Spring has officially arrived. To me, spring means “Wildflowers!!” Just before spring arrives, I crawl out of my cave and begin looking for the first bits of color to appear in the winter grass. I start listening for reports of wildflowers blooming here and there. As often as we can, my husband and I take to the road. He drives and I scan the roadside for flowers. I will sometimes exclaim, “Oooh some red ones!” or “Quick, pull over!” Which he does. So when I hear on the grapevine that the flowers are beginning to bloom in Yosemite, I get excited and start planning excursions! During wildflower season, we go to Yosemite every couple of weeks just to hunt and photograph the wildflowers.
Yosemite is huge, nearly 1200 square miles. Elevations within the park range from 2000 feet to over 13,000 feet. With a change that extreme, Yosemite offers a wide variety of ecological zones. Each zone supports a different wildflower community. With the many zones you will find flowering times that begin in early spring and end in late summer. The higher you go, the later the wildflower season, because the higher the elevation, the lower the temperature at any given time. By the way, this is perfect for a summer beat-the-heat getaway, as the temps in the high country are much lower than on the Yosemite valley floor.
So, how do you begin the hunt? I get out my books and start planning. There are books that can help you plan to maximize your wildflower opportunities. Some give you specific routes that you can drive in a day. Or maybe you prefer to select a hike and go on foot. There are resources that can help you choose a hike for your hunt. Whatever you choose, if you love wildflowers, be sure to seek out the wildflowers of Yosemite. You will find some wonderful treasures there.
My favorite resources-
Books–Wildflowers of Yosemite, by Lynn & Jim Wilson and Jeff Nicholas. This one is my favorite to throw in the backpack on excursions to Yosemite. It has a nifty map that shows major roads and wildflower points of interest. The thing I love about this book is the pre-planned day trips that take you to the flower hot spots. The trips begin in the lower elevations (where you want to go early in the season) and in later chapters progress to the higher elevations, into the high country, where the flowers bloom until late summer. The pictures are clear and make for quick identification.
An Illustrated Flora of Yosemite National Park, by Stephen J. Botti. This is a huge book that is THE technical reference book for botanists. But don’t let that scare you. There is lots of fascinating information here. Since the entries are listed by families, I keep an photo identification book handy and after I have identified the specimen I delve into Illustrated Flora for the details. Here you will find all the wildflowers known at the time of publishing. No photographs, but lovely watercolor illustrations on nearly every page. It is more than one hundred dollars, but it will tell you (almost) more than you wanted to know about the flora of Yosemite.
Websites–
yosemitehikes.com (hikes) — All you need to know to select the perfect hike.
yosemitehikes.com (wildflowers) — A great online reference to help you identify wildflowers. It even gives you some fascinating details about the flowers. (And its a lot of fun to read)
That should help you get started on your Yosemite wildflower hunt.
P.S. Don’t pick any of the pretty flowers. It is illegal to damage or remove any animal, vegetable or mineral from Yosemite National Park. Bring camera, leave with memories.
Happy hunting,
Susan
Oh, here is a video to whet your Yosemite Wildflower appetite.
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