Superbloom 2019 (San Diego, El Cajon, Lake Elsinore: living, club, suburban)

[Clark Fork Fantast]

A couple of shots from yesterday at Coyote Canyon and Henderson Canyon.

[NewbieHere]

Lake Elsinore, see the long line of cars.

[Jenkay]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

I was out in Anza Borrego last weekend. There were some really nice shows along S-22. One particular wash was covered in waist high purple lupine and was truly amazing.

However, I would strongly recommend going during the week if you can, as some of the larger fields of wildflowers were full of people (and cars) when I was there last week which, to me at least, distracts quite a bit from things.

And, another tip: the areas closest to Borrego Springs tend to get the most crowded. Try the southern end of the park to get away from the crowd - take S2 (Box Canyon, Blair Valley, Vallecito County Park, Agua Caliente Park, etc.) all the way to the 8. And getting out of the car and walking even just a tiny bit also usually gets you away from the crowds and into great flowers. Some of the best wildflowers are NOT on the "official" map. Explore!

However, you don't have to go all the way to the desert to see great wildflowers. The wildflowers are also starting to go wild in areas a lot closer to San Diego than Anza Borrego. I was gob-smocked by the California poppies on the hillsides in Beaver Hollow east of El Cajon this afternoon. I have never seen so many in one place in San Diego County, and I'm starting to see some nice shows of Ceanothus, Lupine, San Diego sunflowers, and other wildflowers on hillsides throughout East County. I'm sure the same is true inland in North County. Over the next few weeks, that should pick up considerably, especially if we get some good sunny days in the mix.

In May/June, we should also be seeing some great wildflowers in the Cuyamaca/Mount Laguna and on Mount Palomar areas.

So, take a drive, take a hike, and keep your eyes open. It is going to be a spectacular wildflower season throughout San Diego County this year, and you don't necessarily have to go all the way to the desert to enjoy the show!

I saw amazing arrays of bloom out in Anza-Borrego this past weekend. I spent every weekend in January and February hiking/backpacking/flower lookin' out along the S22 and environs but I won't be going out to that area on a weekend until "superbloom madness" has died down. Good thing there's the whole rest of the park (some of it is SPECTACULAR right now, like nothing I've seen in my 40+years here)

Closer to home Mission Trails is just lousy with poppies currently, as is the Lake Hodges area. The Guy Fleming trail at Torrey pines is really nice right now as well. Not much on the North end of Daley Ranch but I'm going to check out the Southeast trails this afternoon. (I do one of these after work almost every day, so I've been kind of monitoring them from week to week)

[Jenkay]

Originally Posted by Clark Fork Fantast

We went out there yesterday, first real day of spring! And no crowds to speak of, because it was a Friday.

A quick report: We went up 79 from I-8 to Julian, and down the grade. Don't expect any spring in the mountains! There was actually still dirty snow along the road above 4000 ft. But Lake Cuyamacha was almost back to its old size, the way it was in the 1980s! An amazing sight.

The best areas right now are still up DeGiorgio to Coyote Canyon; lots of yellow flowers and Verbena (purple). Henderson Canyon Road has Verbena and Desert Primrose, but the deep yellow flowers ("sunflowers," but not the classic late-summer sunflowers, of course) are just "coming online" as the guide in the information office said. Two years ago they were covering the entire valley, but that section is just green now. Up Hellhole Canyon on the way to Montezuma Grade (to Ramona) there are thick clusters of bright blue flowers everywhere. Sorry I don't know what they're called--RosieSD would know! Lupins, maybe? It was too dark by then to take pictures.

Not a lot of flowers on the hillsides yet, and no wild lilacs at all in the mountains yet. I'd say that unless we get a scorching heat wave, the flowers will keep going for another couple of weeks at least.

More pictures on the next page!

The Ramona Lilac is starting to bloom hard in the coastal/inland areas now though (Daley Ranch, Mission Trails, Elfin Forest, etc). I did the 5-peak challenge weekend before last at mission trails and even though they're not at their peak yet there were areas where the scent was just wonderful.

Mountain flowers in May, I'm looking forward to colorful meadow hikes! I drove through Cuyamaca on Saturday and was just completely floored at how big the lake is now!

[bloom]

Originally Posted by Jenkay

I saw amazing arrays of bloom

thanks

[eastcoastbias]

Just drove by it. Pretty cool had a great view from the highway. The exit was backed up a couple miles hardly any movement and I saw droves of people climbing the hill.

[CatWarmer]

We went to Anza-Borrego on Tuesday and the crowds weren't bad at all; we did skip the visitor's center. The traffic wasn't busy and there were plenty of lunchtime picnic tables at Christmas Circle. The weather was great and the flowers were beautiful.

[DougStark]

I wish every winter was this generous.

Has anyone grown the multi-colored CA poppies? I'm wondering if they revert to orange color when they self-seed for the next year.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Superbloom in Sycamore Canyon, East County:

Springtime beauty pops up in Sycamore Canyon County Preserve - CBS News 8 - San Diego, CA News Station - KFMB Channel 8

[Suburban_Guy]

Ugh, already starting to get warm.

Turned on the A.C. for the first time in a long time yesterday.

And so it goes for 7 months from now. This coming weekend predicts around 80 degrees on Sunday.

Gonna be yet another miserable summer.