2009 Reports

Apr.29, 2009 DUSA reports: There are still many wildflowers in Death Valley they will be killed off when it heat up, the weather was good when we were there this week.

Apr.22, 2009 Charlie at DV Park reports: The rich, pink blossoms of the Beavertail Cactus can be found in abundance along the Mud Canyon and Beatty Cut-Off roads near Hell’s Gate, along the Scotty’s Castle Road and many other locations from 2000 to about 3000 feet in elevation. Death Valley Sage, Brittlebush, Rock Nettle, Globemallow, and other perennials are blooming in open wash and protected canyon environments. Bigelow Coreopsis and Desert Dandelions can be viewed blooming in profusion along portions of the Greenwater Valley dirt road. They may also still be putting on a nice display in nearby Gold Valley, which is reached with a four-wheel drive vehicle. The bloom is past its peak at elevations below 3,000 feet, but abundant fields of Desert Gold are still visible along park roadsides.

Apr.14, 2009 Bill reports: I made the trip to Death Valley from Vegas on April 11th. The 5 Spot Buds, Brittlebush, Daisy, Evening Primrose and the unidentified flowers were on Hwy 178 between Salsberry pass and Jubilee pass.The most impressive display of flowers was on the road to Dantes View and at the View itself. There were endless fields of Desert Dandelion all along the roadway. At the overlook there was a Mojave Aster and an abundance of Chia and Phaceli It was a good wildflower show for my first trip to Death Valley to search out the illusive wildflowers.

 

Apr.14, 2009 Halimah reports: The Apricot Mallow and the Desert Pincushion are roadside shots taken on April 12th, I believe outside the Park boundary, heading south on Hwy. 178 towards Trona.

These photos were taken April 10-11. The creosote were blooming everywhere on the Saline Valley floor. The Linanthus, which I hope I've identified correctly, was shot early in the morning in a deep wash hiking uphill from a 4WD unnamed road off the Saline Valley Road. You can see many more buds soon to bloom. The Mohave Aster was along the 4WD Lippincott Road and the Desert Paintbrush is one of several gorgeous clusters at Lippincott Pass where it joins the Ubehebe Rd. You can see The Racetrack in the background.

Apr. 2, 2009 Cathy reports: Was in Death Valley April 2nd-6th and I was pleasantly suprised.

Valley Floor - Things looked good on the Valley floor - lots of Desert Sunflower and Sundrops along the road between Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek. The road leaving the park towards Death Valley Junction had some nice Globe Mallow and yellow composite with beautiful red rocks that accented the mallow.

Canyons/ Upper Elevations
Maybe a little early for some things, but I thought the show was pretty good. The best canyon, I saw, was South Park canyon on the West Side of the Panamints. *Note* this is a MANDATORY 4-wheel drive road with a lot of Class III Terrain, but if you got it....things should be great since it looked a little pre-peak! Still saw lots of Brittle Bush, Barrel Cactus, Globe Mallow. Higher in the high-wash area were individual plants, Prickly Poppy by the Suitcase Mine, White-bracted Stickleaf, Indian Paintbrush, Desert Wishbone Plant, Mohave Aster, Phacelia, Euphorbia Chinese-Caps, Nicotiana, Tufted-Evening Primrose and more!
Panamint Daisy Report: Lots of 'um! Up Wildrose Canyon Rd the first side-canyon downhill from the stone picnic area there is a "token" daisy on the North side of the road. This marks the canyon to hike up. It is full of them in bloom - a few buds left to come. I counted over 200 plants in bloom! The hike will only take 5 minutes Also lots of Indian Paintbrush in bloom roadside on wildrose Rd headed back down to Stovepipe Wells (around Telephone Canyon)

Apr. 2, 2009 Phyllis reports: Photos taken this past Sunday Mar. 29th near Jubilee Pass and on Green Valley Road in Death Valley.

Mar. 30, 2009 Charlie DV Park reports: The wildflower bloom in the valley’s lower elevations is now at its peak. Along the roadsides and up the nearby alluvial fans are patches of Desert Gold, Notch-leaf Phacelia, Desert Fivespot, Gravel Ghost, Evening Primrose (Brown-eyed, Shredding, and Golden) along with several others. Lack of any recent rain and several days of drying wind will make the show quickly pass. Look for flowers along Highway 190 north of Furnace Creek, along the Scotty’s Castle Road north of the Titus Canyon junction, and along the Mud Canyon Road.

The Evening Primrose may already be gone in some places, eaten up by larvae of Sphinx Moths. Watch for mass migrations of these plump caterpillars with a prominent horn on their back end, crawling across the desert floor, looking for more wildflowers to eat. Fortunately, the adult moths are one of the flower’s primary pollinators.

In the mid-elevations the show is just now starting, but localized. Look for Fremont Phacelia and Desert Dandelion in Greenwater Valley. On the hills around Gold Valley there are impressive displays of Goldfields, but a four-wheel-drive vehicle is necessary to get there.

