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Available Reviews
Rivas Canyon Topanga Canyon State Park Malibu Creek State Park Newton Canyon Solstice Canyon Paramount Ranch Triunfo Creek Park Circle X Ranch Point Mugu State Park Zuma/Trancas Canyons Topanga Canyon State Park Leo Carrillo State Park Las Virgenes View Park Will Rogers State Park Cold Creek Preserve Corral Canyon Park |
Date of Review
7/16. 6/14 & 5/24 & 3/18 & 3/7. 6/6 & 5/13 & 5/10 & 4/19 & 4/15 & 3/18 & 3/7 & 3/4 & 2/21. 6/2. 5/7. 5/1 & 3/18 & 3/11. 4/22 & 3/10. 4/20 & 4/12. 4/18. 4/17. 3/27 & 2/8. 3/25. 3/8. 2/26. 1/25. |
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This has been a year when almost any hike you take in a wild place is going to give you a gratifying display of wildflowers. The popular media has frequently provided us all with dramatic flower reports and suggestions of where to see the more spectacular displays. Added to that is the drama and beauty of the recovering burned landscapes here in the Santa Monica Mountains. All in all this is a flower season not to be missed.
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. |
| Rivas Canyon |
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7/16 |
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Find this trail by walking into Temescal Gateway Park. At the end of the parking lot take the paved fork to the right and continue on a quarter mile or so until you see a sign on the right indicating the Rivas Canyon Trail. This is a much less traveled trail than the Temescal "Loop". It is about 2 miles to Will Rogers and then, of course, about 2 miles back. This trail starts and continues with a relentless uphill and you are rewarded with some lovely ocean views. Then it is downhill to Will Rogers and reversed on the return. It is quite an aerobic work out and the trail is mostly exposed chaparral so mornings and evenings are most enjoyable.
I was stunned at the profusion of flowers still in bloom. There was nothing out of the ordinary blooming but there was a tremendous amount of ordinary flowers in bloom. There were great banks of California buckwheat and of cliff aster, laurel sumac bushes and toyon trees were utterly covered in flowers. Heart leaf penstemon, wild morning glory, honeysuckle and black sage either draped over the banks of flowers or poked out through them. All of this is punctuated with some lovely pink bush mallow, purple big flower phacelia and yellow sunflowers. Blooming yucca crowns the hilltops. There are long stretches where the trail is lined with bright yellow slender tarweed. The greenback ceanothus are coming out with a second bloom on twigs that have grown out from the place where they had flowers in March and fruit in May. I don't ever recall such a flower filled July. — Dorothy Steinicke 
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| Topanga Canyon State Park |
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6/14 |
The flowers in this canyon, and then the chaparral beyond, just keep getting better and better. There are many, gorgeous, Humboldt lilies in bloom. I can never tire of seeing them. Otherwise the riparian area, while beautiful, does not have a lot of flowers. There is heart-leaf penstemon, canyon sunflower, wild rose and sticky monkey flower. There are more treats in store when reaching the chaparral area. The scarlet larkspur are in full and beautiful bloom and so are the spectacular Plummer's mariposa lilies. Also in the chaparral are tiny sapphire wool stars and towering yuccas, white snapdragon, mustard evening primrose, dudley's and golden star lilies.
— Dorothy Steinicke
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| Malibu Creek State Park |
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6/6 |
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There are still a lot of wildflowers blooming on the Backbone Trail where it crosses Piuma Road. I saw Golden Yarrow, Fern Leaf Phacelia, Indian Pinks, Wooley Blue Curl, Elegant Clarkia, Fleabane Aster,California Buckwheat, California Fuchsia, Orange Monkey Flower, Black Sage, Purple Sage, Bush Mallow, and Canyon Sunflower.
