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Available Reviews
Zuma Canyon Topanga Canyon State Park Leo Carrillo State Park Malibu Creek State Park Paramount Ranch Las Virgenes View Park Triunfo Creek Park Will Rogers State Park Cold Creek Preserve Corral Canyon Park |
Date of Review
3/29. 3/27 & 2/8. 3/25. 3/18 & 3/7 & 3/4 & 2/21. 3/18 & 3/11. 3/18 & 3/7. 3/10. 3/8. 2/26. 1/25. |
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Many of you know quite a bit of the Santa Monica Mountains was burned this past fall in the Woolsey Fire. Consequently, it is important to make sure the place you want to hike is actually open for hiking. When in doubt it probably would be wise to check in with the park unit you wish to visit. With all of the rain a lot of people are expecting this to be a great flower year. I usually think of March 1 as the start of the flower season. How about you?
This site performs a public service that anyone can participate in. Let us all know what you are seeing! If you are new to submitting a report (or maybe even an old hand at it) be sure and read How To Submit a Flower Report — ed. |
| Zuma Canyon |
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3/29 |
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The post-fire Backbone Trail through upper Zuma Canyon is especially floriferous these days. Although I only saw 40 species in bloom, they were putting on quite a show. Of particular interest were the uncommon "fire-followers" -- Brewer's Milk Maids (Calandrinia breweri), Twining Snapdragon (Antirrhinum kelloggii), Star Lily (Toxicoscordion fremontii), California Mustard (Caulanthus lasiophyllus), Skullcap (Scutellaria tuberosa), Whipering Bells (Emmenanthe penduliflora), Coastal Lotus (Acmispon maritimus), Shiny lomatium (Lomatium lucidum), and Common Eucrypta (Eucrypta chrysamthemifolia), the latter convering entire hillsides.
From the intersection of Mulholland Highway and Encinal Canyon Road, take Encinal Canyon Road 0.7 miles to the Zuma Ridge Mwy. trailhead and park at a road pullout. From there it's about 1/3 mile walk along the Zuma Ridge Mwy. to the Backbone Trail. — Jay Sullivan |
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| Topanga Canyon State Park |
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3/27 |
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Things are really coming into bloom all across the Santa Monica Mountains. From Trippet Ranch, Topanga Canyon State Park offers a 1 mile Nature Trail loop. From the parking lot take the dirt road up to the Visitors Center. If it is Sunday it will be open. From the front of the Visitor's Center go up the stairs and onto the uphill trail.
This part is woodland and there are currently canyon sunflowers and hummingbird sage in bloom here. Continue uphill and cross the fire road to where the trail continues. Now you will be seeing greenback ceanothus as well as a spectacular ocean view. As the trail goes out into the chaparral the flowers are really spectacular. There are wishbone bush, encrypta, wild cucumber and some lovely masses of arroyo lupine and blue dicks. — Dorothy Steinicke |
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| Leo Carrillo State Park |
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3/25 |
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This is an area that burned entirely in the Woolsey Fire. Going there now is a look at how a landscape recovers. It is inspiring.
You can reach Nicholas Flats via a 6-mile uphill trail from Leo Carrillo Beach. Or you can drive up Decker Canyon Rd and access the "flat" area. Decker Canyon Rd then turn north on Decker School Road (NOT Decker School Lane, that is a bit further east). Take Decker School Rd to its dead end and look for a place to park off the pavement. There is a nicely surfaced trail that picks up from the end of the road. From where you park your car you can see masses of blue dicks and of padre's shooting stars interspersed with encrypt and punctuated by scarlet Indian paintbrush. The day I visited there were painted lady butterflies fluttering everywhere. Making our way down the trail we saw wild cucumber crawling across the bare ground, woolly lomatium, blue-eyed grass, purple nightshade and a few, gorgeous Catalina mariposa lilies. Then we came to stands of star lilies, scores of them. By the pond there is a field filled with common fiddle neck, large flowered phacelia and Parry's phacelia. I encourage you to, very carefully, take a look at the hilly meadow to the southeast of the pond, it is filled with chocolate lilies. — Dorothy Steinicke 
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| Malibu Creek State Park |
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3/18 |
In a very short distance on this steep, ridgecrest trail I saw blooming: wild cucumber, blue lupine, California poppy, Parry's phacelia (I think), fern-leaf phacelia, blue dicks, popcorn flower, large-flower phacelia, eucrypta, stinging lupine, a small yellow flower in the pea family that I haven't identified yet, Kellogg snapdragon, and a few others that I just don't know. All this in about 1/2 of a mile.
