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Available Reviews
Topanga State Park Malibu Creek State Park Zuma Canyon |
Date of Review
01/08. 01/06. 01/01. |
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| Topanga State Park |
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01/08/2023 |
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I was very curious to know the state of the canyon after three inches of rain in the past week.
This canyon has been dramatically impacted in the past couple years, first by the Palisades Fire in May on 2021 and then by the heavy rains in December 2021 and January 2022 which caused the soil on the slopes, that after the fire no longer had plants holding it in place, to wash into and fill the creek. This resulted in the creek appearing to be a graded dirt roadway that most hikers used as a trail. After last week’s big rains the creek no longer looks like a roadway. It looks like a wide and rushing creek. Some of the trail also looks like a creek. There is a good deal of mud. It is an exciting hike, but know that your shoes will get muddy. On the canyon floor there was not much in bloom. I only saw blooming bay trees. However I took the trail toward Trippet Ranch and climbing up into the chaparral I encountered a suite of white flowers. The most notable is the big pod ceanothus whose honey-like smell permeates the area. There are also wild cucumber vines in flower, twiggy wreath plant, California everlasting and wild morning glory. Most exciting to me was the view of the mountainside across the canyon. It burned and for the past year and a half has been blackened and bare, now it is vibrantly green. — Dorothy Steinicke 
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| Malibu Creek State Park |
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01/06/2023 |
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We wanted to take advantage of a break in the rain and get outside and hike, hopefully without getting too muddy. Malibu Creek State Park seemed to be a good choice. It is a place where you can have a real hike on what is essentially a graded dirt road.
We hiked from the lower parking lot on Crags Road to where took the bridge over Malibu Creek and turned left onto Mott Road. We took that to where the state park ends and then turned back and retraced our steps. We got there early on a foggy weekday morning and had the feeling that we had the enormous place to ourselves. To my disappointment, it seemed that we were too early for flowers. There was a cudweed aster flower here and a goldenbush flower there. The only plants in full bloom were the California bay trees. However there were a plethora of birds. As we walked along the road we saw juncos, towhees, white crowned sparrows, scrub jays, and flycatchers. A flock of California quail flew up from the creek. In the creek, which was more like a raging river, there were great blue herons, egrets, mallards and coots. All the trees seemed to be filled with acorn woodpeckers. Too soon for many flowers but still a nice walk. — Dorothy Steinicke |
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| Zuma Canyon |
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01/01/2023 |
I celebrated the start of 2023 and the rainfall that has come with it by hiking in Zuma Canyon. The hillsides are still more gray than green but the creek was flowing and the flowers are starting to bloom. We walked along the flat canyon bottom, trying to avoid mud and fording the stream when necessary. After three crossings it looked too deep to try and we returned on the Zuma Loop Trail that traverses the northern shoulder of the canyon. It was exciting to see the big pod ceanothus starting, clumps of it were frequently encountered. There was also a good bit of chaparral currant and wild cucumber getting started. There was a lot of scalebroom growing alongside the creek. We also saw white and purple nightshade, deerweed, wild morning glory, bush mallow, cudweed aster and mulefat. A very good start of the new year.
— Dorothy Steinicke
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Contact Information:
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Santa Monica Mountains NRA 401 West Hillcrest Drive Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 805-370-2301 www.nps.gov/samo |
If you would like to contribute a wildflower report you can e-mail the editor at: SMMWildFlowers@gmail.com |
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What's Blooming
on the web at
www.smmflowers.org/whatsblooming
or go to
www.nps.gov/samo
click on
"Plan Your Visit" > "Things to Do" > "Look for Wildflowers"
