Arizona wildflower update: The 2023 bloom is still going strong. Here are 6 places to look
Wowza! What a season it has been for wildflower enthusiasts like me. And it ain’t over yet.
The past several weeks have seen an explosion of wildflowers across the Arizona desert. Estrella Mountain Regional Park in Goodyear put on a brilliant display of blooms in January and February. For most of March, Picacho Peak State Park served as the beating heart of spring with rivers of poppies spilling down the high slopes. It was the best showing I’ve seen at Picacho and I visit every spring.
But don’t fret, even if you’ve missed some of the early blooms. April promises to be just as spectacular.
Here’s the thing about the 2023 wildflower season. It’s been downright chilly. Cool temperatures, lack of consistent sunshine and lingering rains led the season to unfold in segments. Color has been dazzling but also localized. Now warmer temperatures and the calendar (buds are bound to turn into blooms at some point) are extending the season into April.
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At this late stage of wildflower season, poppies are going to be fickle. But as their blooms begin to fade, the brittlebush begins to take over. When you start noticing whole hillsides suddenly turning yellow, that’s often thanks to this underappreciated perennial.
Brittlebush are the unsung heroes of wildflower season. They don’t garner the adoration that poppies do but they are absolute workhorses, the most reliable of all desert flowers.
As perennials, they show up every single spring. In dry years, blooms are sparse but always present. In years like this, they go nuclear. The bushy plants are capped with a spray of beautiful blooms, like individual bouquets — yellow petals surround a golden center.
With a constellation of plants covering the slopes, it can look like the sun has been pulled from the sky and splashed across desert hillsides. While you’ll find brittlebush on most desert trails for much of April, here are a couple of sweet highlights.
Here are six places to savor the second half of Arizona wildflower season.
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Bush Highway to Saguaro Lake
Since about mid-March, the hillsides along Bush Highway between Saguaro Lake and State Route 87 have been absolutely painted with poppies. They are the kind of color-laden fields that feel like they can be seen from space. How long they will last depends on temperatures. Poppies tend to fade when it turns hot.
One of the best viewing spots is the Pobrecito Recreation Area. It’s essentially an OHV staging area with a couple of picnic tables. But dirt paths lead along the base of the hills where the poppies massed. Please stay on the trail and don’t trample the flowers. You do need a Tonto Pass ($8 per day) or an America the Beautiful Pass to park here.
Keep a watchful eye because it’s not just petal peepers like me who have been enjoying the season. The Salt River wild horses are frequently spotted just across the road grazing in a narrow green valley laced with poppies. I spent a lovely March afternoon beneath a satiny sun watching dozens of wild horses cropping grass among the saguaros and wildflowers. I’m hard pressed to think of a more perfect Arizona day.
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Cave Creek Regional Park
Color came late to the sloping hills of Cave Creek. I hiked there in mid-March on trails lined with a medley of blues and purples; a cheery mix of lupines, scorpionweed and blue dicks were prevalent. I’ll say without hesitation that 2023 has been the best year for lupines that I can recall. Some nice pools of poppies arrived by the end of the month and thick stands of brittlebush unfurled their yellow blossoms soon after.
Visitor center staff suggested combining three trails — Go John, Quartz and Slate — into a 3.5-mile loop to enjoy some of the best wildflowers in the park.
Details: 37019 N. Lava Lane, Cave Creek. $7 per vehicle. 602-506-2930 Ext. 8, https://www.maricopacountyparks.net.
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Peridot Mesa
This rocky mesa on the San Carlos Apache Reservation east of Phoenix has been covered in poppies for the past three weeks. According to the report I received from a San Carlos resident and forwarded by the Globe-Miami Chamber of Commerce, poppies still had buds at the beginning of April and were expected to continue their bold brassy blooms for another two weeks or so.
That’s excellent news for poppy aficionados. Plus, you’ll enjoy a great wildflower drive traveling U.S. 60 toward Globe. Peridot Mesa is down a dirt road a short distance off U.S. 70 east of Globe on the San Carlos Reservation. The road can normally be managed in a passenger car.
A $10 tribal day-use permit is required and you can get specific directions then. Pick up a permit at the Circle K in Globe (2011 U.S. 70), or the San Carlos Recreation & Wildlife Office on U.S. 70 in Peridot.
Details: https://www.sancarlosrecreationwildlife.com.
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Lake Pleasant Regional Park
At Lake Pleasant, the rolling hills above the water are vibrant with brittlebush, globemallows, desert marigolds and lupines.
The heaviest concentration of poppies can be found on Pipeline Canyon Trail, especially from the southern trailhead to the floating bridge a half-mile away. The bridge is guarded by some extremely robust globemallows the size of landscape shrubs. A nice assortment of blooms also lines the Beardsley, Wild Burro and Cottonwood trails.
Details: 41835 N. Castle Hot Springs Road, Morristown. $7 per vehicle. 602-506-2930, ext. 2; https://www.maricopacountyparks.net.
Black Canyon Trail
The Black Canyon National Recreation Trail stretches 80 miles from Carefree Highway north past Mayer, skirting the base of the Bradshaw Mountains and crisscrossing the Agua Fria River.
From the parking area, the path winds through open desert, reaching a split at 0.7 mile. Bear left for the Horseshoe Bend segment or right for the K-Mine segment. Both are moderate trails that support a nice mix of wildflowers with an abundance of brittles. Peak color should be through mid-April. Both trails descend quickly to the Agua Fria River in about 2 miles.
Bonus: Once you’re back at the trailhead, you’re just a stone’s throw from Rock Springs Café. The former stage stop dishes up a full menu but they’re probably most famous for their pies, most notably the Jack Daniels pecan. Treat yourself. It’s spring in Arizona.
To reach the trailhead, take I-17 north to Exit 242 (Rock Springs). Go west and proceed to the stop sign. Turn north onto the frontage road, drive about 100 yards to Warner Road and turn west. Follow Warner Road 0.3 mile to the parking area.
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Lost Dutchman State Park
Sadly, a late February freeze wiped out most of the poppies at Lost Dutchman. But the park does contain a healthy portion of brittlebush that should be in full bloom around mid-April. For some of the best viewing, start up the Siphon Draw Trail, and then circle back on Jacob’s Crosscut and Treasure Loop.
Details: 6109 N. Apache Trail, Apache Junction. $7 per vehicle. 480-982-4485, https://azstateparks.com/lost-dutchman.
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Meet Roger Naylor
Arizona Republic contributor and author Roger Naylor will be discussing his new book "Awesome Arizona: 200 Amazing Facts about the Grand Canyon State" at these locations. The talks are free and include a photo presentation.
Saturday, April 8: Noon at Cottonwood Library, 100 Sixth St., Cottonwood. 928-634-7559.
Tuesday, April 11: 6 p.m. at Changing Hands Bookstore, 300 W. Camelback Road, Phoenix. 602-274-0067.
Wednesday, April 26: 10 a.m. at Sedona Heritage Museum, 735 Jordan Road. 928-282-7038.
Saturday, April 29: 2 p.m. at Peregrine Book Company, 219A N. Cortez St., Prescott. 928-445-9000.
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Find the reporter at www.rogernaylor.com. Or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RogerNaylorinAZ or Twitter @AZRogerNaylor.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona wildflowers 2023: More places to see the superbloom
