Northern California wildflowers could bloom early this spring after rain soaked the ground and late winter temperatures reached the 70s, warming the wilderness around Redding
Shasta County wildflowers create a carpet of yellow, blue, purple and orange after warm wet seasons and before hot weather arrives, master gardeners and park rangers said. That display may start in late spring or summer at higher altitudes, like the mountains in Siskiyou and Lassen counties after the snow melts. But down in the Sacramento Valley many wildflowers bloom earlier.
Statewide, some California wildflowers are already blooming early, state park officials said. “The desert landscape is beginning to burst with color in parks such as Anza-Borrego Desert and Red Rock Canyon, with additional parks expected to display vibrant blooms in the weeks and months ahead.”
Park officials urged people to stay on trails and not risk damaging plants by stepping on them; and reminded guests it’s against the law to pick wildflowers on state and federal park lands.
Here are some places near Redding to look for wildflower displays, and state parks where California rangers expect wildflowers to bloom big in 2026.
Where to see wildflower blooms near Redding
Sun-exposed spots in Shasta State Historic Park and Whiskeytown National Recreation Area are good places to start looking for spring wildflowers, with early flowers like manzanita often blooming in March.
Whiskeytown spokesman Scott Einberger’s favorite spots to see wildflowers is the Crystal Creek Water Ditch Trail, he said, starting from “the beginning of Crystal Creek Road near Highway 299.” Other good wildflower watch spots include patches along the Davis Gulch Trail. Start at the trailhead on Kennedy Memorial Drive, roughly a mile past Whiskeytown Dam, he said.
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Here are other good places in or near Redding to hike to see wildflowers.
Wildflowers already blooming in California
Some wildflowers are in full bloom by early March at some California parks, and “peak bloom season” in some desert regions begins as early as mid-February, depending on the area and weather, according to the California State Parks Department.
Many state parks had notable blooms in 2017, 2019, and 2023, “attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world to view this natural phenomenon.” The kinds of blooms depends on the park and the timing, but “visitors may see sand verbena, desert poppies, primroses, desert sunflowers, and apricot mallow, among others,” the state said.
Anza Borrego State Park was voted by visitors as having the Best Wildflowers in the 2025 Best of California State Parks poll
Some California parks that got rain this year and are expecting moderate to strong wildflower blooms include:
You don’t need to travel to Los Angeles to see the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve in bloom from mid-March to May. It’s still early, but soon you can check out poppies, fiddleneck and redstem filaree via the reserve’s PoppyCam live feed.
Desert Palm reporter Daniella Segura contributed to this story.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica on Record Searchlight Facebook groups Get Out! Nor Cal , Today in Shasta County and Shaping Redding’s Future. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Where to see wildflower blooms in Redding and California