The Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve is a remarkable place to witness the spring bloom of California’s state flower. In summer, the landscape looks as if the sun has scorched every trace of life from the ground, and it’s hard to imagine anything could thrive there. Yet in spring, nature proves otherwise, as wildflowers push through the dry soil, creating a vivid display of color across the reserve.

The Carrizo Plain National Monument is a remote place in the heart of California's Central Valley that comes to life with wildflowers during spring, occasionally showcasing a superbloom in ideal years — as it was the case in 2023. The monument is a vast grassland that historically stretched across much of California’s Central Valley. Today, it is, in the midst of agriculture and the oil industry, the last remnant of this type of landscape in California.