Death Valley’s superbloom
Death Valley and several California desert state parks are seeing a rare wildflower surge after winter rains — expect primroses, purple lacy phacelia and yellow coreopsis in the field now, described by experts as a ‘superbloom’ you can still catch before the heat arrives [][].
The National Park Service updated current bloom locations on March 11, 2026 and described 2026 as “the best bloom year since 2016.” (nps.gov) NPS-listed hotspots for this pulse include North Badwater Road, South Badwater Road near Ashford Mill, Highway 190 between Stovepipe Wells and Furnace Creek, and the Beatty Cutoff, with the agency noting Ashford Mill is already past peak in places. (nps.gov) The surge follows an unusually wet autumn — called the wettest fall on record by Weather.com — and park officials pointed to nearly three inches of rain last fall as a key trigger for this season’s exceptional germination. (weather.com) The only similar-scale event in recent memory was 2016, when more than 209,000 people visited Death Valley during that superbloom, a figure cited in reporting that also linked heavy visitation to traffic jams and damage to fragile areas. (popsci.com) California State Parks issued a March news release identifying several desert state parks showing strong displays — including Anza-Borrego, Red Rock Canyon, Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve and Saddleback Butte — and shared PoppyCam and field photos to document conditions. (parks.ca.gov) Forecasts from park and weather services expect low-elevation flowers to continue into mid‑to‑late March but stress variability by site, noting many sprouts have yet to flower and that peak color will remain brief and location-dependent. (accuweather.com)
