In Full Bloom

Here are some of the most spectacular and picturesque places in the country to experience beautiful, vibrant wildflowers

WRITTEN BY Pamela Beiler ILLUSTRATED BY rinabertha

Glacier National Park is full of natural wonders.

From April through July, visitors are treated to beargrass, purple asters, and glacier lilies from an elevation of 3,000 feet all the way up to 7,000 feet.

Fort Pierre National Grassland, S.D.

Grasslands are typically hot spots for fishing, wildlife watching, and night sky viewing, but in South Dakota, if you visit at just the right time you will be treated to gorgeous wildflowers like the daisy fleabane, spiderwort, purple coneflower, and more.

Sugar Hill, N.H.

If you’re visiting the picturesque White Mountains, don’t miss the small, highland town of Sugar Hill, home to numerous fields of tall, purple lupines. Fingers crossed that the Annual Lupine Fields Festival will resume this June after a three-year pandemic hiatus!

Vibrant colors of gold and orange blanket the rolling, desert landscape of the Antelope Valley every April when the state’s flower, the golden poppy, delights visitors with its annual showing. The blooms are nyctinastic, opening each morning and closing every night.

Head to the 12 wilderness areas in SoCal’s Colorado Desert to experience wildflower season along the park’s canyon trails. Desert lilies, sand verbena, desert sunflowers, and blooming cacti are just some of what you’ll see from mid-February through mid-May.

Nestled within the Rockies, a 10-day wildflower festival in July celebrates vibrant glacier lilies, myriad sunflower varieties, and lupines that grow in the Gunnison Valley.

Bluebonnet

The rolling hills of the Highland Lakes region are covered in beautiful bluebonnets for six weeks each spring. Falling on Easter weekend this year, the 40th annual Bluebonnet Festival will celebrate the state flower in the Bluebonnet Capital of Texas—Burnet.

Great

With more flowering plants than any other North American national park—over 1,500 varieties—it’s no surprise that this destination is nicknamed Wildflower National Park. Visit during the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage to see irises, violets, trillium, and more in peak bloom.