map)
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Death Valley (click on wildflower update)
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Death Valley Facebook
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Joshua Tree
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Mojave National Preserve
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Antelope Valley (park information)
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Hungry Valley
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Carrizo Wildflower Report
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Santa Monica Mountains
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Los Padres National Forest/Figueroa Mountain
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Eastern Sierra/Bishop BLM
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Plumas County
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Marin Chapter California Native Plant Society
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Solano Land Trust
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Henry Coe
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California Botanical Society
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Southern California Botanists Field Trips
The listings below are links to parks and other public lands with good wildflower viewing. To get current information contact each site by phone or email.
- Southern California Wildflower Hotspots (list of Southern California wildflower hotspots)
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Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (list of wildflower hotspots in the South Bay)
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South Yuba River State Park
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Tejon Ranch
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Western Mojave (Short Canyon, Sand Canyon, Desert Tortoise Natural Area, Surprise Canyon)
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California State Parks (list of state parks that are good for wildflowers and the bloom periods)
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California Fish and Wildlife Wildflower sites for Central Region (good list of locations some links are bad)
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The Wildlife Lands Conservancy
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Orange County Parks
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Arroyos Foothill Conservancy
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U.S. Forest Service Southwest Region (includes California)
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U.S. Bureau of Land Management California Region
This page updated as resources change. Suggestions for additions to this list are most welcome. If you have a suggestion, please put it in the response box below and click the submit button.
As a reminder no matter where you go please follow these guidelines from the Kern county wildflower website: “Please keep in mind that many displays, while visible from public areas, are contained on private property. Please respect all signs regarding accessibility, and do not trespass on private property to view wildflowers. Picking wildflowers is illegal, and removing them interferes with pollination and reduces their numbers. Transplanting blooming wildflowers is rarely successful. Please enjoy their beauty without damaging them.”
Thanks.
Natural History Wanderings 
[…] links to the article and the state wildflower watchers’ website – Natural History Wanderings. https://naturalhistorywanderings.com/wildflower-reports/ […]
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By: Pala Today News - 2/3/23 - Rez Radio on February 3, 2023
at 2:10 PM
Widlflowers report. Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve.
Daniel reports: I went on Thursday 3/31 and most of the reserve is now drying vegetation (past peak bloom) except for the Poppy Trail North Loop. There are still good spots and fields of poppies outside the park, a patch across the street, along the dirt road on the western fence line, Broad Canyon (W Ave D), & a dirt road along the Power lines between W Ave G & Fairmont Neenach Rd before it turns into Bellbird Pl.
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By: Daniel in Sacramento on April 1, 2022
at 9:17 PM
Thanks for the report. I do appreciate you taking the time to submit information so I always post your information.
I haven’t been posting many flower reports as I haven’t wanted to contribute to some of the bad behavior taking place at wildflower hotspots. Too many people people destroying flowers to get their instagram shots in the middle of fields of flowers.
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By: Sandy Steinman on April 1, 2022
at 10:17 PM
Wildflowers report 3/19/22 at North Table Mountain.
The wildflowers are now blooming at The North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve in Oroville CA; however unless we get a lot more rain soon all signs indicate for a below average showing for the season. The waterfalls have very little to no water and some of the streams have already dried up. This is the lowest water flow I have ever seen at Table Mountain in all of my visits during this time of the year. The top half of many of the hills with volcanic rock mounds are mostly dried out vegetation. Although not at peak bloom yet, the dry conditions make it hard to believe there will be as many wildflowers as one may be used to seeing.
If you do decide to go visit North Table Mountain do not be surprised with little to no flow at the waterfalls and below average amount of wildflowers. On a positive note, they have redone the parking lot, entrance gate, and added some new restrooms.
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By: Daniel in Sacramento on March 21, 2022
at 1:59 PM
Thanks for your report.
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By: Sandy Steinman on March 21, 2022
at 3:12 PM
[…] Wildflower Reports: What’s Blooming Where […]
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By: Natural History Wanderings to Temporarily Suspend Most Wildflower Bloom Updates | Natural History Wanderings on March 18, 2019
at 12:12 PM
[…] updates, along with a comprehensive set of links focused on California wildflowers. Go to https://naturalhistorywanderings.com/wildflower-reports/ […]
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By: Rain is too little, too, late for wildflowers - Road Trips with Tom on March 22, 2018
at 7:08 PM
On your list of Utah sources for Wildflower info you should include:
Wasatch Wildflowers: a field guide
Flora of the Wasatch (app for Android and iOS)
Capitol Reef Wild flowers
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By: Steve Hegji on February 18, 2017
at 6:50 PM
Thanks for the suggestions. They all look good and I have added them to the Utah Wildflowers resource page.
