Wildflowers are covering hills across the Central Coast. Where to find the best blooms

Grace Kitayama
Updated ·2 min read
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This year, winter showers have brought spring flowers. Though fleeting, natural wildflowers can be found throughout hillsides in Santa Barbara County.

“This is a good year,” said Steve Windhager, Ph.D., executive director of the Santa Barbara Botantic Garden. “It is something that happens once or twice a decade and in some cases once every 20 years.”

The last time Windhager recalls a similar superbloom was in 2017.

The abundant wildflower season is a result of the heavy storms, Windhager said.

“It’s not just that we had a lot of rain this year. It’s also when we got that rain,” Windhager said.

He said rainfall occurred when many wildflowers were in the seed stage, which caused them to develop quickly and very fast, which allowed them to get through the winter and survive germination.

A super bloom covers Grass Mountain, one of several locations in Santa Barbara County to view spring wildflowers, in April 2023.
A super bloom covers Grass Mountain, one of several locations in Santa Barbara County to view spring wildflowers, in April 2023.

Now the flowers are able to attract pollinators, which has resulted in a lot of areas with an overwhelming abundance of wildflowers.

Throughout the county, wildflowers can be found at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden as well as Los Padres National Forest, Figueroa Mountain and Grass Mountain.

Flowers are also blooming at Carrizo Plain National Monument in San Luis Obispo County and Antelope Valley in Southern California.

Windhager said the peak for most locations to view the wildflowers is over the next two weeks. However, it varies depending on which locations received the most rain, as well as the temperature and climate of different locations.

For example, at Figueroa Mountain, according to the wildflower update, “the wildflowers in the higher elevation are not in bloom yet as the temperature remains cold and snow continues to fall during the recurrent storms.”

“I think that Figueroa Mountain’s probably gonna be looking pretty spectacular for maybe even next month,” Windhager said.

He encourages visitors to check to make sure they have a reservation before planning their visit since many parks are allowing only those who have made a reservation into the parks.

Windhager also stresses that visitors not stray from the designated path when viewing the flowers.

Wildflowers add spring color to Figueroa Mountain, one of several locations in Santa Barbara County boasting a super bloom after heavy winter rains, in April 2023.
Wildflowers add spring color to Figueroa Mountain, one of several locations in Santa Barbara County boasting a super bloom after heavy winter rains, in April 2023.

“You’ll get a great photo, but you’ll kind of damage (the flowers) for the next person,” Windhager said.

Los Padres National Forest has information about wildflowers on Figueroa Mountain and Grass Mountain in its wildflower update.

Buttercups, fiesta flowers, blue dick, fiddleneck, filaree, some sky lupine, lomatium, toothwort, Johnny jump-ups and popcorn flowers can be found in the Los Padres National Forest, according to the wildflower report.

The Theodore Payne Foundation’s Wild Flower Hotline offers weekly updates for best wildflower viewing locations across Southern California. Call 818-768-1802, ext. 7.

The California Department of Parks & Recreation also has information about wildflowers and where to find the best blooms at parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30077.

Grace Kitayama is a Noozhawk staff writer.