To access the Trailhead, drive up Piuma Road about 2 miles from Las Virgenes Road to the first big hair pin turn. This is where the Backbone Trail crosses Piuma. There is only parking for one car at the trailhead, so drive till you find a turnout to park in, and walk back down. Take the trail on the east side of the street. — Jim Garafalo 
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| Newton Canyon |
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6/2 |
| Last weekend, June 2nd, I went back out to Newton Canyon off Kanan Rd. for the third time to check out the Humboldt Lilly blooms. There are at least a dozen of them about 1/4 mile from the trailhead. The large flowered phacelia is still blooming and growing about 4 ft tall. Still patches of collarless poppies, fringed pink, caterpillar phacelia, yucca, morning glory, yellow monkey flower, cliff aster, bleeding heart and California hedge nettle. Can't believe there's still abundant wildflowers in June. — Kathy Jonokuchi | ||
| Topanga Canyon State Park |
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5/24 |
The beginning of this hike is a lovely creekside ramble. There is still quite a bit of water in the creek and some of the many crossings are a little tricky. This is a cool, peaceful and mostly flat walk and there aren’t a huge amount of flowers although there are patches of canyon sunflower, elderberry, purple nightshade, hedge nettle and a single, hidden globe lily. The explosion of flowers comes as you head uphill into the chaparral. There you find abundant, golden yarrow, black sage, California buckwheat, dudleyas, yellow and white pincushions, Turkish rugging white snapdragon and blue larkspur. I do always want to point out that the canyon area of this hike is thick with poison oak.
— Dorothy Steinicke
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| Malibu Creek State Park |
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5/13 |
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We took the southern half of the Phantom Trail again yesterday [5/12/19]. This is the Mulhollland end, heading north towards Liberty Canyon Road. It's still quite an experience, but changed from last month. Now, it's Butterfly Central - - millions of them [no exaggeration]. They're swarming all around you at the trailhead, and they're all over the flowers in front of and beside you as you walk. You'll flush them off the plants as you go. We were totally alone on the trail, yet far from alone - - no other people, but more butterflies in a couple hours than you'll likely see the rest of your life.
As for plants, the flower mix is now mostly wild mustard and at least three types of phacelia, including the large flower kind. There are still poppies in bloom here up near the highest peak along the trail; a few thousand there and along the nearby ridges, not many elsewhere. We did also see lots of other flowers, but in smaller quantities: datura, scarlet pimpernel, owls clover, Indian paintbrush, snakeroot, common sunflower, and something white and vaguely snapdragonish [see photo] among others we couldn't identify. As expected, the lupine were all but gone, having turned into tan crunchy hollow stalks that crumble easily. As for trail conditions, the mustard has really taken over for much of the first mile; it wraps around your feet as you hike, whaps you in the face, and tugs at your arms. Very bush-whacky, not suitable for children. Even finding the trail is more of a challenge now; the half-burned sign is now shrouded in mustard, and the path is overgrown enough that you have to pick your way along it carefully. But if you need a final flower fix before the season ends, or want to be totally surrounded by butterflies, check it out. How many butterflies can you count? Less than a dozen and you're not trying. — Bob Matthews 
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| Malibu Creek State Park |
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5/10 |
Today I hiked the westbound backbone trail from the Piuma Trailhead, just south of Tapia Park on Malibu Canyon Road. If you hike a couple miles up this trail you will be treated to fields of Large Flowered Phacelia. I have never seen so much of this flower in one place, spectacular! Look for them on the side of the trail that slopes down into the canyon. On the way up I saw Orange Monkey Flower, Yellow Pincushion, Bush Lupine, Deerweed, Morning Glory, a couple other kinds of Phacelia, Bush Poppy, Indian Stars, and a couple of Fire Poppy’s.
