Why California probably won’t see a 2025 ‘super bloom’
As Cameron Barrows, a conservation ecologist at the Center for Conservation Biology at UC Riverside, told KQED in 2023: “Super bloom” is not actually a scientific term and is mainly used by the media to describe incredible uncommon bloom events, when many different species of wildflowers bloom at the same time.
Richard Minnich, a professor at UC Riverside’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said one of the most memorable California super blooms of the last few decades, back in 2005, was thanks to a wet winter that followed extended dry periods. “The best flower year is the first dry year after a multi-year drought,” said Minnich — because the drought suppresses invasive species or annual grasses, leaving room for the wildflowers to take off.
While wildflowers are starting to bloom across the state, Minnich doesn’t anticipate a “super bloom” on a par with the breathtaking displays of 2005 or 2019. In Southern California state parks, the year’s wildflower bloom is expected to be limited due to below-average winter rainfall.
“Everything here [in Southern California] is parched and brittle, with little or no green sprouts. Unless there is significant rain landing in the deserts in the next few weeks, I predict the desert wildflower show will be a bust,” UC Riverside’s Barrows told KQED by email.
But “a bad year for Southern California flowers doesn’t necessarily mean a bad year for Northern California flowers,” Ryan Forbes, an educator with California State Parks’ Bay Area district, told the San Francisco Chronicle. And the Bay Area offers many stunning spots for those eager to see wildflowers.
Before heading out, check park websites for any closures or conditions. To avoid crowds, consider visiting wildflower sites on weekdays.
Also, respect the landscape by staying on marked trails, avoiding flower picking, and packing out what you bring in. Wildflowers play a vital role in supporting ecosystems, and damaging them affects pollinators like bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, as well as other wildlife that depend on them for food.
If you’d like to contribute to wildflower research, consider sharing your sightings on the iNaturalist app to help scientists track species distribution and seasonal changes.
Coastal wildflowers at an elephant seal viewpoint, Point Reyes National Seashore. (YayaErnst/Getty Images)
Where to see wildflowers in the Bay Area
Some of the spots listed below will bloom during the spring and summer months, and the number of flowers that actually bloom will vary every year depending on how much rain and dry weather we get. So, if you can’t make it out into nature soon, don’t worry: You’ve got time to spot some beautiful blooms over the next few months.
Where to see wildflowers in San Francisco:
Where to see wildflowers in North Bay:
Where to see wildflowers in East Bay:
Where to see wildflowers in South Bay:
Where to see wildflowers on the Peninsula:
Wildflower guided tours and events:
