Bear Valley Wildflower Tour on May 6
Nate Lillge • May 9, 2023
If you haven't gotten out to see the incredible wildflowers brought by our amazingly wet year, you can enjoy them from the comforts of home! And if you do go outside to see wildflowers, remember to be respectful: stay on paths, keep dogs leashed (and only bring them if allowed), and take pics, don't pick.
The Southern California flowers of Carrizo Plain, Anza-Borrego, and Antelope Valley are perhaps most famous, and they get national—even international—attention. NPR and The Atlantic both have spectacular photoessays. If you want to go farther afield, Atlas Obscura travels from San Diego to Arizona. You can even see the flowers from space in this article from the Guardian.
Closer to home:
San Francisco Chronicle has a map of where you can see different types of wildflowers, drawn from iNaturalist data.
North Table Mountain Ecological Reserve, near Oroville, has broad expanses of flowers and amazing waterfalls on columnar basalt, and hiking is easy. ActiveNorCal collected Instagram's best photos and videos. Given recent rain, you may still be in time to catch 164-foot Phantom Falls.
A quiet, ever-changing display can be had just down the road at Jepson Prairie Preserve, along with egrets. Try to get out there for a docent-led tour, when you may have a chance to see fairy shrimp and pick up a book on its wildflowers. You can enjoy a brief video tour that features the small, lovely Downingia there, or enjoy an article from Bay Nature magazine.
And of course Bear Valley, just east of Berryessa Snow Mountain and Molok Luyuk. Charlie Russell Nature Photography has a knowledgeable and gorgeous blog post. For an extensive tour of the flowers that will help you learn where they are and how to identify them, see Tuleyome's virtual tour. To see what Bear Valley looked like on May 6, 2023, check out this photo album!
-Amy Boyer
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