— Jim Garafalo
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| Solstice Canyon |
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5/7 |
Solstice Canyon has reopened within the last month following damage from the Woolsey Fire. Most trails are now open. I took the TRW Loop which heads uphill starting just beyond the parking lot. The first impression is that there is nothing there but the charred skeletons of chaparral shrubs and endless invasive mustard plants, many over ten feet tall. However, a closer look shows that there are many native plants growing under and around the mustard. There is a lot of wild morning glory, caterpillar phacelia and bush sunflower. Fire followers; coastal lotus, Hubby's phacelia, sticky phacelia and large flower phacelia are present. I encountered the first rose snapdragons that I have seen this season. As the trail descends to the creek there is much less mustard and quite a bit of canyon sunflower.
— Dorothy Steinicke
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| Paramount Ranch |
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5/1 |
Paramount Ranch has been absolutely stunning and there are still a great variety of flowers but it is apparent that this years bloom has passed its peak. There are entire hillsides covered in large flower phacelia as well as hillsides covered in caterpillar phacelia. There are globe lilies and Catalina mariposa lilies and those flowers alone make any hike magical. There are many golden star lilies interspersed with elegant clarkia, owl's clover, whispering bells and golden yarrow. My hike was especially enchanting as it was engulfed in another wave of painted lady butterflies, they were flying and resting everywhere.
— Dorothy Steinicke
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| Triunfo Creek Park |
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4/22 |
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From the 101 exit on Lindero Canyon and drive south until Lindero ends. Turn left and park, the park is in on your right.
If you look online, the Pentachaeta Trail is purported to be a loop. I've been coming here for years and have never found this loop. You can take the trail that goes slightly left and far up the hill or you can take the trail to your right that goes through a valley before climbing up to where you can view the reservoir. I usually do both but I have never been able to make them connect. But if you love flowers it doesn't matter, both trails have amazing flowers. This is an area that burned in the Woolsey Fire, all it seems except a single valley oak that still casts a wide circle of shade in the valley. There are the signature, tiny pentachaetas, minute yellow daisies. There are many, many Catalina mariposa lilies, globe lilies and even a few early yellow mariposas. There are creek monkey flowers in the creek bed even though the creek has gone dry. There are many clarkia; purple clarkia, willow herb clarkia, elegant clarkia and farewell-to-spring (No! Don't go!). There are some eye catching ground pinks although not the massive displays that I have sometimes seen here. There are some fire poppies and the fire following bleeding heart poppies are just getting started. There is some lovely bitter root. This is the only place that I have seen it in the Santa Monica Mountains. — Dorothy Steinicke 
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| Circle X Ranch |
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4/20 |
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We did our traditional Easter weekend hike on the Mishe Mokwa Trail. It is a whole new world with all the shrubbery removed. But the trail from the upper trailhead to Split Rock is a wonderland of flowers, possibly more than I have ever seen anywhere. The return, especially around Sandstone Peak, has many fewer flowers and still looks rather desolate.
We walked the loop counter-clockwise, starting at the upper trailhead, going to Split Rock and then on to Sandstone Peak. This is an area burned by the Woolsey Fire in November. The result, after all the rain, is some of the most amazing masses of flowers that I have ever seen anywhere. Starting in chaparral there are thousands of mariposa lilies mixed with blue dicks, large flowered phacelia, popcorn flower and more star lilies than I think I have ever seen. On the downhill to Split Rock we started seeing lots of fire poppies, yellow throated phacelia, collarless poppies, blue larkspur, owl's clover, peninsular onion and twining snapdragon. Heading up from Split Rock the flowers are less densely packed. There are some remaining padre's shooting stars, Chinese houses, yellow pincushion and globe gillia. — Dorothy Steinicke 
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| Malibu Creek State Park |
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4/19 |
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The Mesa Peak Motorway section of the Backbone trail (from Malibu Canyon Rd. up west to the ridge line) wasn't seriously affected by the Woolsey fire, so it's flora isn't a whole lot different from previous years. But at 90+ species in bloom it's definitely worth the hike. I did see a few fire followers -- Fire poppy (Papaver californicum), Violet snapdragon (Antirrhinum nuttallianum), and tons of Large-flowered phacelia (Phacelia grandiflora). Also on display were Large-flowered lotus (Acmispon grandiflorus), a species I rarely run across elsewhere, and the bloomingest flower of the day, Fiesta flower (Pholistoma auritum).
