California State Poppy Reserve

Poppy season is coming! Are you ready?

The Jane S. Pinheiro Interpretive Center at the reserve will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends for the duration of the wildflower season.

The reserve features eight miles of trails through gentle rolling hills, including a paved section for wheelchair access, that make the park a wonderful place to hike and explore any season. Benches along the trails are good places to sit and gaze upon wildflowers and wildlife – singing meadow larks, ravens gliding in the thermals above, lizards zipping across the trail, gopher snakes and rattlesnakes. Visitors might even spot a coyote or bobcat.

Although the reserve is home to numerous wildflower species, most people are interested in the California poppy. As of Feb. 23, due to recent rains, poppy plants were starting to germinate.

It should be at least a couple of weeks before blooms start to appear.

Reserve officials expect a peak season in late April or even early May.

Admission to the reserve is as follows: $10 per vehicle, $9 per vehicle with a senior on board (age 62 and older), $5 per vehicle with DPR Disabled Discount Card. Small buses, 9 to 24 passengers, $50. Large busses, 25 or more passengers, $100. Vehicle entrance for K-12 school groups is free with advance registration. Day-use tickets are valid for entrance on the same day to any other California State Park charging the same or lower rates.

The reserve is 15 miles west of Lancaster at 15101 Lancaster Road. From Highway 14: take the Avenue I exit and head west 15 miles. Avenue I becomes Lancaster Road.

The reserve is open from sunrise to sunset. For details, call the park at (661) 946-6092.

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