Anza-Borrego Wildflower Reports 2024

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Wildflower Field Guide

Plan your trip with our Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Introduction Package

• E-mail your digital photos and reports to Jim@desertusa.com. Use Wildflower Report as the subject of your e-mail. Let us know where you took the photo and the date.
• Text your photos and report to 760-740-1787
• Share your photos and report on DesertUSA’s Wildflowers Facebook Group.

How to get to the park - Map - You can also tour the 133 full-sized metal sculptures here that are inspired by creatures that roamed this same desert millions of years ago.

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More on the park: Park Information

A comprehensive book on Wildflowers found in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Large, beautiful photographs are arranged by color for easy identification. 

From Oct 1. 2023 to May 31 2024 the Visitor Center will be open 7 days a week, including holidays!

2024 Anza Borrego Desert - Wildflower updates

 

April 11, 2024 DesertUSA Reports: The vibrant wildflower display along Henderson Canyon Road has concluded for the season. Photo 04/10/2024

April 9, 2024 Anza-Borrego DSP Reports: Looking for a great place to enjoy cactus and some wildflowers? The Cactus Loop Trail may be the place for you. This short trail is located across the road from Tamarisk Grove. Besides the hedgehog, barrel and beavertail cactus flowers, you can find ocotillos and golden poppies in bloom. The trail tread is rocky and steep in places so if this isn’t a good choice for you it is recommended that you stay on the lower parts of the trail where you can still enjoy cactus, brittle bush and chuprosa flowers along with poppies and ocotillo blooms.

April 7, 2024 Anza-Borrego DSP Reports: The wildflower season is over. Sand verbena and other desert wildflowers have had their day in the sun and now it’s cactus time. If you enjoy large, bright blooms then cactus flowers were made for you. Check out the Cactus Loop Trail by Tamarisk Grove and the native garden at the visitor center to see these beauties.

April 4, 2024 Anza-Borrego Foundation Reports: Coyote Canyon and Henderson Canyon Rd.'s wildflower fields are mostly gone. As sad as we are to see the wildflowers go, we are grateful for such a magical season!
The good news: There are still flowers here (although some may say they are not Instagram-worthy, but we disagree). About a mile and a half into Coyote Canyon, there are Ocotillo and Indigo Bush (Schott's delea) blooming. Cacti are blooming on the Cactus Loop Trail. There is still a good-sized patch of Dune Evening Primrose and Desert Sand Verbena blooming near Truckhaven Trail near mile marker 30 North of the S-22.

April 4, 2024 Ivan Reports: Visited the historic Kumeyaay Indian village site off Mine Wash, Anza Borrego, and pleasantly surprised to see flowers after the winter rains. The dirt track off CA-78 was in good shape, the day was warm mid 80s but very dry, light breeze, perfect day for desert viewing. Below are some of the flowers there. 

April 1, 2024 Jonathan Reports: I took a trip out to Borrego 3/29/24 (Friday) and was rewarded with some great photo ops in surprising places!  First of all, I found a glorious patch of diversity about 9 miles east of the intersection of Henderson Canyon Road and S22...right off the side of the road (photos 01, 02 and 03).  Seriously, I didn't even have to step off the asphalt to get that shot of the flowering ocotillo with the lupine at the base.  Definitely worth a pullover and a short stroll.

Next up was a nice patch of purple at the wide pullout by Anza-Borrego Wildflower Spring Blooming Fields about 2 miles east of the junction, still along S22 .

And while the flowers in Henderson Canyon are fading rapidly thanks to the hungry, hungry caterpillars , a quick drive over to Di Giorgio Rd and a quick turn south provides another flowering field with the mountains as a glorious background .

As for Henderson Canyon, the flowers south of the road seem to be in better shape than their neighbors on the north side.  The backdrops might not be as majestic, but crouch down a little for some close-ups, and you should wind up with more than a few keepers.

March 29, 2024 David Reports: The ocotillos and creosote bushes were in glorious bloom in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park on Wednesday March 27. Also a photo of a desert lily. 

March 28, 2024 Greg L Reports: Anza Borrego Desert State Park, along Route S22 about 3-5 miles west of the east park boundary.Henderson Canyon 3/26/24

March 28, 2024 DUSA Reports: White sphinx caterpillar or the hornworm, the caterpillars feed on desert wildflowers in the spring. They are eating machines and can wipe out whole fields of wildflowers, they have spotted at Henderson Canyon so get there soon.