— Jay Sullivan |
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| Point Mugu State Park |
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4/18 |
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The Serrano Canyon Trail is an uncrowded and lovely hike in this enormous state park. Enter at the Big Sycamore Canyon entrance, walk through the campground to where the Big Sycamore dirt road begins. Walk about a mile to where the Serrano Canyon Trail goes off to the right. You can follow this for a long way. Ultimately you can turn on the Boney Mountain Trail and circle back to Big Sycamore Road, but that makes about an 11 mile hike. Or you can just turn back at any time, knowing that you will spot things you didn't see coming through the first time.
There were many flowers in bloom. There was nothing rare or unusual but just so much of all the usual flowers that it was a wonderful experience. Deerweed was everywhere frequently Catalina mariposa and morning glories poking through it. There were lots of star lilies, lots of collarless poppies, whispering bells, white pincushion, blue eyed grass, Chinese houses, Parry's phacelia, popcorn flower and so many others. Water was flowing in the creek and virgin's bower was tumbling down from above. It was a spectacular hike. — Dorothy Steinicke 
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| Malibu Creek State Park |
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4/15 |
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I hiked the Cistern Trail at Malibu Creek State Park in Calabasas, that was burned in the Woolsey Fire. The photos don't do justice to show the diverse display of wildflowers. There were hundreds of caterpillars, mostly painted lady with a few white-lined sphinx moth, munching away at the lupines. Wildflowers seen: Windmill Pink, Caterpillar Phacelia, Eucrypta, Matilija Poppy, Morning Glory, Yucca, White Snapdragon, Globe Lily, Catalina Mariposa Lily, Popcorn Flower, Mustard Evening Primrose, Western Wallflower, Black Mustard, Whispering Bells, Golden Stars, Coastal Lotus, California Poppy, Scarlet Pimpernel, Indian Paintbrush, Owl's Clover, Stinging Lupine, Dove Lupine, Tomcat Clover, Filaree, Wishbone Bush, Red Maids, Parry's Phacelia, Sticky Phacelia, Fiesta Flower, Blue-eyed Grass, Foothill Lupine, Winter Vetch, Purple Nightshade, Nemophilia, Wild Hyacinth, Twining Snapdragon, Cliff Aster and others that I couldn't identify. The Cistern Trail is marked by a sign on Mulholland between Cornell Rd and Malibu Canyon Rd. Easy, free parking along the road, a moderate walk down about a mile and you can see the Century Lake.
— Kathy Jonokuchi 
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| Zuma/Trancas Canyons |
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4/13 |
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Trail – Backbone trail from Encinal to Etz Maloy Motorway. Below Mulholland is a spectacular show of Phacelias. Including what my fellow hikers were calling Giant Phacelia – perhaps Phacelia grandiflora. Above Mulholland the Phacelias continued and some large groups of Mariposa Lily. Puffball mushrooms were also off the trail. Twining Snapdragon and Star Lily – plus a few Fire poppies.
— Vicki Wilson |
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| Circle-X Ranch |
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4/12 |
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The post-fire Canyon View Trail is a garden currently with over 40 species in bloom, including such rarely seen fire-followers as Large-flowered phacelia (Phacelia grandiflora), Fire poppy (Papaver californicum), Wild parsley (Apiastrum angustifolium), Stickleaf (Mentzelia micrantha), and Many-nerved catchfly (Silene coniflora). The masses of yellow flowers adorning the Circle-X hills are Collarless California poppies (Eschscholzia caespitosa).
