2010 Wildflower Conditions Report

We welcome all knowledge about the current Wildflower conditions.

I've been out hiking the last few days and was wondering if this thread had started yet.
Here's what I've seen around Colorado Springs:
(Today)The area around Blodgett Peak (specifically, the open space between Blodgett and the rock quarry to the south of it) is pretty rich with Indian Paintbrush and other small yellow and blue flowers. There were a couple of clumps of wild iris along the lower part of the trail I was on.

Yesterday I was on a trail on the north side of highway 24 near Green Mountain Falls that I spoke of last season. The trail is kind of the back way into Waldo Canyon, and last year was quite rich with wildflowers. As of yesterday, there wasn't much going on there, but it looks like it might get nice in another week or so.

If anyone wants directions/GPS coordinates to the trails I was on, send me an e-mail.

I know these aren't very "exotic" places, but if you're not able to travel, you do what you can locally

If anyone is interested in Crested Butte area, this link, https://www.crestedbuttewildflowerfestival.com/report.php, is created for local updates.

Tim

I did a backpack into the Lost Creek Wilderness last weekend, which requires driving through the Hayman burn area. The burn area was just getting started in that area. There were a few blooms along the Goose Creek Road, but nothing substantial yet. There was some golden banner along the Goose Creek Trail and some individual plants scattered here and there.

I was also at Roxborough Park two weeks ago and there was a lot of fresh golden banner at the west end of the Fountain Valley trail - it might still be worth a walk out in that direction. There were also numerous immature lupine plants along the same trail. It should be a very good year for lupine in Roxborough once the plants get going.

The wildflowers on Green Mountain in Lakewood were wonderful last Thursday. Lots of paintbrush, penstemons, and spiderwort; I counted more than 30 different species in bloom. The yucca are almost ready for another good show this year. Up in the high country, the arrowleaf balsamroot and lupines are looking good at Green Mt. Reservoir in Summit County.

Easier way to Crested Butte Link: https://www.crestedbuttewildflowerfestival.com/report.php

I was down in Queens Canyon on Memorial Day and found some bluebells and clematis blooming in the canyon.

Last Thursday I was out in Yoder and Truckton and there are some good size pockets of Lupine blooming out there. The dry heat might do them in today, but they looked to have some life left in them. I was hoping to get out there with camera this weekend, but the weekend turned into a disaster.

I was up in the Medicine Bow NF over the weekend. At higher elevations (> 9000ft) there's still a lot of snow and the aspens and willows are just starting to leaf.

Lower, there's some small yellow and blue flowers I don't know the name of. Some lupine plants looked to be about a week or two from starting to bloom. I did find a Calypso Orchid though near Lake Owen, so that was cool.

Lower again, ~ 7500ft wild iris is blooming along the country roads east of the Medicine Bow NF.

I visited Roxborough and Chautauqua last weekend. Both parks are coming along quite well, and should be fantastic this coming weekend. Chautauqua had some nice tighter clusters of flowers as well as good macro opportunity. Roxborough had things a bit more spread out, but a lot of different species of flowers.

Anyone been to Westcliffe lately?

No flowers around theMinturn to Leadville to Buena Vista to Salida area yet, blooming ornamental trees and flowers around Vail

The flowers are still pretty good the last time I checked just south of Boulder. Photos at my Blog

Rampart Range Road from Loy Creek Road to the Rainbow Creek trailhead is rich in wild irises and yellow flowers (buttercups?).
Also, the first couple of miles of Shubarth Trail from Rampart Range Road/Loy Creek Rd.

Dallas Divide Road between Ridgway and Telluride (Highway 62?) is displaying some nice carpets of lupine right now.
Also, in my area, the flowers are already popping up along Kebler Pass Road. Haven't seen any lupine yet, but the yellow ones, and blue ones are appearing.
Sorry I don't have any images uploaded yet, will do that soon. :)

Was to South Coyote Buttes June 12-13. The yellow sandpaper mule ear flowers were at prime, with many buds left unopened. Also in the sand was a purple blooming onion- like plant. The same is likely at White Pocket.
Along the House Rock Road north of Wire Pass there were a nice clusters of blue flowers under the cedars.

