The poppy season is expected to peak in mid-April this year at Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve State Natural Reserve, located 15 miles west of Lancaster, California, at 15101 Lancaster Road.

The reserve reports that the bloom is already much better than the last two years. Other wildflowers such as forget-me-nots, lupine, goldfields, and fiddleneck can be found throughout the park.

If you’re coming from far away, be aware that poppies open up on nice days, but they curl up if it’s windy and cold — and it’s frequently windy here during the spring. The other wildflowers stay open, however, making a mosaic of color that changes daily.

The Jane S. Pinheiro Interpretive Center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends for the duration of the wildflower season. The center has wildflower and wildlife exhibits, an orientation video, a gallery of Jane’s botanical watercolor paintings, and a gift shop benefiting our non-profit association. The park is open from sunrise to sunset daily.

The Antelope Valley is located in the western Mojave Desert at an elevation ranging from 2600 to 3000 feet, making it a high desert environment.

This State Natural Reserve is located on California’s most consistent poppy-bearing land. Other wildflowers: owl’s clover, lupine, goldfield, cream cups, and coreopsis, to name a few, share the desert grassland to produce a mosaic of color and fragrance each spring. As unpredictable as nature – the intensity and duration of the wildflower bloom varies yearly.

(Photo courtesy of Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve)