Exploring SoCal’s SUPERBLOOM!

April 7, 2017

With pictures of poppies, flooding Instagram lately, it was hard to resist the opportunity to see Southern California’s superbloom in action! Due to record rainfalls over the winter, this wildflower season was record-breaking. According to experts, blooms like these only happen once per decade (!) so I feel lucky to experience them during my first spring living in Los Angeles.

I joined forces with my friend & fellow photographer extraordinaire, Elizabeth Burgi to have a flower day adventure and I am sharing the imagery + my tips for 3 great spots to take photos of the blooms here! But go soon! Like this weekend soon! The flowers won’t be in bloom for that much longer:

1. Walker Canyon @ Lake Elsinore
This is the place to see the poppies! Take the Lake St exit off of the 15 freeway. If you’re coming from the north, the trail will be on your left. Make sure you bring suitable hiking shoes and clothes! It’s a dusty, mile climb until you reach the best poppies. I wore my Allbirds and a pair of white shorts that were quickly ruined when I slid down a hill! Don’t worry, the camera was fine. Anything for a good photo right? Sometimes you just have to laugh it off. I also brought a bag of clothes to change into so I wasn’t hiking in this fancy red ASOS dress…! One caveat, though, on the way out we saw a rattlesnake, so heads up! He was just slithering right up alongside the trail and I may or may not have tried to get as close as possible for the Instagram story.

Photo by Elizabeth Burgi Photography Photo by Elizabeth Burgi Photography Photo by Elizabeth Burgi Photography Photo by Elizabeth Burgi Photography Photo by Elizabeth Burgi Photography

Red Lace Dress
White Sunnies by Pared
White Sun Hat (under $25!)
Merci Beacoup Tee (30% off!)
Matte Lipstick (in Rebellious)
White Shorts by Grana (old)
Sneakers by AllBirds

2. Chino Hills State Park
Welcome to the most beautiful rolling hills of yellow blooms! I visited this stunning park with my cousin Christy and her fam and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Exit the 71 freeway, onto Soquel Canyon Parkway toward Central Ave, turn left onto Elinvar Dr and then proceed up a steep and winding road through the state park. It won’t seem like a road, but it is! About a mile in there’s a pay booth requiring a $5 entrance fee, and 2 miles after that, there’s a horse park where we parked and took a hike through the blooms!

3. The Flower Fields at Carlsbad
Although not a result of the superbloom, this working flower farm near LegoLand is still a site to see during this time of year! For a $14 entrance fee, you can see rows and rows of rainbow blooms. Elizabeth and I stopped there after Walker Canyon and it was a lot cloudier than earlier in the day. The fields are beautiful but if you want the wide open shots of rolling fields, head to one of the wild flower spots instead, these fields are bordered by apartments and an outlet mall so it was hard to get a super picturesque wide viewpoint.

Photo by Elizabeth Burgi Photography with a little Skies Over effect because it was a cloudy day! Photo by Elizabeth Burgi Photography