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By: Sandy Steinman on February 18, 2017
at 10:28 PM
[…] the Theodore Payne Foundation’s Wildflower Hotline. Sandy Steinman has a comprehensive list of links to wildflower reports on his […]
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By: Wildflower Season is Coming! - Outdoor Photographer on May 18, 2016
at 7:39 AM
[…] reports. One of the best is Sandy Steinman’s blog, which has a comprehensive list of links to wildflower reports. The CalPhoto group on Yahoo is a great place to get information from other photographers. […]
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By: A Good Year for Poppies? - Michael Frye Photography on May 14, 2016
at 4:32 AM
[…] the Theodore Payne Foundation’s Wildflower Hotline. Sandy Steinman has a comprehensive list of links to wildflower reports on his […]
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By: Wildflower Season is Coming! on May 4, 2016
at 11:40 AM
[…] blog is a comprehensive source on the best and latest blooms in California and across the Western US. Plus, this is a good site to […]
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By: Everything's Coming Up Wildflowers: Your Complete Guide to Orange County's Wild Blooms - OC ExploreOC Explore on March 30, 2016
at 5:01 AM
Daniel Reports: On Monday 4/13/15 I went hiking on three different trails at Point Reyes National Seashores. I started out going to Keyhole Beach and here is where I saw the highest concentration of flowers together. Granted many of the flowers were yellow mustard and small white & pink flowers. However, there were small patches with a high concentration of California poppies together on the hillside near the beach. For a short hike and to see a lot of flowers, the path to Keyhole Beach is the place I would recommend.
I next hiked to Abbott’s Lagoon. The first half of the hike is though a grassland area with spots of California poppies all along the trail. However, the vegetation is this area is at least one third dried out. When you get to the Lagoon area there are more variety of wildflowers with spots of Douglas Iris, yellow bush lupines, and even goldfields on the hills. I saw one good size patch of yellow flowers (California buttercups) but other then that the flowers were not as concentrated together as compared to Keyhole Beach. As for wildlife, I saw some song sparrows and quail roaming around the grassland area.
The last stop of the day was hiking the trail to Chimney Rock. There are a lot of Douglas Iris flowers as reported but they seemed to be spread out over a large area on the trails and the fields along Sir Francis Drake Blvd. There are many spots with several flowers close together but no large concentrated patches for those looking for a flower field wow factor location. The Chimney Rock trail did seem to have the most variety of different types of wildflowers such as blue eyed grass, paintbrush, different types of lupines, morning glory, ect. There are also two good locations to view the elephant seals on the beaches.
On a side note, last Friday, April 10th I went abalone diving and camping at Ocean Cove near Jenner, CA. When taking the cliff-side trail from the Ocean Cove campground to Stillwater Cove, I was nicely surprised to see many wildflowers along the trail. One can imagine that there are many similar small hidden wildflower spots all along the Northern California coastline.
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By: Daniel J on April 17, 2015
at 9:31 PM
Thanks for your report. I re-posted it on the main page. You hit the same three spots I went to two weeks ago. I agree these are three of the best wildflower spots at Pt. Reyes.
Sandy
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By: Sandy Steinman on April 17, 2015
at 10:19 PM
[…] Wildflower Reports: What’s Blooming Where […]
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By: Best Wildflower Hotspots & Bloom Reports For May | Natural History Wanderings on May 9, 2014
at 6:51 AM
What does Bear Valley Colusa county look like as of April 9th 2014? Didn’t see any reports on the wildflowers there. Thank you! Love the site
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By: Dolores Daley on April 9, 2014
at 2:19 PM
I haven’s seen any recent reports. The most recent I have is: https://naturalhistorywanderings.com/2014/04/02/bear-valley-wildflower-update-4114/
You might try contacting the Colusa Country Resource District: http://www.colusarcd.org/homepagefiles/WildflowerViewing.htm
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By: Sandy Steinman on April 9, 2014
at 2:27 PM
[…] reports. One of the best is Sandy Steinman’s blog, which has a comprehensive list of links to wildflower reports. The CalPhoto group on Yahoo is a great place to get information from other photographers. […]
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By: A Good Year for Poppies? « In the Moment: Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog In the Moment: Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog on March 17, 2014
at 4:00 AM
[…] Wildflower Reports: What’s Blooming Where […]
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By: US Bird Building Collision Deaths May Be As High As One Billion | Natural History Wanderings on February 10, 2014
at 6:39 AM
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Shadow of the Condor, A Documentary Film · Suggested Post
This fall The Condor’s Shadow will premiere on PBS in Southern California. Sneak preview! For a limited time you can watch the 54 min PBS version on Vimeo OnDemand:
The Condor’s Shadow
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Set in the ruggedly beautiful Southern California habitat of the iconic California condor, The Condor’s Shadow explores the great hope and extreme lengths that biologists,…
Janet Cupples
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By: janet on July 12, 2013
at 5:34 PM
[…] Wildflower Reports: What’s Blooming Where […]
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By: Where Are The Bluebonnets? | Natural History Wanderings on April 1, 2013
at 6:59 AM
Has anyone been to North Table Mountain? I am planning a trip there this saturday and would like to know how the wildflower bloom is.
