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This year's coastal wildflower bloom is a fine one

Enjoy San Diego's spring bounty before May Gray and June Gloom set in

Flower Fields A-Bloom
Flower Fields A-Bloom

Bracken Ferns are rising on the higher mountains of San Diego County, their bright green, unfolding fronds (called “fiddleheads”) pushing up through the russet remains of last year’s growth. By late April or May, fully opened ferns will line the creeks and hollows of the Palomar, Cuyamaca, and Laguna mountains.

The Coastal Wildflower Bloom, a fine one on account of many months’ worth of rain and sunshine, will continue through April. One of the best spots for viewing a great variety of flowers is Torrey Pines State Reserve. San Onofre State Beach, just north of Camp Pendleton, should have acres and acres of monkeyflower, with a half-dozen different shades, blooming on the coastal bluffs. On grassy hillsides in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve and in Mission Trails Regional Park (especially in the “grasslands” behind the Old Mission Dam), you might find carpets of California poppies, purple nightshade, pinkish owl’s clover, blue-colored lupine, and scattered splashes of color due to a dozen or more other species of wildflowers.

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Sponsored
Place

Daley Ranch

3024 La Honda Drive, Escondido

North County residents should check out the huge Daley Ranch preserve in northeast Escondido. Its rolling hillsides and grassy meadows should sport an impressive display of wildflowers by mid-April.

Place

Old Mission Dam

2 Father Junipero Serra Trail, Santee

Fremont Cottonwood Trees along the San Diego River in Mission Gorge will show off their best iridescent green foliage this month. The Old Mission Dam parking area on Father Junípero Serra Trail, off Mission Gorge Road (west of Santee), is a good place to begin a stroll on trails near the riverbed. Be careful — as April temperatures rise, rattlesnakes will increasingly be out and about.

Warmer Temperatures and less rain coincide with the subtle onset of coastal San Diego’s spring season. By April’s end, the intermittent showery periods, Santa Ana winds, cold nights, and crystal-clear, sun-drenched days of winter will likely be distant memories. The nocturnal, low overcast hugging the coast, which may linger until the late morning, will gradually build into “May gray” and “June gloom” — the days-long episodes of perpetual overcast most common during May and June.

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Flower Fields A-Bloom
Flower Fields A-Bloom

Bracken Ferns are rising on the higher mountains of San Diego County, their bright green, unfolding fronds (called “fiddleheads”) pushing up through the russet remains of last year’s growth. By late April or May, fully opened ferns will line the creeks and hollows of the Palomar, Cuyamaca, and Laguna mountains.

The Coastal Wildflower Bloom, a fine one on account of many months’ worth of rain and sunshine, will continue through April. One of the best spots for viewing a great variety of flowers is Torrey Pines State Reserve. San Onofre State Beach, just north of Camp Pendleton, should have acres and acres of monkeyflower, with a half-dozen different shades, blooming on the coastal bluffs. On grassy hillsides in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve and in Mission Trails Regional Park (especially in the “grasslands” behind the Old Mission Dam), you might find carpets of California poppies, purple nightshade, pinkish owl’s clover, blue-colored lupine, and scattered splashes of color due to a dozen or more other species of wildflowers.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Place

Daley Ranch

3024 La Honda Drive, Escondido

North County residents should check out the huge Daley Ranch preserve in northeast Escondido. Its rolling hillsides and grassy meadows should sport an impressive display of wildflowers by mid-April.

Place

Old Mission Dam

2 Father Junipero Serra Trail, Santee

Fremont Cottonwood Trees along the San Diego River in Mission Gorge will show off their best iridescent green foliage this month. The Old Mission Dam parking area on Father Junípero Serra Trail, off Mission Gorge Road (west of Santee), is a good place to begin a stroll on trails near the riverbed. Be careful — as April temperatures rise, rattlesnakes will increasingly be out and about.

Warmer Temperatures and less rain coincide with the subtle onset of coastal San Diego’s spring season. By April’s end, the intermittent showery periods, Santa Ana winds, cold nights, and crystal-clear, sun-drenched days of winter will likely be distant memories. The nocturnal, low overcast hugging the coast, which may linger until the late morning, will gradually build into “May gray” and “June gloom” — the days-long episodes of perpetual overcast most common during May and June.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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