Went for a hike on Saturday at Lower Cataract Lake in the Gore Range above Green Mt. Res. Outstanding variety. Red columbines & Canada violets created quite a treat in the shadows of the forest on the south side of the lake. The whole area was filled with serviceberry blooming at their peak. Lupines, monument plants, & arrowleaf balsamroot were numerous and in full bloom. A few wild iris were just down the road from the lake. There were at least two dozen different species in bloom. We were quite surprised by the spectacular display. I highly recommend it to all who can't wait for the July flower frenzy.

Sounds nice, Phil. Thanks for the info. I have a couple of questions:

- Was snowpack and/or high water in streams a problem?
- Mosquitoes yet?

The one time I went to that lake I was very impressed with the scenery.....but vividly recall mosquito haven. I think it was in July, so I'm hoping it's a tad early.

Sorry for the late reply. Been on the road again. Snowpack & mosquitoes were not a problem at all. Didn't see either at the Lower Cataract Lake. Streams are certainly running high but crossings bridge crossings were not affected. The big waterfall/cataract coming down to the lake certainly had a lot of interesting photo possibilities. I highly recommend it if you can't wait for the big flower extravanganza next month.

Has anyone else noticed, but does it seem like the flower season is running really late? I'm seeing some varieties just now blooming that typically are finished by now.

Thanks, Phil. No problem on the reply.....I won't be leaving until tomorrow afternoon.

Interesting you say the flower season is running late when Cataract Lake seems to be doing so well. I think many places are just now assimilating the warmer weather. This spring has been cool and the snow late to melt.

Along those lines, here's a link to a shot of Lake Marie in the Snowy Range of Wyoming....taken just 4 days ago. Most of the lakes up there are still iced over and some covered in snow!

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2818079710027552524ldPuyx?vhost=outdoors

Roxborough State Park has fields and meadows covered in lupine right now. I have never seen this kind of coverage down this low before. There are other wildflowers as well. Now for you fauna people, a black bear has been spotted there every evening for almost a week, and a cougar was napping in front of the visitor's center a couple of mornings ago. Also, one guy told me he heard the cat up the trail by the old house yesterday morning. He decided he would come back down.

Just returned from RMNP and the ubiquitous Golden Banner is still looking vibrant and very much alive (as Josh mentioned in a previous thread about a week ago). Moraine Park is a good place to start. Stopped by Chautauqua on the way home just to chek and Lupine is pretty much burnt up, however, Mariposa Lillies are blooming nicely.

Thanks to Phil for the tip.....here's a link to some shots I took this morning of the profuse columbine around Lower Cataract Lake:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/577985154LFXmZG

Question:
I am planning on hiking the four loop pass starting at Maroon lake and want to do the hike when the wildflowers peak on it. I know it's hard to know the exact date, but what are some estimates of when they traditionally peak? Any ideas?

Rachel

Rachel, yes there are a lot of variables.....esp. this year it seems. And different flowers peak at different times even within a certain area (and at different elevations since you are going over passes)......but generally speaking I would say peak time (for the lions share of wildflowers in the locale you mentioned) would be the second to third week in July.

Anyone have any condition reports from Guanella pass & Boreas Pass, planning on heading up there on the 4th. Thanks all
John

I'm planning to hit the Yankee Boy area on July 10-13ish. If anyone has some updates from there it would be greatly appreciated.

Lupine and Mules Ear are pretty nice from Silverjack to Cimarron. Not a whole lot above SJ yet. Was a little dry but getting some rain here and there.

Roxborough State Park is still filled with flowers. Lupines like I have never seen, spiderowort, coneflower, mariposa lily, scarlet gillia, some paintbrush, and wild bee balm on Willow Creek trail and near Lyon's Overlook.

I can vouch for that! Morris and i shot Roxy this morn--one of the finest wildflower displays ive seen outside of the San Juans, just the shear variety and crazy lupine fields. will post shots in the main forum tomorrow hopefully. Get it while it lasts--which may only be a week or so given the hot weather!

For those near Monument or Colorado Springs, there is a large amount of Columbine in bloom on the Mt Herman Trail, with a few hundred feet of the trail head (right at the first switch back).
It looks like they're at their peak, so get them this weekend. Lots of other flowers, too.

