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Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve

15101 Lancaster Road, Lancaster, California

Description

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is located in northern Los Angeles County, in the Mojave Desert climate zone. It harbours the most consistent bloom of California poppies with other wildflowers also there in numbers: lupine, goldfields, owl's clover, cream cups and coreopsis. The wildflower bloom generally occurs from mid-March through April, but varies slightly each year. The reserve has and interpretative center (open March 1st through Mother's Day) and 11km of trails including a section paved to enable wheelchair access.

Access & Transport

The reserve is located in the rural west side of Antelope Valley in northern Los Angeles County, 15 miles (24 km) of Highway 14 near the city of Lancaster. The visitor center is located 1/2 mile north of the intersection of 150th St W & Lancaster Road.

Instructions & Recommendations

1- Visitors must stay on official trails. DO NOT walk where others have already crushed plants; it will increase the damage - and do not bring dogs. 2- Where flowers are blooming near the road, watch for car doors swinging open, erratic driving as people take pictures out the windows, and children and dogs dashing out into the road. 3- Mojave green rattlesnakes are active in the daytime when it's warm, and in the evenings on hot days. They are not aggressive and will not attack unless startled or threatened.

Meta review

Pretty straightforward online reviews with 2 thrusts: generally beautiful during the blooming season but nothing very impressive afterwards and why can't people take selfies at the edge of the road instead of stepping / lying on the flowers and crushing them? Besides that, the small museum is rated as mildly interesting and a note that it can be very windy.

Environmental & Social

Infrastructure is kept to a minimum and proper rules are in place - not the park's fault if visitors ignore them :-(

Conclusion

If you happen to be road-tripping between the Central Coast and L.A. in March and April then by all means, it would be wasted opportunity not to enjoy nature's gift. Easier to time and schedule for LA residents, clearly.

Key positive

Beautiful landscape during blooming season

Good infrastructure

Key negative

Short season

Can be busy

Suitability

The interpretive centre and a section of trail are accessible for visitors with reduced mobility

About this Rating

TYPE

Desktop

RESEARCHED IN

August 2024

PROVIDER

Koreval

Included Items
None
Timing
Duration of visit
Accessible year-round but blooming period is March / April

av. transport time:1h

est. visit time:1h 30m

Sunlight based

Sunrise / early morningOk

MorningOk

Lunch timeOk

AfternoonOk

Sunset / eveningOk

Night – bef. midnightNo

Night – aft. midnightNo

Pricing
Reflects the parking fee of $10 per vehicle

Max number of travellers:8

Min. Child age:3

Max. child age:11

Traveller #
Adult
Child
1
US$10
US$10
2+
US$0
US$0

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