Antelope Valley Poppy State Nature Reserve
Spring Flower Bloom : Mid-Feb to Mid-May
California State Nature Reserve; Fairmont California;
15101 Lancaster Road, Fairmont, CA 93536; 661-942-0662;
Park Website;
Visitors Center Open Seasonally; Park Nature Trails Open Year Round

Each spring, these fields come alive with the seasonal surprises of the Mojave Desert Grassland habitat. The duration and intensity of colors and scents vary from year to year. Although the wildflower season generally lasts from as early as mid-February through mid-May, the park is open year-round from sunrise to sunset. Fall is also a pleasant time to visit, as the days are normally warm with milder winds.

Eight miles of trails through the gentle rolling hills, including a paved section for wheelchair access, make the park a wonderful place to hike and explore any season. Get away from the city and relax in the quietude of the countryside, with only the birds singing and hawks gliding silently overhead. Benches located along the trails make good places to sit quietly and watch for wildlife, such as singing meadow larks, lizards zipping across the trail, gopher snakes and rattlesnakes. If you're lucky, you may spot a coyote or bobcat. Numerous burrows around the trails may house mice, gophers, kangaroo rats, beetles, scorpions, or others.

The Jane S. Pinheiro Interpretive Center, offering a short video, wildlife and plant displays and gift shop, is open daily during the wildflower season. Nearby, shaded picnic tables are available on a first-come, first-served basis year-round, with an interpretive display and a serene view over the valley to the San Gabriel Mountains.

In order to keep the fields in a strictly natural state, California State Parks does not water or stimulate the flowers. The park service also excludes sheep and cattle from grazing the hillsides. Until the early 1970s sheep once grazed the buttes in the western Antelope Valley. Pronghorn grazed long before then, until the railroad first arrived in 1876. With the exception of service dogs, pets are prohibited from the reserve. Under California state law, visitors are also prohibited from taking flowers away from the reserve.

More California Poppy
California Poppy Festival [Mid-Apr] - Lancaster City Park - kicks off spring in the Antelope Valley with a glorious array of celebrated performers, unrivaled events, and mouth-watering delicacies designed to delight, enchant, and amuse people of all ages

The Antelop Valley area consists of high desert covering Northern Los Angeles County, Southwestern Kern County and the western edge of the Mojave Desert.

California State Flower -
Poppy Garden Guide
USDA Poppy Profile
Wildflower Center