SLO County wildflowers are in full bloom — here’s a peek at one of the best displays
While San Luis Obispo County residents are staying close to home, nature is putting on a springtime show.
After a month of late-season rain, wildflowers are blooming in fields and along roadsides all across the Central Coast. Although the displays won’t quite measure up to 2019’s super bloom, the colorful flowers are still drawing residents seeking to get out of the house.
The bloom is particularly vibrant in fields off Shell Creek Road and Highway 58 near Santa Margarita, said Daniel Sinton, whose family owns some of the most popular wildflower viewing spots.
“We’re happy people can kind of find a place of solace out here in the middle of all this,” he said.
Some of the earliest flowers initially began to wilt due to the county’s dry winter, Sinton said.
But a wet March and early April helped them hang on while bringing out additional blooms, he said.
Right now, the family’s pastures — which serve as cattle grazing land, as well as open space — are filled with goldfields, California poppies, lupines, owl’s clovers and buttercups, Sinton said.
“Pretty much everything is blooming right now,” he said.
The flowers are currently reaching their peak, and the display drew a good number of visitors on Easter Sunday, Sinton said. Typically, people come to see the bloom on weekends.
But with more people at home during the day, visitors have been showing up on weekdays, too, Sinton said.
The family put up additional signs notifying flower-watchers that they’re visiting private property, and most people have been respectful, he said.
Sinton hasn’t observed any crowding and said most people are “smart enough to keep their distance.”
“It’s pretty easy to stay 6 feet apart when you’re out in nature,” he said.
This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 2:37 PM with the headline "SLO County wildflowers are in full bloom — here’s a peek at one of the best displays."
