Brittlebush, Anza-Borrego State Park, California.
I am long over due for a promised wildflower update for Anza-Borrego. I have gotten a little carried away with the Desert Bighorns – yesterday we saw some newborn lambs! I’ll share those next week.
I would say, by in large it is turning out to be a pretty good wildflower year, with some big hits and misses. Despite less rain, the flowers are looking better then last year probably in large part to the more seasonable temperatures – last year was much colder. There is a good chance this area might receive more then a half of inch of rain this weekend – it that happens, it could really be a great year!
I’ll start with the misses – the biggest one is the famous fields along Henderson Canyon Road. Historically, this area has been very colorful, and its popularity was helped thanks to its location along a paved road. Last year, Sahara Mustard moved into this area in a big way. This year, there isn’t much in the way of new Mustard growth except along the side of the road where is was freshly graded clear last year, but there aren’t any wildflowers either. It is just large fields of standing dead Sahara Mustard.
Now the hits. The closer you get to the mountains, the better the wildflowers. That area appeared to receive more rain Wednesday, and probably will receive more this weekend. Glorieta Canyon is looking nice, especially with the colorful red chuparosa. There is a nice variety of flowers up Coyote Canyon – not thick fields, but a a range of colors that includes many of the ocotillo. But, the best place has to be Borrego Palm Canyon – not only lots of wildflowers, but I have seen sheep on every visit so far. Borrego Palm Canyon has a lot of brittlebush, chuparosa, ocotillo along with many other blooming wildflowers. I think the surrounding areas will be improving this week, especially with the forecasted rain, but if you are hitting Anza-Borrego this weekend, Borrego Palm Canyon is your best bet right now.
I’ll provide more updates as thing change next week, and as I scout for my upcoming Anza-Borrego photography workshops.
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Thanks for the update Ron! I was wondering how it was looking out there. I hope to get out there soon (probably not this weekend though) and will try Borrego Palm Canyon. I’ve only once seen the bighorns reasonably close there (or anywhere), so I am quite jealous of you… of course, I’m normally there with the weekend peak-of-flowers crowds, which probably doesn’t help.
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Hi Samantha! Next weekend could be pretty good. The sheep are a real treat – surprisingly, I have been seeing them during the middle of the day when there are a lot of people around, so you never know. Of course the light isn’t that great, but still a treat!
Thanks for the update, Ron. I’m almost tempted to go just to see the sheep again. Btw, are the badlands overlooks accessible via 2WD?
Thanks for this great update Ron! I’m hoping to get down there this year. Will have to see how things go on the domestic/job end of things.
Ron it rained hard all night down here and looks like more on the way, this should jump-start the wildflower bloom! It should be awesome this year.
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@ Richard – usually it is, I haven’t been out there yet this year. If you are mid week I’ll join you.
@ Greg – hopefully you can make it out here – let me know if you do.
@ Mom – That is great to hear! Awesome!
I just pulled up the NOAA information and they show that Borrego Springs received a half an inch of new rain last night – that is a lot for that area, and should do wonders!