Where to See Wildflowers in Southern California this Spring

Spring is a magical time in Southern California. This is when the drab landscapes transform into the lush green hills and valleys. In certain places, the whole area is blanketed by colorful wildflowers. One of these places is the Chino Hills State Park. If you want to see tons of wildflowers in Southern California, Chino Hills State Park is the place to go. Depending on when you go, you can see the beautiful hillsides covered either by the orange California poppies or by the yellow mustard or thistle flowers. There are also many hiking trails within the park if you want to stretch your legs or have these beautiful wildflowers all to yourself.

Note: Please make sure to respect this beautiful place and the surrounding areas. Always practice LEAVE NO TRACE. This means no loud music, no graffiti, no taking artifacts or fossilized items, and pack out what you pack in! Please help us protect this place for generations to come!

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Where

Chino Hills State Park
4721 Sapphire Rd, Chino Hills, CA 91709

Parking

There are many parking areas inside the park. If you don’t want to pay the fee, you can park in the residential area outside the park and walk in.

Restroom

There are plenty of restrooms sprinkled through the main road.

Fee

The day-use vehicle parking is $10. Supposedly, there is a new hourly fee option for $3/hour. California State Park passes such as the Golden Bear, Golden Poppy, and California Explorer are accepted.

Hours

November – March: 8 AM – 5 PM
April – October: 8 AM – 7 PM

Time:

1 hours to a full day, depending on what you want to do.

Pet-friendly

Dogs are allowed only on paved roads and in campgrounds. Dogs are not allowed on park trails.

Ideal Time

March – April are the best months to see California wildflowers. We recommend getting there early to avoid the crowd as well as the heat.

Weather

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When is the Best Time to See California Wildflowers at Chino Hills State Park?

In Southern California, wildflower season is usually starting from March through at least May, or longer if you’re in higher elevation. March, sometimes early April, is the best month to visit if you want to see the bright orange California poppies. The poppies have a very short life span, usually around 1 to 2 weeks at most. However, if you’re interested in the tall yellow mustard flowers, they usually bloom in April and May. Keep in mind, mustard is a non-native plant. The number of wildflowers that you see at Chino Hills State Park, especially the California poppies, will depend on the amount of rain during the winter.

Getting to Chino Hills State Park

Even though Chino Hills State Park has 3 different entrances, Bane Canyon is the only one that visitors can drive into. Starting Jan 1st, 2022, the day-use vehicle parking has increased to $10. If you don’t want to pay the fee, you can park along the road before the entrance and walk up the narrow Bane Canyon Road. Please make sure to obey all traffic and parking signs here. If you’re hiking up the Bane Canyon Road, the first part of this road is quite steep. Also, make sure to keep an eye out for other hikers, vehicles, horses as well as bikers. You will be sharing the road with them. It is about 1 mile from the start of Bane Canyon Road to the pay station. We recommend paying the fee and driving inside the park. There are tons of stuff to do inside the park so you’ll save a lot of time driving in instead of hiking in.

Where to see California Wildflowers in Chino Hills State Park?

Chino Hills State Park is a decent-sized park. There are tons of trails where you can see wildflowers. Depending on when you go, you can see blankets of wildflowers even before the pay station as well as along Bane Canyon Road. However, for the best chance, we recommend driving further into the park, and from there, take a hike. It is about 1 miles from the Park Entrance to the pay station and 3.3 miles to end of Bane Canyon Road where Rolling M. Ranch is located. There are many overlooks as well as parking areas along Bane Canyon Road once you pass the pay station. You can always pick the one that works best for you. We actually parked at the end of the road, at the Rolling M. Ranch and hike from there.

When we were there, we did the Lower Aliso Canyon Trail, looped into the Scully Ridge trail. It was an almost 8-mile hike with 800 ft elevation gain for us that day but we got to see so many gorgeous fields of yellow mustard flowers, lupines, and many other wildflowers. If you don’t want to or can’t hike that far, you definitely can modify your route easily. Besides Lower Aliso Canyon Trail, there are some other popular wildflower trails such as Bane Ridge Trail, Bovinian Delight Trail, Telegraph Canyon Trail, and Little Canyon Loop.

Chino Hills State Park is our favorite place to see wildflowers in Southern California. We love the fact that it has so many different trails to see the wildflowers. This way, we can get away from the busy crowd and have the place mostly for ourselves. If you love hiking, check out our list for the best trails to see wildflowers in the spring. Joshua Tree is another great spot for wildflowers, especially if there are decent rainfalls over the winter. Don’t forget to check out our list of cool things to do at Joshua Tree.

These are the gear that we personally use and find them helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.

adventure gear

Depending on how far you want to go, we recommend bringing good hiking shoes. These is our favorite hiking shoes. We use them for canyoneering as well. Lots of traction. Vy’s version.