Welcome to Travel Tuesday! I actually went on this hike over a year ago, but since I only recently finished recapping my road trip adventures, you’re hearing about this now! :P
How this place existed for all the years I was living just next door (alright, 20-30 minutes, but still) and not knowing about it makes me sad, but better late than never, right? I actually learned about this because of the hospitalist I was working with when I got drafted to work in the hospital last April!
Rocky Ridge View and Elderberry Loop Trail
Distance: 4.7 miles (loop)
Elevation: 1112 ft
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
Duration: 2-3 hours, depending on how much time you spend hanging out with the flowers!
Address: 37.81603,-122.04969
Parking: Free!
If you’re looking for a trail with gorgeous views of fields of wildflowers, this is it!!! (Late April/early May would be the best time to come here!)
- The trail is a bit exposed, so be sure to wear a hat and wear SPF.
- There are rattlesnakes (we heard/saw two!), so please don’t go off-roading.
- If you have seasonal allergies (e.g. to pollen),Ā take your allergy medicineĀ before going or you will be in a world of suffering.
-
The way down is kinda steep at times, so either bring hiking poles, or be careful and walk down sideways/in zigzags + go slowly.
- If you’re going between early March/mid-May, the gate locks at 7pm, so make sure you head out before then! (More on hours here!)
- Have you ever been on a wildflower hike?
- What’s your favorite flower?
24 comments
Skip to comment form
Squee those golden poppies shining in the sun are soooo pretty! Do you still live close by now Farrah? It sounds like it is almost the perfect time of year to do this hike again!
I do! I haven’t made it out to this one yet because there are apparently a tonnn of different wildflower hikes I’ve been missing out on and I’ve been trying to get to all of em’, but progress is slow-going because of life right now, hehe. Hopefully at some point soon! *-*
Farrah recently posted…Rocky Ridge View and Elderberry Loop Trail
I love those gorgeous poppies! What a lovely hike this must be! So, is April when the poppies start to bloom? For some reason I thought it was earlier.
It was really pretty! :D! I think you can start seeing them starting in around mid-March (depending on how temperamental the weather is deciding to be) but it generally lasts til around May. The superbloom here was in late April-May-ish though last year!
Farrah recently posted…Rocky Ridge View and Elderberry Loop Trail
All the flowers look incredible! I love how bright and full they are.
It was such a pretty hike! :]!
The flowers are beautiful!!! Well worth any effort needed to hike and see them!
Agreed! :D Love that there were so many all over the trail! :]
What a beautiful scenic hike! This trail with gorgeous views of fields of wildflowers looks great. The details are helpful. Nothing like a pleasant hike rather than a strenuous one. :-)
Very much agreed! :P
Farrah recently posted…Bayview Trail in Coyote Hills Regional Park
It looks like a beautiful hike to go on with all of the colourful flowers, and not too difficult either which is great!
Yeah! Definitely a nice in-between sort of hike! :]
Farrah recently posted…Bayview Trail in Coyote Hills Regional Park
Those wildflowers! Those poppies! AHHH!! So beautiful!
I definitely need to find more trails like this one! *-*
Farrah recently posted…Bayview Trail in Coyote Hills Regional Park
I was ready to sign up after seeing all those gorgeous photos of California poppies. (I plant them in my Canadian garden every summer, treasuring those seedlings that emerge on their own after winter.) But then, I stumbled across… rattlesnakes??? Hmmm. But then again, I just Googled how to avoid them and it sounds like becoming rattle snake savvy isn’t too complicated.
hehe, I think as long as you stay on the trail, you’re generally good to go! They stayed off the trail and you could generally hear them more so than see them! (That’s awesome that you plant these! *-* We have one lone poppy in our backyard right now, hehe.)
Farrah recently posted…Bayview Trail in Coyote Hills Regional Park
This place looks amazing! I’d love to visit one day!
Yay! I hope you get to visit sometime!
Farrah recently posted…Bayview Trail in Coyote Hills Regional Park
Great post! This place looks amazing. I haven’t been to California in years, but I’m itching to go back.
Thank you! I hope you get to come back sometime to visit! :]
Farrah recently posted…Bayview Trail in Coyote Hills Regional Park
Hi Farrah –
My wife and I were on the Rocky Ridge trail this Sun morning (April 3), and we enjoyed all the golden poppies
that were displayed along all the hillsides. My question – what was the purple flowered weed that was
also inter-mixed with the golden poppies. I know one was lupine with the 15+ petal heads, but there was
another purple flowered weed, that had crawling stems. That was covering a lot of the hillside too.
If you know that weed species, please let me know. Thank you !
Hi! That’s awesome that you and your wife got to go check it out! It’s been a couple years so I’m not sure what type of purple flower/weed you saw, unfortunately. Did it look anything like any of the pictures here (http://nwhiker.com/wildPURPLE.html)?
I need to go back again sometime this spring — if I come across it and am able to identify it, I’ll let you know!
Farrah –
Thank you so much for sending that purple wildflower guide !
The Cow Vetch was definitely what we saw spread on the hills with all the
golden poppies!
From now to middle of April is the perfect time to view all those wildflowers along the Rocky Ridge trail. They were really blooming !
Thanks again for your response š
Clayton
Aww, yay! I’m glad you got to check it out — I’ve unfortunately been swamped with work the past couple weekends, but fingers crossed that I’ll finally get to trek out there this weekend.
Happy trails! :]