LAKE-COLUSA COUNTIES >> It doesn’t take an expert to tell you that the spring of 2016 is an exceptional year for wildflowers in Lake County and throughout California.
This is thanks to a near-perfect storm of conditions that wildflowers love: brush-clearing fires, a lengthy period of rain followed by hot, dry conditions with an occasional wet day in between that culminates in a rainbow of colors bursting forth in April and May, carpeting many hills and valleys locally and in adjacent counties.
The only First Lady ever to visit Lake County, Lady Bird Johnson in the 1960s, came to view the wildflowers at what is now Langtry Estate & Vineyards, according to local wildflower expert Joe Kukura from www.lakecounty.com. It was part of the First Lady’s “Beautify America” campaign.
The winery and vineyards along Butts Canyon Road in Guenoc Valley is still a great place for wildflower viewing and to enjoy the tastes of one of Lake County’s premier wineries.
“The flowers you’ll see on a Lake County wildflower spree offer a palette of colors beyond comparison,” Kukura writes in his April 2016 blog on the website. “The meadows, valleys and mountains of Lake County are coated with the vibrant purple of the small clarkia, sprawling fields of tall yellow and white lupines, wildly shaped red ribbons, the naturally occurring hot pinks of the pink spine flower, the eye-catching purple and yellow contrast of the whisker brush, and countless other wildflower varieties.”
Lake County also has a number of scenic and highly recommended wildflower drives to enjoy at your leisure, according to Kukura. Wildflowers galore decorate the roadsides of Highway 175 between Middletown and Cobb, and Highway 29 between Middletown and Lower Lake.
Bottle Rock Road between Cobb and Kelseyville offers a gorgeous wildflower drive, and a turnoff at Boggs Lake Ecological Reserve is highly recommended by Kukura. The pear and walnut orchards surrounding Kelseyville and Finley also have wildflower blooms that put on quite a show, writes Kukura.
Other Lake county drives for good wildflower displays right now are along Highway 53 between Olympic Drive and Highway 20, Highway 20 from Hwy. 53 to Upper Lake, New Long Valley Road in Spring Valley, and Elk Mountain Road in Upper Lake. Or just take a leisurely drive around the lake.
For wildflower hikes, the best bets include the Redbud Trail in the Cache Creek Recreation Area on Highway 20 east of Clearlake Oaks, the Highland Springs Recreation Area and Toll Road in Highland Springs that is part of a state project to protect endangered wildflowers, and the McLaughlain Natural Reserve in the Blue Ridge Berryessa Natural Area near Lower Lake.
Kukura advises locals, “It’s one of the most spectacular springs for wildflower blooms, with this year’s winter rains well exceeding those of recent years.”
He added, “Make plans to see this historically huge wildflower bloom for yourself with a drive, hike or even a carriage tour of Lake County’s wonderful wildflower fields, and experience the flower power in full bloom.”
However, if you want to see truly magnificent fields of blooms — literally thousands of acres — you need to make a run for the border — the border with Colusa County and Bear Valley Road, just east of the county line. From East Highway 20, take the well-maintained dirt road for about 13 miles where you’ll find more than 16,000 acres of wildflowers protected by the American Land Conservancy.
But vast meadows of blooms are found all the 15 miles of Bear Valley Road, which at times parallels Bear Valley Creek. For a dirt road, it is always in exceptionally good condition, which local residents attribute to the fact that Gov. Jerry Brown owns a ranch in the area.
Bear Valley has been consistently named one of the top wildflower viewing areas in Northern California year after year by numerous travel magazines and websites, including Sunset and California Travel Insider.
This year, the blooms are considered by several experts to be spectacular, although locals say they have seen better displays but not in quite a few years. Bear Valley is internationally known for the quantity and diversity of its blooms, according to California Travel Insider.
Among the more than a dozen varieties of wildflowers in Bear Valley — and Lake County — are orange and yellow poppies (the orange ones are the state flower); yellow tidy tips, California goldfields, frying pans and buttercups; purple lupine, owl’s clover and wild iris; blue royal larkspur and white popcorn flowers.
Bear Valley Road winds through forested areas before leveling out through the wide, gentle expanse of Bear Valley and then slowly climbing through brush and tree-covered hills into Leesville and Lodoga or east to Williams. Along the way are frequent turnouts where people can park and walk, take photos or just enjoy the sounds and sights of the valley.
The American Land Conservancy site is about 13 miles from Highway 20 and is marked by a sign on the right side of the road that says, “Wildflower Access” where visitors are able to walk — and meditate — among the many acres of blooms.