 

Short Video White sphinx Moth

March 27, 2024 Bob Reports: Anza-Borrego State Park, Henderson Canyon  March 24 2024

March 25, 2024 James Reports: Saw these at Anza Borrego DSP on March 21 on Ocotillo Flat in Coyote Canyon.

March 18, 2024 DesertUSA Reports: New video on the area.

 

March 14, 2024 Harriot Reports: We took these images 3/13/24 at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Dazzling show of desert sunflowers, purple verbena, and dune evening primroses along Henderson Valley Rd north of Borrego Springs. Hike up from the Coyote Canyon trailhead to see magenta beavertail cacti starting to bloom and brick red chuparosa shrubs keeping the bees happy. Finally, we found plenty of desert lilies, their serpentine leaves and creamy white starburst blooms appearing magically from the sand, in the wide wash at the end of the hike called “The Slot,” on the southeast side of the park. Just a few ocotillo blooms left but beautiful nonetheless.

March 11, 2024 JQ Reports: Taken on March 11, 2024 in Anza Borrego along Henderson canyon Road.

March 11, 2024 Jon Reports: Found Desert 5 Point plants with buds in the morning of 3/12/2024 in Coyote Canyon.  Returned in the afternoon at approximately 2pm and found 5 partially open.  Someone had picked or broken one.

March 11, 2024 Mike Valdez Reports: Taken March 6 Borrego springs - Henderson Canyon Rd

March 11, 2024 Anza Borrego foundation Reports: Current Flower Locations: Blooms are arriving in the heart of Borrego Springs along Henderson Canyon Road, the lower sandy dune portions of Coyote Canyon and in the southern portion of the state park along Highway S2 southeast of Agua Caliente County Park. Additionally, areas near June Wash moving northeast toward Fish Creek and Arroyo Tapiado are beginning to show the early bloomers like primrose, phacelia, and wooly sunflower. If moving south along the Highway S2, four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended on any unpaved park road.

Porta Potty Information:

To help accommodate our visitors and shoppers, porta potties (standard and ADA) and hand wash stations have been placed in the west and east ends of the gravel lot, between Jilberto's and The Mall parking lot. These will be cleaned daily and will be in place for through the end of March. A big thank you to the Mall owners, Jim & Anne Wermers who pledged to cover the cost!

Link to park Map

March 10, 2024 Pamela Reports: Henderson Canyon Rd is popping now with that divine verbena smell. Lots of dune evening primrose, brown eyed evening primrose, sand verbena in full flower (but still with some buds); mallows and lupines still just budding. DiGiorgio Rd a bit less so but it gets better as you head into Coyote Canyon, and not much bloom at all coming in via Montezuma Valley Rd until you get about even with the visitor center and then you start to see some chuparosa and phacelias tucked in. 

March 4, 2024 ABDSP Reports: Blooms are arriving in the heart of Borrego Springs along Henderson Canyon Road, the lower sandy dune portions of Coyote Canyon and in the southern portion of the state park along Highway S2 southeast of Agua Caliente County Park. Additionally, areas near June Wash moving northeast toward Fish Creek and Arroyo Tapiado are beginning to show the early bloomers like primrose, phacelia, and wooly sunflower. If moving south along the Highway S2, four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended on any unpaved park road.

March 2, 2024 DesertUSA Reports: Short video on the wildflowers.

 

 

March 1, 2024 DesertUSA Reports: Henderson Canyon Road and Coyote Canyon Road currently have a beautiful display of wildflowers. Additionally, several washes and canyons are also filled with blooming wildflowers. As it is still early in the season, more wildflower patches are expected to show up in various areas. During our exploration, we spotted some blooming cacti near the entrance of Mine Wash, off Rt 78.

Henderson Canyon Road

Road let you park next to wildflowes

The two photos above are from Coyote Canyon

Fishhook Cactus - Mine Wash entrance off RT 78

 

More report from Feb 2024

 

 

 

Wildflower field guide ebook
find the wildflowers by color - Kindle, iPads and Smart phones. $4.99

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More Information

Photos tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography and wildflowers photos.

 

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