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image showing the desert super bloom

Where (and When) to See the California Desert Super Bloom

Home » DESTINATIONS » North America » United States » California » Where (and When) to See the California Desert Super Bloom

Last Modified: March 7, 2022 //  by Anda //  25 Comments

Unlike other parts of the United States where the wet winter weather causes a lot of trouble, California thrives in rain. Especially California’s lifeless and arid-looking desert, which is magically transformed by rain into a stunning super bloom of colorful wild flowers.

image showing the desert super bloom
The California Desert Super Bloom

Unfortunately, the extraordinary California desert super bloom  is something quite rare in this barren area. Most of the time, California doesn’t get enough rain, so desert blooms are usually small or inexistent.

But from time to time, after a rainy winter, even the driest desert like Death Valley looks like it has been painted with with color. There is yellow, purple, red, blue and even green in the brown desert.

Overview

  • Where to See the California Desert Super Bloom
    • Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
    • Joshua Tree National Park
  • When to See the California Super Bloom

Where to See the California Desert Super Bloom

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

The colorful array of wildflowers popping up in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park makes the area look more like a big garden than a desert. According to the park officials, it’s the biggest bloom they have seen in 20 years!  

image showing Anza Borrego desert bloom
Anza Borrego Desert State Park

Anza Borego is a really beautiful state park to visit during other times of the year as well. A nice weekend getaway from Los Angeles!

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree is one of the best national parks to visit in March, when it gets its fare share of beauty. There are flowers everywhere: dune primrose, beavertail cactus, sand verbena, chuparosa, mariposa lily and wild Canterbury bells.  

At Joshua Tree National Park the super bloom is fantastic! Even the Joshua tree itself is in bloom, a rare and spectacular event that doesn’t happen every year. What is even more interesting about this phenomenon is that it’s synchronized.

The bloom happens in the same year, at about the same time throughout the desert areas.  The ocotillo and beavertail cactus are beginning to bloom too.  

image of the desert super bloom with an ocotillo in bloom
Ocotillo in bloom

With such a display of beauty, there is no surprise that people are flocking to see the colors covering the hills and valleys of the California desert. Visitors are coming from as far as Europe, Africa and Asia.

image of the California desert super bloom with Beavertail Cactus flower
Beavertail Cactus in bloom

The California super bloom is so rare and so special, that looky-loos seem to forget about the torrid temperatures in the desert and sometimes end up fainting from dehydration.  

Barrel cactus in bloom
Barrel cactus in bloom

Joshua Tree is one of the closest national parks to Las Vegas and also within a short driving distance from Los Angeles. So you can visit on a day trip from both these cities.

READ NEXT: Best Romantic Getaways in California

When to See the California Super Bloom

Springtime is the best season to see the desert in California bloom. However, this is short lived event that starts late February and lasts till mid march.

But if you want to see a desert super bloom in California you should pray for rain! If we have heavy rains winter, the desert will be out-of-this-world beautiful and the bloom will most likely last till mid April. 

The best time of the day to visit the desert is either early in the morning or late in the afternoon, just before the sun sets. Evenings are particularly beautiful in the desert. When the evening breeze starts blowing, the temperature gets cooler and the sweet smell of wild flowers begins filling up the air.

 During the day time temperatures in the desert may raise up to 92ºF, making it hard to appreciate the scenery.  

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Category: California, DESTINATIONS, United StatesTag: Travel Tips

About Anda

Anda is an award winning travel writer, avid globetrotter and passionate photographer. She is the voice behind "Travel Notes & Beyond," a collection of stories and travel impressions from her wanderings around the world. When she is not busy writing, traveling, or editing photographs, you can find her hiking in the foothills behind her house together with her husband and their dog.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linda (LD Holland)

    April 22, 2019 at 4:50 pm

    We were in California in February and we got a lot of rain. The locals were happy. But we left before the super bloom showed up. I am sure it must have been fascinating to see the desert turn so colourful. And to see the Joshua Tree bloom. So sorry we missed it. We really could not go back in April.

    Reply
    • Anda Galffy

      April 22, 2019 at 6:26 pm

      That’s too bad, Linda. The desert is more beautiful now that I have ever seen it in 30 years.

      Reply
  2. cindy

    April 20, 2017 at 9:19 pm

    Anda, I’ve avoided looking at this post until now, when the bloom should be over. That may seem strange, but I knew that your beautiful pictures would make me want to head out there and it just didn’t fit into my life this year! I’m so glad you got such lovely pictures though. It’s nice to see how lovely the year was.