FWIW, Mayflower Gulch was just so-so this weekend - still a bit early. There is some paintbrush, bistort, other white flowers (sorry ), and chiming bells, but I think more will bloom in the next couple of weeks.

Was in CB this past weekend. Lupine, mules ear, and columbine seem to be the most prominent right now, however penstemon, larkspur, fairy trumpet, and wild rose were pretty common as well. Best areas I saw were the usual between Gothic and CB, first few miles of Wash. Gulch (didn't go much further), Kebler from Dark Canyon on (went to MM 14 or so), and a few spotty patches on Slate River around the switchbacks for the climb to Paradise. If you haven't already gotten your lupine fix, go NOW!

We hiked the Crag Crest trail on the Grand Mesa a week ago, and saw a few early columbines up on the top of the ridge, but I would guess from the number of unopened blooms we saw, there will be many more very soon. We also spent quite a bit of time in the La Sal Mtns. near Ooowah Lake & Warner Lake. There are LOTS of lupine, some indian paintbrush, larkspur, arrowleaf balsalm root & some pockets of iris up there. Also, on the La Sal loop road coming in from the north, there were tons of thistle lining the roadway that were quite beautiful.

I just returned from a long weekend in the San Juan Mountains. I did not expect much in terms of wildflowers, but was very pleasantly surprised by the abundant wildflowers in American Basin. We changed our plans to spend a few nights there instead of continuing along the Alpine Loop because of the flowers. In the basin itself, the parry primrose was past prime. Kings crown, rosy paintbrush, bitter cress, and chiming bells were very prevalent and all in good condition. Most of the larkspur looked to be at least a week away from blooming and I only saw a few columbines. We also hiked up to Sloan Lake and I found some abundant patches of marsh marigold with a few parry primrose plants mixed in right below the last uphill climb to the lake. There were also some marsh marigolds along the shore of the lake. Many other tundra plants were blooming as well (lots of small yellow flowers, mountain avens maybe?).

We also headed out to Yankee Boy Basin. Almost all the flowers seemed to be at least a week behind American Basin. The chiming bells were the only flowers that seemed to be at their prime, with everything else at least a week or two away. We also overheard a tour guide say that the road through Governor Basin is still packed with snow in some spots.

Lupine is still fairly prevalent in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison area. I saw quite a few plants that are still in decent condition along the south rim of the park. The roadside between Blue Mesa Reservoir and Hotchkiss is also covered in balsamroot or mules ear in spots.

I am including a very quickly processed image from American Basin for reference. If I were selecting a place to go in the San Juans in the next week or two, it would certainly be American Basin!

How are the road conditions getting to American Basin and Yankee Boy Basin? I plan on being out there in two weeks with a rental SUV with four wheel drive. Do you think that will be adequate? Thanks!!

Tony-
should be fine if the roads are dry. AB is less than a mile from the main road, through a creek crossing and a bit of a rough road but nothing a stock 4wd can't handle. Cinnamon pass isn't bad either, as long as you're comfortable navigating high altitude switchbacks, but nothing too rough. Yankee Boy is fine in a high clearance 2wd all the way to the main shooting area if the road is dry. However, I wouldn't go any further than the main shooting area at YBB toward the Blue Lakes/Sneffels trailheads. There is a steep rough section of that road that is not advisable for stock 4wds, so if you pass the YBB waterfalls, cross the creek and the trail splits, stop there and turn around. Have fun shooting!

Hi Tony, I would agree with Jared that you can get to the main shooting area in Yankee Boy Basin with a rental 4x4 SUV as long as you take it slow. Once you get to the creek crossing (after the parking areas), the road gets very, very rough and much steeper.

I would, however, disagree about taking a rental SUV all the way up to American Basin. If you are coming from Lake City (which is by far the easiest route), only the last few miles are rough. Once you get to the fork in the road for American Basin and Cinnamon Pass, the road gets progressively rougher as you get closer to the Handies Peak trailhead parking area. If I were in a rental, I would park after the creek crossing and before the road gets really rough and then walk up to the upper basin. I personally would not take a rental car all the way up the road to the parking lot at the trailhead, but that doesn't mean that it cannot be done. I guess it depends on your level of comfort driving on rough mountain roads and your level of paranoia about damaging a rental.

