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If there’s anything more exciting than seeing zebras on the San Simeon hillside, it’s watching these wild creatures against a jubilant backdrop of wildflowers. And, oh, what wildflowers we will see. Given the rains that have hovered over the Central California Coast this winter, spring promises to unfurl blankets of poppies, bluebells and many others. Whether it means watching a monarch butterfly feed on narrow-leaved milkweed while on a morning hike or a small Venus looking-glass shimmering beside your pine forest picnic, the Highway 1 Road Trip wildflowers webpage will tell you where to fine the show!
Like wildflowers, local wildlife appears almost everywhere we look. Whatever nature is on your must-see list, the Highway 1 Wildlife Map will take you there. Available to download free, the Wildlife Map provides an excellent resource when taking a Highway 1 road trip.
Hummingbirds nest in the same eucalyptus groves where a few hundred monarch butterflies continue to roost. Elephant seal pups bask in the sun when they aren’t learning to swim in the Pacific. Farther out to sea, but within view from several vistas along the Whale Trail, gray, blue and other whale species migrate past. And those zebras? They roam most days between Highway 1 and Hearst Castle.
Casual and avid birders can use the map to locate ideal habitats to see some of the 400 avian species recorded in the area. Spring equals migration season, an excellent opportunity to see thousands of shorebirds work the beaches, raptors soar on the thermals, and songbirds of every color and stripe flit through woodlands, in the canyons and above the wildflower-strewn meadows. Birding is always awesome on a Highway 1 road trip, but springtime birding along this stretch of California has few equals in America.
What could be better than seeking out warblers among the wildflowers, especially when a fabled “Super Bloom” appears imminent? Super Bloom or not, the hills have provided a green canvas early this year, where nature will use paintbrush, coast morning glory and other local flowers to color the landscape. Lazy Arrow Outdoor Adventures has added a Guided Wildflower Hike for the spring.
Bermuda buttercups and seaside daisies will sway in the breezes that blow along Estero Bluffs. Harmony Headlands State Park, located five minutes north of Cayucos, also provides habitat for many spring blooms. California poppies pose in still life against a backdrop of coastal rye and other grasses in the 784-acre coastal park.
The 90-acre Elfin Forest also stands tall as prime primrose and other plant habitat. Home to an impressive 200 species of plants, each of the biozones here hosts an array of unique flora. Brass buttons and yarrow splash golden rays across the landscape as blue dicks, sea lavender and lupine accent the habitat in blue.
Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Preserve
Humpback Whale Viewing at Morro Bay
Elephant Seal at Piedras Blancas
Wildflowers at Estero Bluffs
By StoryStudio on February 10, 2023 3:00 PM
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White Crane
Viewing at Morro Bay
Elephant Seals at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery
Avila Beach
Wildflowers at Piedras Blancas Light Station
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Spring Will Bloom Big on Highway 1 Road Trip
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Montaña de Oro State Park also boasts various habitats, but the “Mountain of Gold” provides the 8,000-acre natural oasis with its name. Bush monkey flowers set among the chaparral provide the gilded blanket for this rugged landscape, but hundreds of other wildflower species can also be found.
Every trail in Montaña de Oro provides a path beside beautiful flowers in spring: yellows like beach suncup and seaside wooly sunflower, bull thistle and annual honesty bathed in purple, a pink belladonna lily or scarlet California fuchsia. One can easily spend the day walking the trails with a plant guide in hand. A hike to 1,347-foot Valencia Peak provides a rare opportunity to explore the altitudinal changes in local flora while getting great exercise too.
Whether you choose Highway 1’s signature park, Montaña de Oro, or slip onto 17 miles of trails at the Fiscalini Ranch or the newish Pismo Preserve, you’ll find mustards, buttercups and baby blue eyes among thousands of other plants greeting the sun this spring. And don’t forget the sand-based plants at Nipomo Native Garden and Oceano Dunes. Wherever you go this spring along your Highway 1 road trip, an extraordinary bloom awaits you. Visit the Highway 1 Road Trip website to plot your nature parade today.
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