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By: Dennis Ariza on March 24, 2013
at 9:07 PM
There have been several reports at the Calphoto Yahoo discussion group: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/calphoto/
You can also call Oroville Chamber of Commerce 916-533-2542 or 800-655-4653 (call for current bloom) or the New Melones Reservoir visitor center at 209-536-9543 or 209-536-9094
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By: Sandy Steinman on March 24, 2013
at 9:16 PM
[…] Wildflower Reports: What’s Blooming Where […]
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By: Where to View Wildflower Displays in Central California « Natural History Wanderings on February 22, 2013
at 7:15 AM
[…] Wildflower Reports: What’s Blooming Where […]
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By: How To Find The Wildflowers This Year « Natural History Wanderings on January 11, 2013
at 1:06 PM
[…] Wildflower Reports: What’s Blooming Where […]
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By: California Plant Floras and Field Guides « Natural History Wanderings on June 18, 2012
at 5:38 PM
[…] Natural History Wanderings – A comprehensive site listing links for botany, ornithology, and natural history around the West. […]
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By: Native Plant Week | CNPS-SLO on March 26, 2012
at 9:48 AM
[…] Wildflower Reports (Natural History Wanderings – Sandy Steinman’s Blog) […]
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By: Spring Fever | candacerenephotography on March 16, 2012
at 8:23 PM
[…] Wildflower Reports: What’s Blooming Where […]
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By: Northern California Wildflower Hotspots « Natural History Wanderings on February 17, 2012
at 6:01 AM
Sandy, yesterday the emails from you changed and are now blank. the only thing I get is the Header. Any ideas as to what has changed?
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By: Dennis on September 27, 2011
at 7:07 AM
[…] the Theodore Payne Foundation’s Wildflower Hotline. Sandy Steinman has a comprehensive list of links to wildflower reports on his […]
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By: Wildflower Season is Coming! « In the Moment: Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog on May 26, 2011
at 4:30 AM
[…] the Theodore Payne Foundation’s Wildflower Hotline. Sandy Steinman has a comprehensive list of links to wildflower reports on his […]
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By: Wildflower Season « In the Moment: Michael Frye's Landscape Photography Blog on March 9, 2011
at 4:23 PM
[…] History Wanderings website that lists a LOT of wildflower reports. You can see his post here: Wildflower Reports at Natural History Wanderings Tweet This Post […]
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By: Nature Light Photo » Wildflower Updates on September 27, 2010
at 11:40 AM
Sandy, thanks for the information and postings; all wildflower lovers can use information as to what is where, when.
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By: Spencer on June 22, 2010
at 9:42 AM
[…] Wildflower Reports: What’s Blooming Where […]
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By: New Wildflower Site: The Wildflower Conservancy « Natural History Wanderings on April 21, 2010
at 12:30 PM
http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Bloom_Clock is a research project open to the public. It started about three years ago, but it has dwindled since then. It would be great if wildflower enthusiasts from around the globe would contribute observations!
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By: jomegat on April 16, 2010
at 6:20 PM
good list
here’s another one for socal
http://www.researchlearningcenter.org/bloom/
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By: erickpfaff2010 on February 26, 2010
at 9:35 AM
Thanks.
It it has been added.
Sandy
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By: Sandy Steinman on February 26, 2010
at 9:57 AM
This is a great website
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By: Joseph L. Colbourn on February 21, 2010
at 8:29 AM