I just got back from a great weekend in Anza-Borrego, and while the wildflowers still aren’t out in force quite yet, there are a few areas in the north end of the park that are pretty colorful.

Borrego Palm Canyon, near the popular campground, didn’t have any particularly large number of flowers, but it did have a few of a great variety of flowers. The whole area looked like it was just waking up from a long sleep, with lots of birds, bugs, and other critters roaming the canyons.

There is a small bloom that’s just starting on the south slope of Coyote Mountain and along Henderson Canyon Road. It’s a very easy area to reach, and you can literally just pull your car over and start wandering through the meadows to get some good pictures:

Here’s their most recent bloom report:

The mouth of Coyote Canyon at the end of DiGiorgio is displaying a lot of Spectacle Pods and Brown-Eyed Primrose. As you continue up towards Desert Garden, look for Desert Lilies, Lupine, Desert Dandelions, Fremont Pincushions, Chicory, Phacelia, and Verbena.

As you approach Peg Leg on Henderson Canyon Road there is a large patch of Sand Verbena mixed with Dune Evening Primrose on the north side of the road. Also look for Lupine, Brown-Eyed Primroses, and Spanish Needles. With the weather we have had, and the warmer weather still to come, there should be more flowers coming.

Walking around Palm Canyon Campground and up the Palm Canyon Trail look for Chicory, Brown-Eyed Primroses, Popcorn Flowers, Desert Dandelion, Wishbone, Chuparosa, Brittlebush, Cheese bush, Phacelia, Wishbone, and Desert Lavender blooming. Arroyo Salado has Desert Lilies starting to pop up. In Hawk Canyon look for Sunflowers, Desert Lavender, Brown- Eyed Primrose, Verbena, Popcorn Flowers, Brittle Bush ,Desert Lilies, and Creosote.

The south end of the park near Mountain Palm Springs and Bow Willow has come into bloom with Desert Daisies, Thick-Leafed Groundcherry, Datura, Brown-Eyed Primroses,Purple Mat, and Fishhook and Barrel Cactuses already blooming.

Most of the rangers and voluneers I talked to expect the big bloom to hit sometime in the next two to three weeks. Be sure to call their Wildflower Hotline at (760) 767-4684, or call the visitor center at (760) 767-5311. Everyone I talked to over the weekend was very knowledgeable and helpful.

The trail write-ups will probably come in a few days, once I get some free time to sit down and write (and clean my gear, too!), but until then, you can check out some of my bloom pictures in this Flickr album:

Tags: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, bloom, Photography, wildflowers