Please share your wildflower pictures for Southern California, including the date and location. We will post your photos on our Wildflower Reports page, so others can learn where and when to view the spectacular displays.
- E-mail your digital photos and reports to Jim@desertusa.com. Use Wildflower Report as the subject of your e-mail. Let us know where you took the image, the date, and how you would like us to give you photo credit (first name, etc.)
- Text your photos to 760-740-1787. Be sure to include the location and the name you want to be credited for the photos.
Note: Spring is one of the most beautiful times of the year in the desert, but it can also be a time for caution. Rattlesnakes lie dormant during the cold fall and winter months and awaken from hibernation in the warm months of March and April. Another reason to stay on the trails. More…
2026 Southern California Wildflower Reports
Feb 27, 2026 Donna Reports: Did an early scouting trip this morning in the Antelope Valley. Still early, but it looks like a banner year is coming with the warmer nighttime temperatures! The best poppy blooms with Lupine and Chia were along the Munoz Ranch Road. Johnson Road, off Munoz Ranch, didn’t have much yet. The promise of really good color at the Poppy Reserve is exciting. Much further west (280th), there were already some good fields as well. The north side of the 14 freeway at the pass through Acton had some nice spots as well.
Feb 7, 2026 Daisy Reports: Took these photos Saturday, February 7, 2026 on Phantom Trail – Mulholland Drive.Many great patches of wildflowers on this trail! Now is definitely a great time to hike this one, thank you to Bob for the suggestion!
Feb 6, 2026 Bob Reports: Santa Monica mountains recreational area. News for three trails. I’ll start with the best one
Phantom Trail – Mulholland Drive (opposite side of road from Cistern Trail – goes north to Liberty Canyon Road). Large quantity of blooms. I’ll them in roughly descending order by quantity. Ceanothus (mostly blue, some white) – covers entire hillsides in places; California brittlebush; mustard; datura; lupine; Indian paintbrush; four o’clock; popcorn; Caterpillar phacelia; filaree; California poppy; wild cucumber; purple nightshade; bush poppy; California aster; sugar bush; and Parry’s Phacelia. Most of the bloom looks early yet, more to come within a week. The approach to the trailhead along Mulholland in either direction has denser lupine than the trail, mostly on the north side of the road, and more west of the trailhead than east of it.
Triunfo Creek Park – ceanothus (white), purple nightshade, peonies, shooting stars, spreading phlox, mustard, monkeyflower, blue dicks, goldfields. Only the ceanothus is dense. More flowers on the Westlake Vista (reservoir) side than on the Pentachaeta side.
Lake Eleanor Ridge trail (parallel to Westlake Blvd on the east side) – ceanothus (white), purple nightshade, peonies, shooting stars, spreading phlox, mustard, chocolate lilies, four o’clock, blue dicks, lupine, wild Canterbury bells. Only the ceanothus is dense; most of the shooting stars have gone to seed even though they usually don’t even start until Valentine’s Day (I saw a few starting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving this season!).
Jan 22, 2026 Dennis Reports: Taken January 22, 2026. There are nice patches of Desert Sand Verbena, Annual Evening Primrose, and Desert Lily just off of I-8 on Grays Wells Road near the California/Arizona/Mexico border. The area is at the southern end of the Imperial Dunes and camping is allowed on BLM sites there.
Jan 19, 2026 Scott Reports: pringtime in January? These blue phacelias, California poppies and Bigelow coreopsis think so. If this were a superbloom, that hillside would be carpeted in blue, orange and yellow. This is one of the secret gardens of California poppies in the eastern Sierra that is accessed by 4×4 on occasionally maintained dirt roads. It is about 1,000 ft. above CA-14. Meanwhile, down on the desert floor, there is wholesale desiccation. What was green new growth a few weeks ago is now browning. That damage cannot be undone
Jan 9, 2026 Scott Reports: My first desert candle of 2026! About a mile or two northeast of California City. There are several groves in the area, but I only looked at this one. This was the only stalk I saw. Is that a bee I see, or is it a bee fly?
Jan 4, 2026 Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve
This iconic poppy reserve, home to thick blankets of California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) and other wildflowers, relies heavily on sustained winter moisture for superb fields.
While statewide rainfall patterns have varied, plenty of above-normal rainfall totals have been recorded in parts of Southern California’s interior valleys and foothills, contributing to improved prospects for poppy blooms.
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Southern California Inland Fields
Areas like Lake Elsinore’s Walker Canyon and surrounding inland ridges have already shown sporadic blooms in years with good fall/winter rain. Based on CA rainfall data, many inland valley stations are reporting rainfall totals well above normal for this point in the season, which boosts the chances of poppies and lupines lighting up hillsides in the near future.
Poppy Outlook
- Early conditions now favor vibrant poppy fields, particularly where winter rains have pooled in gentle slopes and valley grasslands.
- Peak timing for inland poppies is typically late February through April, potentially starting as early as mid-February in warmer, low-elevation locales.
Photos tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function – usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers – This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More…
Desert Wildflowers and Plants Field Guide Kindle Edition
Other DesertUSA Resources
Wildflower Information & Hotlines