California Wildflower Hikes

South Yuba River State Park Buttermilk Bend Trail

Charlie — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:00:24 +0000

I’ve driven through the South Yuba River State Park on several occasions, usually to see the Bridgeport Covered Bridge. I didn’t realize that there was a wonderful wildflower hike there also. Several, in fact! We visited the park in late April 2011 to try the Buttermilk Bend Trail, and it was a wonderful hike. Special [...]

Crane Flat Wildflowers

Charlie — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 17:06:38 +0000

Crane Flat is a store and gas station just inside Yosemite National Park at a junction where you can either go up the Tioga Pass Road or head towards the Yosemite Valley. Adjacent to the parking lot is a meadow that can be incredibly full of flowers. People looking in can see masses of white [...]

Carlon Meadow Wildflowers

Charlie — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:00:48 +0000

Carlon Meadow is a fun wildflower area just a few miles west of the Oak Flat entrance to Yosemite Park. There is a nice stream that is popular for fishing, a small meadow, and a picnic area. This was a fun stop on the way into Yosemite Park, as you can find some flowers that you [...]

Jepson Prairie Wildflower Hike

Charlie — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 05:47:15 +0000

The Jepson Prairie Preserve in Solano County is a great place to see a number of rare plants, in a special environment. This is more of a “stroll” than a “hike”, but it is well worth visiting. The reserve protects one of the few remaining vernal pool habitats in California. If you have the chance [...]

Mt Tamalpais Wildflower Hike

Charlie — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 06:39:09 +0000

Mt. Tamalpais State Park in Marin County is the center point for an incredible network of trails. You can spend years trying all the options in the park and the surrounding countryside. There are great views of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay from the top of the mountain (2571 ft elevation). You can find everything [...]

Carson Pass Wildflower Hike

Charlie — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 05:19:36 +0000

The Carson Pass area in Alpine County is the greatest summer wildflower area I know of. There are a number of different trails (see my article on Meiss Lake), each with a different set of features. The most popular hike starts at the Carson Pass Information Station and takes you through a series of wonderful wildflower gardens [...]

Meiss Lake Wildflower Hike

Charlie — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 05:35:19 +0000

One of my favorite summer wildflower areas is the Carson Pass area in Alpine County. If you can time it right you will find beautiful hillside gardens full of wildflowers. We visited this area in mid July 2010 and hiked on the trail towards Meiss Lake, stopping at a meadow along the way. I knew it was [...]

Lakes Basin Wildflower Hike

Charlie — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:59:44 +0000

We’ve never been to the Lakes Basin area of Plumas County before, so I didn’t know what to expect. We visited the area in early July 2010. What we found was a wonderful hiking area with a variety of flowers, lakes and hiking trails. The trail was uneven in spots, but not difficult for the most part. There [...]

Feather Falls Wildflower Hike

Charlie — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:14:50 +0000

We hiked to Feather Falls, near Oroville California, in early June 2010. This was in the middle of the “bloom” season. We missed the early flowers, but there still was an exceptional variety. The path is well maintained and fairly easy, but the hike is longer than most we take (about 9 miles round trip) with [...]