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The spring wildflower
display is one of the great pleasures of living in Mariposa
County. Each day brings tiny new blooms on hillsides,
roadsides, and meadows. The flowers are easy to enjoy
without effort on a quick trip to town or along a familiar
route. But it is also a perfect time to explore or revisit
special places in the county where the show is likely to be
especially good, or even spectacular. Each year is unique;
the abundance is dependent on rainfall amounts and timing,
as well as temperature variations. Last year, the Merced
River Canyon, which is frequently impressive, was
outstanding, very worthy of a special trip. Choose a sunny
morning or afternoon throughout March and early April. In
each of these areas, there will be a succession of blooms
that often merits a return visit.
There are several
excellent books by local authors that definitely add to the
enjoyment of our county and its environs. Ann
Mendershausen's Wildflowers of the Hite's Cove Trail is an
ideal aid in identifying the flowers of that trail, many of
which are also found elsewhere in Mariposa. Ralph
Mendershausen's fascinating history of the gold mines of
that same area, Treasures of the South Fork, will also
greatly enrich any trip in that direction. If these hikes
and trips whet your appetite for more excursions, Midpines
resident Sharon Giacomazzi has recently published Trails and
Tales of Yosemite and the Central Sierra: A Guide for Hikers
and History Buffs, which includes the hikes listed here and
leads you on to many more. This book weaves natural and
human history in a wonderfully entertaining style. To help
with flower identification, you can leaf through the photo
reference guide prepared by MERG, “Wildflowers Along the
Merced River Below Briceburg,” at the Mariposa Visitor's
Center. A good general book is “A Field Guide to Pacific
States Wildflowers” by Theodore F. Neihaus. The Mariposa
Visitor Center and the Museum and History Center carry a
variety of wildflower books.
Below are listed some of
the favorite wildflower viewing areas.
THE MERCED RIVER CANYON
on Highway 140 toward Yosemite is a very rewarding spring
drive with large splashes of orange poppies, yellow
goldfields, and baby-blue eyes on the hillsides across the
river and the magenta redbud shrubs along the road.
The HITE'S COVE TRAIL is
probably one of the most popular and spectacular wildflower
walks in the state. After parking along Highway 140, across
from Savage's Trading Post, it is a fairly short scramble up
to the narrow trail above the South Fork of the Merced
River. Color abounds above and below on the hillside:
yellows, oranges, blues, reds, and whites. One can identify
well over 50 species with little effort. There are poppies,
lupines, gilias, owl's clover, fiesta flowers, shooting
stars, and much more. Short distances provides a good
display but consider hiking the entire four and a half mile
trail to the historic Hite's Cove and discover even greater
varieties of flowers.
The BRICEBURG CANYON ROAD
that follows the Merced River for six miles down from the
Briceburg Visitor's Center is a quiet dirt road allowing one
to enjoy spring displays by car, if desired. Look for
Chinese houses, fairy lanterns, lupines, and monkey flowers.
PENDOLA GARDEN ROAD, which runs from Highway 49 North
near Bear Valley for four miles to Old Toll Road west of Mt.
Bullion, is another quiet place to take your time to see a
large variety of colorful wildflowers. There is a marshy
area near Highway 49 where meadow foam, five spots, shooting
stars and other wildflowers that favor moist areas are
found.
BEN HUR ROAD is
especially good for redbud, baby-blue eyes, and lupines.
HIGHWAY 140 toward
Merced, before and after Cunningham Road, has numerous
vernal pools--clay-based depressions in fields that retain
water and display colorful flowers in circles around the
edges in the spring.
WE
ARE FORTUNATE TO LIVE IN AN AREA OF SUCH NATURAL BEAUTY.
TAKE TIME THIS SPRING TO ENJOY IT.
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