Walk the Dog and Welcome the Wildflowers in the San Francisco Bay Area

It’s still officially winter according to the calendar but our Bay Area parks, greenways and hillsides don’t seem to know that. They’re already stepping into spring. Just about any outdoor area that isn’t paved is awash in lush verdant green. Fields, hillsides, freeway embankments, and coastal bluffs have begun their annual show of wildflowers in yellows, oranges, blues, purples, pinks and whites.

Wildflowers turn an ordinary hike into a sensory delight. Whenever I venture out into a meadow of wildflowers I feel like I’ve stepped into another time and place. I could be in the midst of a Van Gogh countryside or a Monet flower garden. There are deep orange California poppies, sunny yellow buttercups, miniature purple irises, sleepy cornflower blue blooms with perfectly round petals, and slender lilies that stand bravely on windswept hills to name just a few. I’m heady with the scents and dazzled by the colors. My ears are alive with birdsong and the whirr of hummingbird wings. It won’t be long before butterflies arrive and add their own mystique to the landscape.

If you’re in the mood for a wildflower excursion, you’re in luck. There are so many Bay Area spots to see wildflowers we couldn’t possibly list them all here. Some of the best bets include Point Reyes National Seashore, Glen Canyon Park, Mount Diablo, Henry Coe State Park, Sunol Regional Wilderness, Angel Island, and Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve.

Local chapters of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) keep tabs on what’s blooming where, lists that information on their websites, and host field trips and wildflower discovery walks. Check out the Marin CNPS chapter at http://www.marin.edu/cnps/; the East Bay chapter at http://www.ebcnps.org/index.html; and the Monterey Bay chapter at http://www.montereybaycnps.org/.

Related Articles:
-Walkin' the Dog at Lafayette Reservoir
-Sulphur Creek Nature Center in Hayward - Learn about Local Wildlife
-Dog Play: Pulgas Ridge Open Space Preserve

Flickr Photo Credit: Franco Folini

Lisa-Anne Manolius is the multi- talented owner/trainer of Oh Behave! in San Francisco. A graduate of the S.F. SPCA's Academy for Dog Trainers and U.C. Berkeley's Boalt School of Law, she's available for dog behavior consultations, private training sessions, and to teach a variety of group classes. She can be reached at lisaohbehave@gmail.com.