    Reply
    • Anda Galffy

      April 21, 2017 at 10:44 am

      Thank you, Cindy. Coming from such a good photographer as you, this is quite a compliment. The desert was beautiful indeed this year.

      Reply
  3. Agness of Fit Travelling

    April 9, 2017 at 5:11 am

    Stunning pictures, Anda! This place is so picturesque!

    Reply
    • Anda Galffy

      April 10, 2017 at 7:16 am

      Thanks, Agness.

      Reply
  4. Kat

    March 29, 2017 at 11:31 pm

    The flowers certainly add colours to the dry and arid desert, brightens up the day and your experience! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Rob+Ann @TravelLatte(.net)

    March 29, 2017 at 1:30 pm

    Having grown up in the area, I love the desert anytime. But when the desert blooms, wow! Nothing prettier in the world to my eyes. Thanks for sharing the beauty of the desert that many never see.
    -Rob.

    Reply
  6. Photo(Geo)grapher

    March 29, 2017 at 8:32 am

    Wow! What a wonderful period of the year. What stunning colours! I would like to see it with my own eyes.
    Great post and very beautiful photos.

    Reply
    • Anda Galffy

      March 29, 2017 at 5:27 pm

      California is gorgeous in spring. You can imagine the rest of it if even the desert looks so colorful.

      Reply
  7. Vidya Kavitkar

    March 28, 2017 at 10:25 pm

    Ohh my my! This California desert looks fabulous. I have never been thought such an amazing thing in desert. Photos have turned up amazing. I truly enjoyed reading. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Anda Galffy

      March 29, 2017 at 5:29 pm

      Thank you, Vidya, I appreciate it.

      Reply
  8. Anisa

    March 27, 2017 at 7:14 pm

    Wow, your photos are amazing – so colorful. I really love wildflowers but unfortunately don’t think I can make it out there to see it for myself. Maybe one of these years!

    Reply
    • Anda Galffy

      March 27, 2017 at 8:04 pm

      Hope you’ll make it to California during the spring bloom.

      Reply
  9. Jessica @ Independent Travel Cats

    March 26, 2017 at 7:37 am

    Wow, nice to see some more wildflowers than normal. California was in a drought all of the 5+ years I lived there! Beautiful captures! Also great to see your blog back online!

    Reply
  10. Lolo

    March 26, 2017 at 1:50 am

    I wish I was home this year to see the blooms! I have never seen them before! Hope next year it’s also the same!

    Reply
  11. Esther

    March 26, 2017 at 12:55 am

    Wow, these flowers look amazing! Thank you for hosting the linkup

    Reply
  12. jill

    March 25, 2017 at 9:51 am

    Stunning photos, as usual! I live too far away to just run up for a weekend but maybe someday I can plan ahead when I know there’s been an incredible amount of rain and finally see a superbloom.

    Reply
    • Anda Galffy

      March 25, 2017 at 12:59 pm

      Yea, you are right Jill. I agree that this rare desert bloom is something you can’t really plan on seeing.

      Reply
  13. Tomas

    March 25, 2017 at 2:53 am

    Your pics are so beautiful 🙂 How long so you think that it can stay like this? I am asking because we will be there in May.

    Reply
    • Anda Galffy

      March 25, 2017 at 1:00 pm

      May is way too hot it the desert for these flowers to resist. They predicted the bloom may last till mid April this year.

      Reply
  14. Mary {The World Is A Book}

    March 24, 2017 at 8:24 pm

    I’m so glad you got to visit and see the super bloom too. We really loved seeing all the flowers. We’d love to see the flowers at Joshua Tree. What a great collection you have here.

    Reply
    • Anda Galffy

      March 25, 2017 at 12:20 am

      Anza Borrego was so beautiful, but it was way too hot last week when we went there. Hopefully you had cooler temperatures.

      Reply
  15. Rhonda Albom

    March 23, 2017 at 4:08 am

    Spectacular. I’ve neve seen so many flowers in a desert. I’ve been in the Nevada high desert, around Joshua tree, and through most of the southwest and never saw anything even close to these blooms.

    Reply
    • Anda Galffy

      March 23, 2017 at 9:40 am

      This year’s bloom was absolutely unique, Rhonda.

      Reply

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