— Jay Sullivan |
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| Malibu Creek State Park |
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4/11 |
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Best Trail Yet
Greetings all. Preface: we've been all over this spring. Anza Borrego, Joshua Tree, Walker Canyon, Diamond Valley Lake, Simi Peak, Mt. Allen, Chesebro, Ahmanson Ranch, Newbury Park, Triunfo Creek, Malibu, Carrizo Plain, Shell Creek Road, Antelope Valley, Mojave, Red Rock Canyon, etc. It's been great all over. BUT if there's one trail to take right now to not just see flowers but to have an Experience, take the Phantom Trail between the south end of Liberty Canyon Road and Mulholland Highway [in either direction via car shuttle or round trip; it's 2.8 miles one way]. Over the top stunning. Nature has reclaimed the land after the Woolsey fire. Hills of lupines all around you above Mulholland. Dozens of species at or near their peak. HUGE specimens of plants - - lupines up to your chest with 2-foot long flowers, several kinds of phacelia up to head-high, wild mustard that LeBron couldn't jump to the tops of. Sections of trail that felt like bushwhacking through a jungle in Central America the flowers were so thick - - at times you're hiking through a flower tunnel over your head and all around you so thick you can't see the trail, you just had to trust that the least flower-choked path ahead was where the trail went. Clusters of a dozen of more mariposa lilies all together. Hilltops with poppies and lupines as stunning foreground and green foliage-yellow mustard-blue lupine pastel hills as the background. It's was breathtaking! The flowers are peaking now, but some won't last long given the mammoth caterpillar population we saw at work there Wednesday. Logistical note: for the north end of the trail, drive to where Liberty Canyon Road dead ends next to a construction site [with private roads to the left]. Walk through the gate ahead [there's a gap], proceed a couple hundred yards south along the road, and find the trail bending right through the field just beyond the new home construction area fence. You'll quickly come to a fire road; hang a left onto it, then look for the Phantom Trail sign along the valley floor on the right. The trail goes west-southwest from there. Starting elevation is about 700 feet. For the south end, drive just over 1.8 miles west from Las Virgenes on Mulholland [the official 1.5 miles is wrong] or 1.3 miles east from Cornell. There's a large turnout area you can park in on the south side. As a way to check, if you're facing east towards Las Virgenes, you'll see the sign for the Cistern Trail on the hill at the east end of the parking area. To find the Phantom trailhead, look for the "road curves left" sign on the north side; the almost-unmarked trail [portions of the signs burned] starts on the north side of the road in the next wash to the west of that road sign and switchbacks up the canyon wall. It may be hard to find the trail underneath all the vegetation; we suggest using Google Earth in advance to locate the switchbacks. Elevation at the Mulholland end is about 1000 feet. High point on the trail is about 1400 feet. The "jungle" section starts just after you climb out of the canyon coming from the north trailhead and have passed a 4-way trail crossing. Go straight through the notch, then turn left as the trail marker ahead indicates to stay on the Phantom Trail; going right at the 4-way or not angling left after the notch goes to the Udell motorway. Left at the 4-way takes you over a ridge and reconnects with the Phantom trail on the other side of it; take this to avoid the jungle if desired, it's much easier walking. The jungle may be missed coming from the south [Mulholland] trailhead since the trail marker nearest it directs you instead onto the ridge route to the 4-way X. You'll have passed two large hills and gone around them to the east; at the base of the last one is a trail marker at a Y-junction directing you to go over the ridge ahead of you at another Y-junction just 80 or so feet ahead [right fork of the two], and the southbound-facing side of the same marker directs you to go around the around the hill south of you to the east. This is where you go left if heading north to experience the jungle and go straight [the right fork] to avoid it. Note that the jungle is NOT for everyone! It's really dense right now, and would be hard going for some people. It's also on the slope of a steep ravine, and it's not easy to see your footing in the midst of it, so extra caution must be taken while traversing that section of trail. If in doubt, don't, knowing that you can use the ridge route to go around it. There are also numerous side trails and over-the-ridge ones instead of around-the-hill options; again, use good judgment for detours. We've included photos of both trailhead access points, scenic views, and a sample of the jungle [taken by a 6'3" tall hiker for perspective]. — Bob Matthews 
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| 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"
