Overview 2008
April 9, 2008 – Marcia reports: Photos taken 4/4 thru 4/6
April 6, 2008 – Lorie reports: Photos were taken along hwy 178 on the way from Shoshone to Furnace Creek. They were taken on Aril 3rd.
April 3, 2008 – Cathy reports: Death Valley is blooming! - although some areas the bloom look a little stunted and individual displays are better than broad overall washes. (Although the road beyond Trona up into Panamint Valley DID have a nice display of Desert Dandelion covering the floor). We left the Park to the south via the dirt Greenwater Road and the second, southern half closer to Shosone had some nice washes of yellow also - mixes of Cassonia, chia, Booth Primrose and some yellow daisy All photos were taken 3/29 thru 4/1
March 31th, 2008 – Mike reports: Hello folks my first time to send in pictures. These are all in Death Valley most all the flowers where on #374 heading towards Beatty. The large plants are on #190 near the Darwin turn off. Hope you enjoy. All taken 3-26 and 27th
March 24 2008 Nuntiya reports: Photo taken alongside the Beatty Cutoff Road on March 20th
March 16 2008 Death Valley reports: The large displays of Desert Gold (Geraea canescens) north of Furnace Creek have past their peak, but are still worth exploring. The greatest variety of wildflowers are found along Hwy 190 near the east park entrance. Look closely in the gravel wash and on roadsides for Golden Evening Primrose (Camissonia brevipes), several species of Phacelia, and Gravel Ghost (Atrichoseris platyphylla). About two dozen species of wildflowers are currently blooming in the area.
March 15 2008 Peter and Jane report: The flowers are magnificent in Death Valley. Near the east entrance to the park on the north side of 190 are oceans of color along the berm and on both sides. The bees are busy pollinating the staggering variety of flowers. [the pictures below were taken there]
Along the road to Dante's View are clusters of flowers and even at the viewpoint, over 5,000 feet elevation, a few isolated blooms appear. All along 190 from Daylight Pass Rd to the Beatty Rd and south of that junction are showing well. Salt Creek is teeming with Desert Pupfish performing their mating rituals.
Outside of the park, we saw flowers along the edge of 95 near Strawberry Valley, east of 160. Sorry for not identifying species - we suck at that. I can send more photos when we get home... Thanks for your great site. It helped us find the flowers we saw March 12 and 13 in the park. It was well worth the journey.
March 9 2008 Linda Reports: DV Junction - we took a ranger walk on March 4 off Highway 190, about 14.5 miles east of Furnace Creek, headed towards DV Junction. Stop in the lot near the big "Death Valley" sign, and walk north across the gravel berm. The ranger said the berm was built recently to direct flood waters away from the road, and the dredging may have stirred up seeds. You can't see the extent of flowers from the road. Over 5 species plus 4 types of cactus.
Heading south on Highway 127, the valley with the main access to the Dumont Dunes ATV recreation area is like Death Valley - acres of yellow flowers. At the south end of the valley, we found a very washboardy dirt road headed west, and saw that the flowers extended to the next valley where the Ibex dunes are located. We did not find the north dirt road shown on our map to get closer to the Ibex dunes - maybe we didn't go far enough, but in our sedan, we'd had enough of the road. We did drive the very good dirt road to the Dumont dunes entry [$20 to $30 to park and use the site], but the valley view was better from the main highway.
Continuing south on Highway 127, the road climbs out of the valley and heads eastward, where you can look back on the Dumon dunes, and see their south slope. At the base are swaths of yellow and purple. No roads we could see to get to that side.
March 5 2008 Gary Reports: The pictures were taken on the 2nd of March 2008. The sea of yellow is south of Stovepipe Wells on highway 190. The way the ranger described it on the map was right where the (190) is located south of the road that goes to Beatty. If you have a Death Valley Map look for the (190) printed on the road and that is the spot.
March 2 2008 Charles & Marie Reports: The photos below were taken in Death Valley on Saturday, March 1st on Road 190 between the Furnace Creek Visitor’s Center and the Beatty Cutoff. There were mostly desert sun flowers, not really spectacular. There was not much at all along Badwater Road or from Ashford Mill to Shoshone.
March 2 2008 Death Valley Reports: Drying winds, lack of recent rains, and much warmer temperatures have sped up the spring bloom. The vibrant displays of Desert Gold (Geraea canescens) north of Furnace Creek are nearing their peak. The next several weeks should have some good viewing opportunities. The best tool for identifying the flowers is the color brochure “Wildflowers of Death Valley National Park” sold in the Visitor Center bookstore. Park Rangers are providing wildflower walks several times a week. Dates and times can be found at: www.dvnha.org/morning_report/WildflowerUpdate.pdf
Feb 29, 2008 Rich reports: Taken 2.23.08 at the bottom of Hell's Gate road en route from Beatty, NV to Stovepipe Wells, CA. Panamint Valley looks promising too, since it has lots of green and is still damp.
