The Anza-Borrego desert, just a few hours away from Los Angeles, is currently packed with blooming wildflowers, sweet smells and rusty dinosaurs.
Visiting the Super Bloom is a fun way to step out of the ordinary this weekend. If you’re not sure where to go, here are some stops you can make on the way and where you can wander.
Pro tip: Ideally you should aim to be there by noon, when the flowers are in full bloom. By 3pm the flowers start to close for the evening.
Modern Hiker’s founder Casey Schreiner talked to Press Play last week to give some advice on how to enjoy the blooms.
Modern Hiker also has this great flower hunting resource. Check it out, here.
Also, there are donuts. On the drive out to the desert, if you want to stop for donuts (and, really, you do) you can drive through one of the most photographed donut shops in the county: The Donut Hole in La Puente.
Fueled up, you can then make it all the way out through the stunning mountain roads on the way to the desert. You’ll pass poppy lined hillsides off the 15.
Pro tip: As Schreiner pointed out, you absolutely want to bring water.
Stop at the Anza-Borrego visitors center if you want a map and an indoor restroom. Then head to the open fields of Galleta Meadows Estates. There you’ll find 130 metal statues of dinosaurs, tortoises and even a huge serpent that dot the desert skyline.
When you get to the meadows of blooms, you’ll smell the overwhelming sweetness of the wildflowers that stretch as far as you can see. There are trails you can follow to take you into the blooms, be aware to not step on the blooms or try to make your own trail and disrupt the ecosystem in place.
Remember, the drive home is through a mountain range. You might want to leave with plenty of time before the sun sets.
Tell us how it goes @KCRW.
Here’s a map!