— Elizabeth Miller
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| Paramount Ranch |
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3/18 |
About 2 miles of gently rolling terrain with good footing. I saw the following in flower: stands of yellow violets in wet areas, California poppies, goldfields (Lasthenia californica), stinging lupine (Lupinus hirsutissimus), skullcap (Scutellaria tuberosa), lots of very showy dark purple/blue phacelia (Phacelia parryi?), fiddleneck (Amsinckia intermedia), a stand of white and yellow flowers in the Aster family -- all ray florets, yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei), lots of blue dicks (Dichelostemma capitatum) attracting lots of butterflies, blue larkspur (Delphinium parryi), small evening primrose (Camissonia), owl's clover (Castilleja), fern-leaf phacelia (Phacelia distans), blue lupine, a few chia (Salvia columbariae)
— Elizabeth Miller
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| Las Virgenes View Park |
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3/18/2019 |
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Hiked the Las Virgenes View Trail on March 18th. Not much the first half mile. Along the second half mile I saw Broad Leafed Lupine, Stinging Lupine, Sticky Phacelia, Fiesta Flower, Wishbone Bush, Blue Dick, Popcorn Flower, Eucrypta, Mariposa Lily, and Filaree. Hike another mile to the top of the ridge to see the hillside covered with Lupine . Turn left at the junction and go another mile to where lots of California Poppies are blooming with some other flowers mixed in, three miles from your car.
The Las Virgenes View Trail is located on the northeast corner of Las Virgenes Road and Mullholand. — Jim Garafalo 
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| Paramount Ranch |
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3/11/2019 |
I was last here in the first week of December. The park had just reopened after The Woolsey Fire and everything was burnt. Three months later it is bursting with life. There are huge orange patches of California poppies and huge yellow patches of goldfields, small yellow patches of Johnny jump-ups and common fiddle neck. I saw the first owl's clover, the first skullcap and the first fern leaf phacelia of the season. There are also wild peonies, stinging lupine and yucca in bloom. Many of the giant oaks that had appeared dead are putting out a green aura of leaves. It is pretty magical to see a place recover from what seemed to be a devastating fire.
— Dorothy Steinicke
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| Triunfo Creek Park |
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3/10/2019 |
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Trail 1: Pentachaeta Trail, starts southward [left] up the hill from the trailhead. Flowers in bloom include Pentachaeta, goldfields, poppies, pinks, red maids, shooting stars. Pinks are relatively thick about 1/4 mile up the trail. The best flowers were the dense shooting stars about a mile in, on both sides of the trail and also well up the slope at that point.
Trail 2: Westlake Vista a.k.a. Reservoir Trail, starts to your right across the valley floor. Flowers in bloom include shooting stars, pinks, johnny jump ups, red maids, Pentachaeta, goldfields, owl's clover, forget-me-nots, Indian warrior, poppies, lupine. Two really dense flower areas are the pinks, visible on the ridge to the left [south] of the reservoir plateau area. The trail is easy to the reservoir if you take the straight fork; the left fork at the far end of the valley is more interesting but a bit more rugged. You must go up the ridge to get to the hundreds of thousands of pinks. The other dense area is on the reservoir plateau itself, a huge field of yellow Pentachaeta and goldfields. The owls clover is most common at the north and south ends of this area. The best group of Indian warrior is about 3/4 of the way up the primary trail on the left side. — Bob Matthews 
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| Will Rogers State Park |
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3/8/2019 |
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Connects Temescal Gateway Park and Will Rogers State Park
From Temescal Canyon keep to the right on the paved road as it forks in the cabin area and look for a trail going uphill to the right. This is a two-mile connector between Temescal and Will Rogers, you can do a car shuttle or go in and back. Right now the greenbark ceanothus are in full bloom covered with clouds of pale blue flowers. They are the flower you see the most of on this trail. There are also bush and canyon sunflowers, wild cucumber, fiesta flower, Indian pinks, fuchsia flowering gooseberry and blue dicks. There will certainly be more flowers to come but this is a lovely flower hike in an area that did not burn. — Dorothy Steinicke 
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| Malibu Creek State Park |
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3/7/2019 |
Hiked the Phantom Trail on Match 7th. There are California Poppies growing on this trail, mostly near the ridge tops. Saw a variety of flowers here; Red Maids, Filaree, Sticky Phacelia, Caterpillar Phacelia, Indian Paintbrush, Wild Cucumber , and Broad leafed Lupine. Much of what is growing has not bloomed yet, so there should be a lot more blooms in a week or so. From the intersection of Las Virgenes and Mulholland drive approximately 2 miles west on Mulholland and look for switchbacks going up the hill. There used to be a trail sign but it burned in the fire.