Mar. 26, 2009 Mary reports: I was in Death Valley from March 26 – 29, 2009. The report of flowers being spotty is accurate, but that should not undersell that some of the spots are spectacular. The Mud Canyon area is rich with flowers including golden evening primrose, shredding evening primrose, pebble pincushion, scented cryptantha, phacelia, and a few beavertail cactuses starting to bloom. A wash on the first part of the road to Dantes View had a nice display of desert dandelions, chicory, poppies, and goldfield. Driving into the park through the highway 190 entrance was sparse in quantity of flowers, but high in variety including broad leaf gilia, ghost flower mojavea and globemallow.

Mar. 26, 2009 Barbara reports: Photos taken in Mud Canyon on 3/25/09.

Mar. 20, 2009 Charlie DVNP reports: Temperatures have warmed to the low 90s along the valley floor, but no rain has fallen for weeks. Due to this, the spring bloom may peak in the lower elevations at the end of the month. Many wildflowers are bolting—rushing to produce seeds—so the plants are often tiny with few flowers. Although most wildflowers are primarily along the roadsides, there is quite a bit of variety if you look closely.

Visitors are finding roadside wildflowers along the Mud Canyon Road, Scotty’s Castle Road, Highway 190 east of Furnace Creek and along the Badwater Road. Those with high-clearance vehicles are finding spring wildflowers along the Echo Canyon Road, Hole-in-the-Wall Road, and Titus Canyon Road.

Some wildflowers currently in bloom: Desert Five-spot, Broad-flowered Gilia, Brittlebush, Panamint Daisy, Globemallow, Mojave Aster, Brown-eyed and Golden Evening Primrose, Lesser Mojavea, Notch-leaf Phacelia, Desert Gold, and Gravel Ghost.

Mar. 18, 2009 Phylis reports: These were taken on March 8th between the Furnace Creek Inn and Dantes View. Five-spot was taken on March 15th growing on Mud Canyon road by Hell’s Gate. There is lots of green so plenty more will bloom in the next month. Will send more updates.

Mar. 13, 2009 Doug reports: The best is coming. Returning from Death Valley through Ridgecrest, quite a few Sunflowers along the China Lake areas. We were pleasantly surprised at the rapid growth along 395, Red Mountain, Johannasburg and Randsburg areas in just a few days.

Mar. 13, 2009 Charlie Callagan DV ranger reports: The park has received little rain from recent storms. It is likely that the wildflower bloom will be very spotty in Death Valley this spring. The Creosote Bush is now blooming parkwide with other perennial shrubs also blooming in protected canyon environments. Park roadsides and some of the drainages south of Badwater remain the best spots for locating annual spring wildflowers. Flowers currently in bloom include Brown-eyed and Golden Evening Primrose, Lesser Mojavea, Notch-leaf Phacelia, Desert Gold, and Gravel Ghost. The peak blooming period this spring is expected to be late March to early April.

Mar. 1, 2009 Charlie Callagan DV ranger reports: Continuing light rains and cool temperatures have enhanced the prospect for a moderate display of wildflowers this spring. It is still a bit early to see much but pockets of Desert Gold and Brown-eyed Evening Primrose along the roadsides south of Badwater and the Encelia bushes blooming along the road to Scotty’s Castle. The peak blooming period is hard to predict but currently we believe late March to mid-April will afford the best wildflower viewing opportunities.

Feb. 16, 2009 Charlie Callagan DV ranger reports: A strong storm has brought one to two inches of rain and significant flooding throughout the park the last few days. This has greatly increased our prospects for spring wildflowers in Death Valley. Much of the park received an early rainfall in October and a parkwide rain, nearly one half inch, just before Thanksgiving. This early rain, followed by warm temperatures allowed a widespread sprouting of annual wildflowers seeds. Some of these such as Desert Gold, Brown-eyed Evening Primrose and Sand Verbena have already been observed blooming along park roadsides in the southern and northern ends of the park.

In Death Valley, the driest spot in North America, spring wildflowers are not a yearly event. It’s a rare treat for conditions to be just right. The bloom this spring may still be spotty, nothing like the huge blooms in 1998 and 2005, but still worth a viewing. The heavy rains were received late in the season, so the peak blooming period along the valley floor and up to 2,000 feet may be anywhere from mid-March to early April.

Feb. 8, 2009 Jordan DV ranger reports: Death Valley NP have recieved between 1 and 2" of rain parkwide in just the past few days. All park roads are currently flooded and closed! This spring should be a spectacular wildflower year!

Jan. 18, 2009 DUSA reports: Tuesday, becoming mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain on Wednesday and through the weekend. Highs around 70. Lows in the lower 40s.

Jan. 1, 2009 DUSA reports: Some early rain may help the wildflowers this year.