My Favorite Places to Enjoy Spring in California

I love the many forms of Spring that California has. It’s different from the type of Spring I grew up with in the Northeast and Midwest but from early bulbs and cherry blossoms to “super blooms” on the hills, and Jacaranda trees just before summer, Spring is lovely in California! Here are some places to enjoy Spring in California:

Greater Los Angeles

Catalina Island

The island is a little like the Italian Riviera but it’s in LA County. Just a short ferry ride away from mainland Los Angeles, Catalina is great in any season. But in April, when I visited, the island was particularly verdant. Bush lilies [below], pink orchid rockroses, and yellow flax-leaf broom are all prominent.

Here’s what you should know when you’re planning your visit to Catalina. 

Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills Park or Beverly Gardens offers 1.9 miles of everything from spring bulbs to cactus flowers to Jacaranda trees. From Spring through the end of summer and even into what would be autumn if Los Angeles had a proper fall – you can find things in bloom along Santa Monica Boulevard from Wilshire Boulevard to North Doheny Drive. The Jacaranda trees are my personal favorite.

Malibu

Along Highway 1 in Spring and at places like Point Dume, yellow becomes the color du jour. Mustard plants line the highway. And on the cliffs above the ocean, a form of yellow daisy grows in such thickets it can look like a carpet.

Huntington Gardens

There is no bad season for a visit to this garden in San Marino, part of LA County. Check the What’s Blooming? page before your visit to find out what you can expect to see in Spring. I think I enjoy the pear trees and magnolia trees most in March.

Descanso Gardens

Spring is my favorite time to visit Descanso Gardens. It’s located in La Cañada Flintridge in LA County. Several “themed” areas are particularly lovely in Spring. I think my favorites are the Japanese-style garden, the lilac grove and the camellia collection.

The garden’s website lists these flowers as blooming in Spring:

FEBRUARY: Camellias, magnolias, cherry trees and daffodils
MARCH: Tulips, camellias, irises, lilacs, cherry trees, clivia and daffodils
APRIL: Azaleas, camellias, irises, lilacs, native plants and wildflowers, and wisteria
MAY: Roses, azaleas, irises, wildflowers and California natives

And from this page, you can find a live bloom map that updates as the garden changes all season long.

San Francisco

The Presidio

There are many spots to enjoy Spring in this park. However, my favorite can be found just south of Golden Gate Bridge. On the slopes that would eventually lead down to crashing waves, wildflowers and flowering bushes carpet the hillside with blooms in Spring and leading into summer. It’s also a great place, period, to stop for photos of the Bridge. Look for parking near what is labeled as Battery Godfrey. You can also easily walk and bike to this spot from elsewhere in San Francisco. 

Golden Gate Park

It’s a good idea all year! But of particular note for the park in Spring:

• The Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden – for tulips, of course! – by the windmills on the far western edge of the park.
• Rhododendron Dell is full of pink and deep red blooms in March.
• The Japanese Tea Garden is the oldest of its kind in the USA and it’s where Azaleas and cherry blossoms appear in March and April.

Muir Woods

While it isn’t particularly special for blooms, of all the times to visit Muir Woods [and I have been many times] – I find that Spring is my favorite. The stream that flows through the woods is usually higher and running faster in Spring. The woods haven’t yet dried out in the sense that they can during a particularly hot summer. And if you time it right to avoid Spring Breakers, Muir Woods is more empty at this time of year than in summer when there are generally more tourists.

San Diego

Balboa Park

It is a good idea year-round. In Spring, pink tulip and redbud trees make the park look particularly delightful. They provide a beautiful foreground to the background of the park’s incredible architecture.

Other Places to Experience Spring in California

Carlsbad

The Flower Fields is a 55-acre garden complex that blooms with Giant Tecolote Ranunculus flowers for about six to eight weeks each year, from early March through early May. I try to update their events each year in my “Reasons to Visit” post. But the flowers themselves are reason enough. You can walk the acreage, or opt to take the tractor-wagon ride that will drop you off and pick you up at multiple points in the fields. Plan for at least a half-day visit and because there is no shade in the fields, you should start when they open to avoid the hottest sun. There is shade at the cafe and other attractions, separate from the flowers.

Highway 1

As this article from the Highway 1 Discovery Route points out, the famous stretch of road is a great place to look for all kinds of blooms. They share that,

Brittlebrush, poppies, bluebells, lupine, sand verbena, and evening primrose are just a handful of the incredible wildflowers that bloom on the Central Coast. The California Native Plant Society of San Luis Obispo publishes a list of the plants that can be found throughout SLO County.

That list can be found here.

Lancaster and the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve

Antelope is a state nature reserve within the Mojave Desert. It has an 8-mile hike and a wildflower season that occurs from March to May when there has been enough rain in winter. You can track the park live with this camera to see if it’s worth visiting.

But if there has been enough rain and poppies are in bloom, I think it’s worth saving the money and heading to two other places instead. First, to see poppies: the intersection of Munz Ranch Road and Lancaster Road in Lancaster. The open fields where I took this photo and this video, at that intersection, are as beautiful as the reserve. And they’re free!

Second, find “Art in Residence.” The entrance, off Lancaster Road between the Reserve and the spot I mentioned at Munz Ranch Road, is best navigated with an EV SUV or SUV. Something that’s higher off the ground and that has good tires will help you make the drive up the potholed hill. If you can do it, you’ll discover a lovely wild art gallery in a wide open field under enormous skies in what seems to be the middle of nowhere. It’s one of the most pleasant surprises in rural California.

Diamond Valley Lake / Lakeview Trail Pass

To see poppies and spring wildflowers in this area, head to the DVL marina’s parking lot where you buy a ticket that gets you parking and access to the 1.3-mile wildflower trail loop. April is the best month but viewing times are February through May. Expect to spend an hour and 45 minutes in the car heading south and east of Los Angeles to Riverside County. The trail fee is $4/pp and access is Wednesday through Sunday. Plan to arrive early to avoid the worst of the crowds!

Walker Canyon near Lake Elsinore

A great option when California experiences a Superbloom, Walker Canyon is an area of hills that explode with California’s native poppy when there is enough rain during the winter.

While you’re in the area, why not keep driving and check out Joshua Tree in spring. After a particularly wet winter, the area’s desert landscape can also bloom with flowers. And though it’s rare, it’s an incredible sight to behold when it happens.

Napa Valley

As this article illustrates, spring in Napa Valley is a colorful affair. Though the vines are not yet heavy with grapes – plum tree blossoms, tulips, and more make the area a colorful backdrop to wine tasting. Which is a year-round activity in California. While there, make sure you stop for a picnic lunch at Oakville Grocery. Their wood-fired pizzas are divine.

Sonoma County

Also an excellent wine region, Sonoma boasts coastal access and Redwood forests which Napa does not have. All kinds of blooms can be found in Sonoma from the coast to the inland hills, from Spring through to summer. While there, stay at MacArthur Place. The verdant grounds bloom all year in some capacity and make for an excellent way to decompress after a harsh winter.

 

What area or place would you add? What have I missed?