— Jim Garafalo
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| Las Virgenes View Park |
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3/7/2019 |
Flowers are really starting to pop up on the New Millennium Loop Trail. There is lots of Filaree, and some patches of Red Maids and California Poppys. Also saw Blue Dicks,Eucrypta,Lupine, Wild Cucumber, and Indian Paintbrush. There are lots of plants growing that haven’t bloomed yet, so it should be even better in a week or two. I started at the trailhead at the Dog Park, about a mile south of the 101, across the street from AE Wright Middle School. I took the left fork of the New Millennium Trail. (Along the right fork there can be Caterpillar Phacelia).
— Jim Garafalo
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| Malibu Creek State Park |
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3/4/2019 |
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Yearling Trail to Cage Creek Trail to Crags Road to Lookout Trail to Yearling Trail
Reagan Ranch is the northwestern corner of Malibu Creek State Park. It receives few visitors but rewards those that come. Almost all of Malibu Creek State Park burned in the Woolsey Fire in November. The Reagan Ranch area burned completely. It is now starting to visibly recover. From the point where Mulholland Hwy is crossed by Cornell to the north and Lake Vista to the south, turn south on Lake Vista and then immediately turn left through a gate and then left again into a dirt parking lot. There are no signs. From there walk in on the paved driveway. You will reach the site of the Reagan Ranch a house and barns that were completely destroyed in the Woolsey Fire and are now enclosed by a fence. You will have to make your way around the fence to the meadow beyond. You are now on the Yearling Trail through Reagan Meadows. Here, you can't see evidence of the fire, all is green. In the meadow there are fiddle necks, shiny lomatium, California poppies, red maids and Johnny jump-ups, a yellow violet that is not commonly seen. In the more obviously burned chaparral and woodland areas there are wild cucumber, encrypt, blue dicks, Indian paintbrush, lots of lupine and lots of wild peony in bloom. It is exciting to see so many flowers and to know that more are certainly on the way. — Dorothy Steinicke 
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| Cold Creek Preserve |
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2/26/2019 |
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Enter from a parking lot on the right side of Stunt Rd, 1 mile in from Mulholland Highway.
From the parking lot the trail descends and parallels a babbling creek that is far below the trail. At first I didn't see any blooms but then there were milkmaids, lots of them, lining the trail on both sides. When the trail climbs out of the riparian area and into chaparral there are big pod ceanothus in bloom as well as fuchsia flowering gooseberry, purple nightshade, wild cucumber and blue dicks. There are some lovely patches of red maids and some wild peony buds that are just about to burst open. The flowering ash are in bloom and really lovely. The white chaparral current, something I've only ever seen on this trail, is just finishing its bloom. — Dorothy Steinicke 
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| Malibu Creek State Park |
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2/21/2019 |
| Malibu Creek State Park is again open to the public. It is very clear that the Woolsey Fire came through but most of the landscape is now green, albeit with non-native grasses. The grasslands are punctuated with big oak trees that are mostly blackened or at least scorched, but most look like they are going to survive. I went looking for flowers and found very few. I saw some wild cucumber and a few patches of California poppy and a single blue dick. So, not a hike for flowers yet, but still a worthwhile hike for dramatic panoramas and the reassurance that the land is healing. I think there will be a lot of flowers next month. — Dorothy Steinicke | ||
| Topanga State Park |
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2/8/2019 |
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From the Trippet Ranch parking lot, follow the paved trail up the hill, at the top a dirt trail leads off to the right. This trail wanders its way uphill and then you can make a loop by returning on the fire road. About 3 miles.
The Woolsey Fire did not reach Topanga State Park so this is a place where you can just enjoy the chaparral and not learn fire ecology. The big pod ceanothus are in bloom and they are everywhere. The mountainsides look as though they are dusted in snow. There is a faint scent of honey everywhere. There are a few other flowers in bloom; wild cucumber, Eastwood manzanita, chaparral current, and purple nightshade, but this hike is all about the ceanothus. It is breathtaking. — Dorothy Steinicke 
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| Corral Canyon Park |
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1/25/2019 |
Access this trail from the paid parking lot by Malibu Seafood. Or park for free on the shoulder of PCH. Look for the trail leaving from the southeast corner of the parking lot. This was the first time I have walked this trail since the Woolsey Fire. The hillsides are now at least as green as they are black. Unfortunately a lot of that green consists of invasive mustard plants. But the wild cucumber is giving the mustards a good competition and many are already in bloom. Usually this is a plant that climbs over other plants but since the other plants are gone the wild cucumber is sprawled across the ground. I saw a few patches of blooming blue dicks. I recognized a fair number of other flowering species that are starting to grow. I have high hopes for this trail come spring.
— 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"