Feb 23, 2008 Ed reports: From the south fork of the Beatty entrance (Daylight Pass) down to Furnace creek the Death Valley Sunflowers are nearly as thick as during 2005. Brown-eyed Primrose, Notched-leaf Phacelia, are in abundance along the road. Purple Mat, Fremont Pincushion, are fairly easy to find and I found one Desert Five-spot in a cluster of 5 kinds of flowers a few miles north of Artist Palette loop.
Golden Evening Primrose were common along the road south of Zabriske Point toward Death Valley Junction nearly up to 2500 feet in elevation. No cactus blossoms yet.
Feb 19, 2008 Alan reports: There
seemed quite a number of plants soon to come into flower in east central Mohave.
Not so many in Death Valley, although there were large expanses of Desert Sunflower
(Geraea canescens). We didn't get to do much exploring in the higher regions
though.
Feb 14, 2008 Michael reports: The valley floor between Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells has pretty good displays, not just by the road but along much of the valley floor. I saw very little on the hillsides though.
Feb 14, 2008 Patrick reports: Eastern Death Valley NP/Amargosa River Drainage: Phacelia is coming in pretty nicely, two different species. Desert Sunflowers are beginning to be rampant.
Feb 8, 2008 Death Valley reports: A moderate rainfall in late January dropped 0.32 inches of rain at Furnace Creek and 0.46 inches of rain at Scotty’s Castle. This has improved the prospects of having scattered patches of showy wildflowers this spring. The roadsides and alluvial fans near Furnace Creek are already looking nice. The outlook will continue to improve if we receive additional rain in February or early March. The peak bloom is variable depending on temperatures and rainfall, but can be expected around mid to late March.
Feb
8, 2008 William reports: We then went on to the Ibex dunes in Death
Valley National Park, about 15 miles away via a 7-mile dirt road, plus a half
hour walk to the dunes. There was one nice display of dune verbena blooming on
the dunes in just one area way to the right as one walks into the dunes. We stayed
until sunset and then walked back to the car with a glorious sunset. What a pleasant
trip, to go for dunes and see flowers.
Feb
5,
2008 Death Valley (Charlie Callagan) reports: A few wildflowers are
already blooming near Mormon Point and in desert washes west of Jubilee Pass.
Pockets of large Desert Gold are in bloom along Highway 190, on both sides of
Furnace Creek. Although spotty and pretty much restricted to the roadsides, these
wildflowers are the product of a September thunderstorm and a few scattered October
and December rains.
The "El Nino" of 2007 has not yet brought much rain to Death Valley.
If the park does not receive significant amounts of rain in the next few weeks,
then there will not be much of a bloom this spring. If we receive more rain,
the peak blooming period can be expected around mid to late March.
Jan
27, 2008 DUSA reports: More rain has fallen in the park, improving the
wildflower outlook for 2008.
Jan 20, 2008 Death Valley reports: So far this winter season, Death Valley has received only two significant rains. An early soaking rain in September created the right combination of ample moisture and warm soils that caused some wildflower seeds to sprout in the central part of the valley near Furnace Creek. These plants continued to grow despite an abundance of drying winds and receiving only one other soaking rain in December, which produced additional sprouts.
Scattered patches of well established Desert Gold (Geraea canescens) can currently be found blooming along the first few miles of Highway 190 west of Furnace Creek. Beds of purple Phacelia (P. calthifolia and P. crenulata) and Golden Evening Primrose (Camissonia brevipes) can be found in the washes and along the roadsides of Highway 190 near the park boundary east of Furnace Creek. Wildflowers are also beginning to show along the Beatty Cut-Off and Mud Canyon Roads below Hell’s Gate.
Although the peak of the bloom is currently predicted for the usual time in late March, the bloom will be spotty at best, unless we receive more rain in February. Do not expect a spectacular bloom like we had in 1998 and 2005 with their wet El Niño winters.
Jan
6, 2008 DUSA reports: Rain makes or breaks the wildflower season, so
far it looks good. Precipitation for the year 2008: 0.05 inches. The water year
started on 7/1/07 and up to today Death Valley has had 1.24 inches of rain. More
rain is forcast for tonight. This is more rain then we had last year at this
time.
When will the wildflowers bloom in 2008? To
plan your visit to coincide with the peak of the bloom, keep up to date with DesertUSA's
Wildflower Reports. Be sure to bookmark this page for weekly updates.
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In our wildflower guide we have
added some new pictures. Some of the pictures are sized to work on the IPod and
similar devices. With your IPod you will easily be able to identify wildflowers
while in the desert. Click Here for
more information.
Peak Blooming
Periods for Death Valley are usually...
Mid February - Mid April at lower elevations (valley floor and
alluvial fans)
Best Areas: Jubilee Pass, Highway 190 near the Furnace Creek Inn, base of Daylight Pass
Dominant species: desert star, blazing star, desert gold, mimulus, encelia, poppies, verbena, evening primrose, phacelia, and various species of cacti (usually above the valley floor).
Early April -
Early May at 2,000 to 4,000 ft. elevations
Best areas: Panamint Mountains
Dominant species: paintbrush, Mojave desert rue, lupine, Joshua tree, bear poppy, cacti and Panamint daisies.
Late April - Early June above 4,000 ft.
elevations
Best areas: High Panamints
Dominant species: Mojave wildrose, rabbitbrush, Panamint daisies, mariposa lilies and lupine.
