2010 Lake Elsinore Wildflowers

I was headed to the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve yesterday afternoon so I stopped in Lake Elsinore briefly to see if there were any flowers. The hillsides look green from I-15 but not a lot of other color so I didn’t expect to see anything. Up close however, I saw a few patches of small flowers and a few scattered poppies. It wasn’t bad considering how little sunlight we have had in the past two months. (wildflowers need sun / warm weather) From the way things look, the wildflower season seems promising and would probably take off if we can get a week or two of warm, rain-free weather. Rare for Southern California, of course…

If you want to photograph golden poppies this year, then I highly recommend heading over to the Lake Elsinore hillsides as soon as possible. On a sunny day, you can see cascades of orange streaming down the hills and mountains on both sides of I-15. There is no guarantee that we’ll have a good display at the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve this year, so this might be as good as it gets. In fact, this is the first time that we have had decent wildflowers in Southern California since 2005.

I believe the best displays are located further behind the hills and requires hiking some trails to get there. As is, there are some good displays near the road. This photo was taken about halfway up the hill, away from the crowds.

I’d like to photograph some more wildflowers this week when I get the chance though I can’t decide where. I know. Such a sad problem to have…

See more of my Inland Empire pictures.