California's Winter Rains Could Mean Great Desert Wildflowers

Credit: ovidiuhrubaru/Getty Images

California has seen serious rain in the past few months, and that's likely to pay dividends in desert flowers.

So where to see them? Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, to the east of San Diego, is a wildflower fan favorite.

“Good rains in December and January have annual plants germinating in the flower fields north of town, and along trails in western canyons,” the state park announced this week. “Desert lily plants are springing up in many locations.”

“Germination is happening,” Ernie Cowan, president of the Anza-Borrego Foundation, told the Los Angeles Times. “If you drive through parts of the desert, you’ll see carpets of green. Plants are growing, and growing well.”

Or consider Death Valley, more known for its record heat than brief natural flower show. While a “super-bloom,” as it's known, is incredibly rare and not necessarily in the cards this year, the rain has our hopes up.

There's also Joshua Tree, made at least partly famous by U2, where flowers start at lower elevations in February and at higher elevations in March and April.

Although it is still too early to predict exactly when this year's wildflower bloom will peak, according to Anza-Borrego State Park, experts say flowers could appear as early as the end of February, and continue through March and even early April.

For updates, check the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park website, call the Wildflower Hotline at (760) 767-4684 (almost as good as the Hall and Oates helpline at (719) 266-2837), or sign up for email alerts from the nonprofit Anza-Borrego Foundation.

In the meantime, take a look at some of the blooms of years past.

Start Slideshow

1 of 10

Credit: Rennett Stowe/ Flickr

2 of 10