Hidden Wildflower Hotspot

If you are looking for wildflowers and would like to avoid the crowds I would like to share with you a location my good friend, Will Bakx, and I found in 2016. Like 2023, 2016 was anticipated to be a good year for a super bloom. We didn't want the crowds at the more popular places so we headed for the foothills east of Fresno, California.

Not having a particular destination in mind for our photography expedition, we just wandered for awhile, finding patches of blooms here and there but nothing like a super bloom. In a moment of inspiration we approached the mailman on his rural delivery. He know just the place and gave us directions.

Pine Flat Lake was our new destination and what a delight it turned out to be. We were on a road that traverses the north side of the lake. With the first scene of flowers our jaws dropped with excitement. Then we would turn the corner and another even more beautiful scene would unfold.

We stayed that night in Clovis and were up early the next morning and on our way back to the lake well before sunrise. It is about an hour drive from Clovis to the lake but we stopped frequently to take pictures and take in the unfolding beauty of the flowers. We found a patch of lupin (see first image above) on our way.

Exploring areas away from the lake we found an abundance of pastoral scenes. Notice the hillside in the background, covered entirely!

But I particularly liked the scenes with the lake in the background. It was remarkable that this gorgeous location had so few visitors. We met a local resident who said this was the best bloom in this area that he has seen in the past 40 years he had lived there. I have not returned since this trip so I do not know the current conditions in this area, hopefully they have not been scarred by the many fires in the Fresno area. But then again, fires can sometimes result in amazing blooms. If you decide to go there this year I would love to hear about your experience.

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