Superbloom Poppy Fields at Antelope Valley in Southern California

Superbloom Poppy Fields at Antelope Valley

If you love flower fields, you may have heard about the Spring poppy fields in Southern California. During Superbloom years, they’re so popular that they create major traffic jams near popular areas in the L.A. area even! Many people, including myself, drive hundreds of miles to see these amazing flower fields full of bright orange California poppies for themselves.

During the first Superbloom season that we were aware of (in 2017), Ken and I drove from the San Francisco Bay Area to Southern California on a Superbloom road trip that also included a stop at the Carrizo Plain National Monument, where we saw spectacular fields of yellow and orange wildflowers! Since the poppy reserve at Antelope Valley is known for fields of bright orange poppies (which are one of my favorite flowers!), I had high hopes for our visit!

What we saw when we arrived was like a scene out of a fantasy film… vast endless fields blanketed with golden orange poppies as far as the eyes can see… it was shocking and it was spectacular! Despite all the pictures we had seen beforehand, there is nothing like experiencing the Superbloom in person! We were both stunned by the endless fields of poppies that we saw there on that bright and beautiful mid-April day. It was truly a beautiful and amazing sight and we simply could not believe it was real!

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The Superbloom in California

According to Wikipedia, “A superbloom is a rare desert botanical phenomenon in which an unusually high proportion of wildflowers whose seeds have lain dormant in desert soil germinate and blossom at roughly the same time. The phenomenon is associated with an unusually wet rainy season.”

A Superbloom of Spring wildflowers in California happens rarely, only after a particularly wet winter, and usually in the desert areas near San Diego and Walker Canyon / Lake Elsinore. Some years, however, the Superbloom spreads north, to the remote Carrizo Plain, and to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve and surrounding areas. In 2017 and 2019, these areas were literally covered with bright orange, yellow, white and purple wildflowers as in a flower-covered world!

For current wildflower conditions and outlook for the Southern California parks, check out the California State Parks Wildflower Bloom page. There’s even a webcam for the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve!

The Superbloom typically doesn’t reach this level in Northern California, but if you live in or visit the San Francisco Bay Area in the Spring, check out the poppy fields at Mt Diablo State Park in the East Bay! There are poppies and other wildflowers there nearly every year, along with spectacular mountain-top views!

By the way, if you love flowers as much as I do, you might be interested in my post on the Most Beautiful Flower Books (it’s one of my most popular posts!). I also design flower-themed notebooks and journals you might like! Here’s an example on Amazon.