The word “heavenly” isn’t quite adequate as description for a California Poppy Super Bloom.
This rare event happens only about once every 10 years, so when it happens it’s a major event.
Visiting And Hiking The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve During A Super Bloom (Lancaster, CA)
Editor’s Note: This article is part of my ongoing series on the State of California and its sister-series, Hiking California.Â
About The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve
The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is located in Southern California, North of Los Angeles, west of the City of Lancaster.
The Reserve is a California State Park and has an entrance fee of $10.00 USD per vehicle.
Image: parks.ca.gov
Arrival At The Park
The Visitor CenterÂ
The vehicle entrance and parking lot
Park Map Of The Hiking Trails
Image: parks.ca.gov
Hiking The Tehachapi Vista Point And Poppy Loop Trail
We chose to hike the popular Tehachapi Vista Point trail (on the park’s Westside),which we combined with the connected Poppy Loop North and South Trails.
The total distance of this loop was about 2.3 miles and took us about 1 and a half hours to complete (but that was with many stops for photos).
The trail loops around in a circle from the Visitor Center on a well-maintained and smooth system of dirt paths.
Although not strenuous, there are still some slightly challenging hills and the trails are completely exposed to the sun (so be sure to bring a hat and plenty of water).
This Joshua Tree marks the start of the trailheads
This is rattlesnake countryÂ
Follow the signage
As you can see, this trail is popular – very popular.Â
You can see the vista point on the hill ahead
Yes, this is real!
Nearing the vista point
The view Northwest along the Lighting Bolt Trail (on the far right) from the Coyote Cutoff
The colorful view to the WestÂ
A few purple plants accent the landscape
Rare “white” poppies
The trail cuts right down the middle of the sea of orange
Final Thoughts: Visiting And Hiking The Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve During A Super Bloom (Lancaster, CA)
There is nothing quite like seeing a super bloom of California Poppies in person.
Even if there’s not a super bloom, you can still see plenty of Poppies and hike the many wonderful trails of this reserve anytime during the year.
You can even check out the bloom status of the California Poppies from this live streaming camera.
While a super bloom may not happen every year, the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is home to the California State Flower and is definitely worth a visit.
