Our Super Bloom Experience in Southern California

Walker Canyon in Lake Elsinore & the Flower Fields at Carlsbad

Spring is such an exciting season, with all the flowers blooming after a rainy winter season. The first time I heard about the super bloom traffic in Southern California was in Lake Elsinore. The field of orange just looked so beautiful, it encouraged me to find other places where poppies are blooming. It seemed very hectic at Walker Canyon though, especially hearing the news of it being closed down to the public. Many people ignored the signs of staying on the trail, harming the flowers and its growth in the future. After we accepted a photography work in San Diego, I knew that we’d be close to two flower fields. I kept thinking about checking out both, Walker Canyon in Lake Elsinore and the Flower Fields at Carlsbad. They’re both close to where we worked at, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to check out both.

We were able to drive and park by the Flower Fields at Carlsbad from across the street. We saw a farm of beautiful flowers blooming in many different colors. It was very tempting to visit but we wanted to pay less to see wild flowers instead. The fee is about $20.00 for each of us, but thought we can always visit some other time. We were driving back home to LA, when we ended up passing by Walker Canyon in Lake Elsinore. Although it was announced closed and the freeway road exit was blocked by police officers, we still saw hundreds of people. They were on every trail visible from the freeway and their cars were all lined up, parked along the hillside. We decided to keep driving to avoid the traffic that was building up from the super bloom. We were hopeful that we’ll get to experience it elsewhere.

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve in Lancaster

Located at 15101 Lancaster Rd, Lancaster, CA 93536

After a few days of being back home in LA, I’ve noticed another location in the city of Lancaster that people are visiting for the blooming orange poppies. Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is another area where you can visit the super bloom this spring, aside from Lake Elsinore. It’s also an actual park away from the city, where it’s more enjoyable to roam around. It’s listed under the California Department of Parks and Recreation, found located near the Angeles National Forest.

Ever since I moved to LA, it’s the first time I’ve seen Southern California experience an abundance of wild flowers. They’re growing everywhere, creating a beautiful field of all kinds of colors. We didn’t only see orange, we also saw purple and yellow wild flowers growing! I also felt more comfortable exploring the super bloom at Antelope Valley because they actually have live updates and promising information online. It was very windy (as noted on their website) when Chris and I went, but it was perfect for video clips and we enjoyed every second being here! Also, no poppies were harmed during our photoshoot. It looks like we’re in the flowers since we’re shooting at a low vantage point and was far away from our camera.

Parking

We did experience a long line of cars at the main parking lot on a Thursday afternoon, but we went back on Fairmont-Neenach Rd. to park our car there instead. There’s also a parking fee at the main parking lot (it would’ve been $10.00 for our car). Be sure to check out their website (linked above) before heading to Antelope Valley of how much your parking fee will be. They prefer cash, but card payments are also accepted. There were many others who also parked on Fairmont-Neenach Rd. because there’s a wide range of poppies blooming around this road too.

Staying on the Trail

There are many trails at Antelope Valley to easily avoid walking on the flowers. We followed the rules of staying on the trail and tried our best not to kill any of the flowers. We definitely want them to grow again in the future, so we were mindful of staying on the trail. If you’re still planning on seeing the orange poppies, be sure to check them out this month. Antelope Valley notes that the bloom should last through April, before they’re all gone. They’ll have updates available until Mother’s Day. This was a sweet adventure to not miss this spring season. Enjoy!

Thank you for reading! 🙂

-Selle