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| Pinto Mountain rises over a superbloom at Porcupine Wash. |
Unfortunately, the time to see wildflower blooms in the park is limited, with a couple of weeks sometime in March or April the narrow window. Check the national park’s website for bloom updates.
Should you see a great flower bloom on the drive to or from the trailhead, don’t walk into the flower bed, as doing so damages the fragile desert environment while increasing your chances of encountering a rattlesnake, which like to hide amid the blossoms.
Among the best trails to see wildflower booms at the park are:
• Bajada Trail – The 0.25 mile loop heads over a bajada – a slope of alluvial material at the foot of a mountain – with a variety of Colorado Desert plants growing upon it. The trail is located south of Cottonwood Visitor Center off of Pinto Basin Road near the park’s southern entry.
• Barker Dam Trail – Wildflowers along the 1.5-mile round trip include yellow fiddleneck, white woolly bluestar, red mistletoe berries, and beavertail cactus. The trailhead is off of Barker Dam Road, which branches from Park Boulevard.
• Boy Scout Trail (southern trailhead) – Another fantastic bloom to see in mid-April is the giant white blossoms of the Joshua tree. Each bloom is about the size of a pineapple and grows off the Joshua tree’s arms. Between a half-dozen to 18 blossoms can be found on various Joshua trees. Pick up the trailhead on Park Boulevard.
• Cap Rock Trail – The 0.4-mile loop heads past desert wildflowers rising beneath Joshua trees as circling the fascinating Cap Rock formation. The Cap Rock parking area is at the junction of Park Boulevard and Keys View Road.
• 49 Palms Oasis Trail – Each spring, the ridge this 3-mile out and back trails hikes up and over lights up with the red-orange blooms of the barrel cactus. Access the trail from Fortynine Palms Canyon Road off of Calif. Hwy. 62.
• Indian Cove Nature Trail – Flowering yucca and various small wildflowers can be seen on this short, 0.6-miles kid-friendly trail. The trailhead is off of Indian Cove Road West, which can be accessed from Hwy. 62.
• Lost Horse Mine Trail – A 4-mile round trip segment of this trail passes some of those wildflowers on its way to an abandoned mine. Usually in mid-April a field of yellow flowers appears in Lost Horse Valley below; the flowers include golden linanthus, Wallace’s woolly daisy, and bristly fiddlenecks. The trailhead is off of Lost Horse Mine Road, which branches off Keys View Road.
• Maze Loop – Though best known most for its granite jumbles, hikers also can see fields of Mojave Desert wildflowers, cactus gardens, and Joshua trees on this 6.5-miles route. The trailhead is off of Park Boulevard.
• South Park Peak Trail – Look for the lavender-petaled Mojave Aster on this O.6-mile loop, which heads up to a peak overlooking Yucca Valley with great views of Mt. San Gorgonio and San Jacinto Peak. Technically not in the national park, it is accessed via the park’s Black Rock Canyon Campground.
• Split Rock Loop – Most people hike this 2.5-mile loop to explore the Jumbo Rocks, but in spring the wildflowers steal the show. Among them are California indigo bush, cushion foxtail cactus, desert mariposa lily, desert paintbrush, false woolly daisy, Mojave sandwort, turpentine broom, and Wright’s buckwheat. The trail starts at the Split Rock picnic area near Park Boulevard.
• Willow Hole Trail – Spring wildflowers usually are abundant on this 6.8-mile round trip trail that heads through a Joshua tree forest and alongside the Wonderland of Rocks. The trailhead is the Boy Scout Trail’s southern end off of Park Boulevard.