Plan your trip to Death Valley with
our Death
Valley Introduction Package
2007 Reports
May
1 2007 John reports: Not a banner year, but still plenty of wildlfowers
if you look around. More flowers at higher elevations, but some blooms right
in front of the Furnace Creek Resort. I found it well worth a visit.
Big bushes of Desert Rock Nettle
Mojave Aster
Brittlebush
Globe Mallow
Desert Trumpet
Gravel Ghost
Locoweed
Indigo Bush
Prickly Poppy
Beaver Tail Cactus
Cholla (near Scotty's Castle)
Creosote Bush
are all blooming if one looks carefully.
March 20 2007 Tom reports: We returned from a Death Valley photo taking vacation this weekend. I'd like to pass on a couple of hot spots (in an otherwise dreary landscape). Echo Canyon is litteraly covered in Brittlebrush in full bloom. We saw many clumps of this 6-feet in diameter. There is also a fair amount of Sand Blazing Star present.
The entrance to Echo Canyon is a poorly marked, rough dirt track off of 190 about 2 miles south of the Badwater Road fork. The flowers start in earnest about 1000 feet from the canyon entrance and continue the entire length of the canyon. I think a regular car could make it to the canyon entrance but 4WD would be needed to get much further.
The Yucca (probably very small Joshua Trees) along the road to the Racetrack will soon be in bloom. There is a stretch of nearly 8 miles at the 4,000 +/- foot level with thousands of these along both sides of the road. About 25% have spikes that are about 1-2 weeks from blooming. It will be spectacular.
March 16 2007 Frank reports: In general, wildflowers on the desert floor are terrible, as predicted based on the almost total lack of rain this winter. Just the occasional desert gold, phalacia, and yellow evening primrose, always near the road.
But I found a hot spot. It is at mile 2.7 on the road to Beatty from the valley floor [not the cutoff]. Heading the other way from Beatty, it is exactly 4.0 south from where the Beatty cutoff splits off. There must have been 20 species. Lots of desert five-spot. Many others I have not yet identified. There are paved pull offs [i.e., shoulders] on both sides of the road. You can't miss it.
But act quickly, everyone! It is hot on the valley floor - damned hot. The flowers won't last long.
March 14 2007 DUSA reports: No more rain has fallen and the desert is heating up, what is blooming will be gone soon.
Feb 25, 2007: Charlie Callagan at Death Valley reports: For a spring wildflower bloom, rain must fall in the winter. This year, the necessary winter rains failed to arrive. Even if it does start raining now it will be a bit late to produce much of a spring bloom.
A few scattered wildflowers are blooming near Mormon Point and in washes west of Jubilee Pass, but they are already beginning to fade. Pockets of large Desert Gold continue blooming along Highway 190, on both sides of Furnace Creek. Although spotty and pretty much restricted to the roadsides, these wildflowers are the product of a September thunderstorm and a few isolated October and December rains.
Feb 5, 2007: Charlie Callagan at Death Valley reports:
A few wildflowers are already blooming near Mormon Point
and in desert washes west of Jubilee Pass. Pockets of large Desert
Gold are in bloom along Highway 190, on both sides of Furnace Creek.
Although spotty and pretty much restricted to the roadsides, these
wildflowers are the product of a September thunderstorm and a few
scattered October and December rains.
The "El Nino" of 2007 has not yet brought much
rain to Death Valley. If the park does not receive significant
amounts of rain in the next few weeks, then there will not be much of
a bloom this spring. If we receive more rain, the peak blooming
period can be expected around mid to late March.
Feb 1, 2007: DUSA reports
Got some rain last week - not looking for a great season
this year. The cold did some damage to what's there now.
Jan 14, 2007: Charlie Callagan at
Death Valley reports: Pockets of huge Desert Gold are
blooming along the roadsides north and south of Furnace Creek.
Though spotty and pretty much restricted to the roadsides these
Desert Gold are the product of a September thunderstorm and a few
scattered light October and December rains. At this time it appears
like only the portion of the park that has much of an opportunity to
produce a fair to moderate Spring Wildflower bloom will be near
Mormon Point and areas south of there. The Brown-eyed Evening
Primrose are already blooming along roadsides while the alluvial fans
and canyon washes are covered in the green growth of spring annuals.
The storm pattern of this "El Nino" year
has not yet changed and the storms are still coming on shore north of
California. If we do not receive significant amounts of rainin the
next few weeks then we will not be able to hope for much more than
the continued growth and blooming of those plants in the southern
quarter of the park that have already sprouted. It is also possible
that recent hard frosts may damage or restrict growth of those young
plants. Peak blooming period for the southern portion of the park
could be expected between the last week in February and the first two
weeks of March.
Jan 1, 2007 --
DUSA Reports: Precipitation Year 2006: 1.47 inch.
7/1/06 to present:
0.89 inch. There is some snow and ice in the park now. 20% chance of
rain on the 4th or 5th. Peak
Blooming Periods for Death Valley are usually - Mid February - Mid
April at lower elevations (valley floor and alluvial fans)