"We also headed out to Yankee Boy Basin. Almost all the flowers seemed to be at least a week behind American Basin. The chiming bells were the only flowers that seemed to be at their prime, with everything else at least a week or two away."

Sarah, thanks for the update. I'll be there the 18th-20th, (then off to Crested Butte for 3 days).Looks like my timing will be right on!

Sarah, thank you for the report. I am considering a week around Ouray to Lake City beginning either the 17th or the 24th. I have not been there in 22 years.

If you want something different, the Wet Mountains (Bartlett trail up Greenhorn) are crawling with wildflowers right now--dozens of varieties, only the lupines are toast--see my post in the forum.

Checked out Grand Mesa today. It looked dry. Flowers were fewer, and smaller than normal.

I just returned from a week on the Alpine Loop. My experiences on the eastern approach to Stony Pass and upper Maggie Gulch were much like Sarah's in AB. I was amazed at the amount of wildflowers in bloom. There were also a lot of heads ready to pop.

Rustlers Gulch outside of Crested Butte was fantastic this weekend. Columbine, Lupine, Paintbrush, Larkspur, Bitter Cress - too many varieties to name them all. And the Green Gentian Monument Plants are blooming in force this year. I've never seen this many. Anyone for 6' tall wildflowers?

Scott, thanks for the post and I am glad Ruslters Gulch area is looking good. I am heading down there on Friday and wanted to see which area's are the best. How about the higher areas where you need 4x4 like Paradise Divide, Lost Lake, etc? How about the water fall close to Lake Irwin? How is Slate and Washington Gulch?

Thanks,

Tim

Was up at Shrine Pass and Mayflower Gulch on Sat. Looks like both areas are just starting and everything is pretty sparse right now. Doesn't look like an over-abundance of buds either so may be an "average" year in both of these locations.

Tim -- There were good spots on both sides of Paradise Divide, around Emerald Lake, and along both Slate River and Washington Gulch roads, but they were much more sparse compared to the Gothic area which was really blooming strong this past weekend. Unfortunately, I didn't get up to Kebler Pass and Lake Irwin. Enjoy!

Up in Routt County near Yampa along the Flattops Road (7), the columbine will be RIDICULOUS in about a weeks' time. The greenery in the region is impressive as are the aspen trunks. Go see it soon!!!

Yankee Boy is boomin', as of right now. From the looks of it there is a lot to come too.

I got to Crested Butte around 5 and had time to check in and then head up Gothic. Not a lot of wildflowers here compared to last year, pretty sparse. I then went up Rustler to the end and there are some good areas here but it appears that some are past their peak and are getting brown on their tips. I will check this area out more tomorrow and will report back. Based on what Chuck reported, I may check out tomorrow or leave early Sunday morning down to Yankee Boy if I do not see improvement here.

Tim

I hiked the 4th of July trail to Lake Dorothy and Arapahoe Pass in the Indian Peaks Wilderness yesterday. There were hillsides were carpeted with Columbines. Parry's Primrose were especially beautiful in the boggy areas.

Unfortunately, I didn't even bother to try to shoot the Columbines. The winds were about as strong as I have ever experienced! Nothing like a case of hypothermia while Denver endures a heat wave.

I did go to Emerald Lake today and it was pretty good there. If you get in there early enough you can shoot until about 9:30 or so when the sun starts to bring in the harsh light. I then checked out a few areas and still not what I had hoped for. I then checked out and headed down to Yankee Boy basin and it was much better than Crested Butte. A lot of different flowers out there. I only headed up to the fork and then turned around. I did run into Andy Long and he said that American Basin has the most wildflowers he has seen anywhere. I am heading there tomorrow morning on my way back to Denver.

For those of you stuck on the front range like me, I went to Long Lake this morning. Wildflowers are starting to come on strong now, with the peak probably a few days to a week away. Too many varieties to mention, but no Columbine that low. There are probably some of those higher up at Lake Isabelle. There was a Cougar posting that there had been activity recently. Yeah, I love reading those when I'm alone and suddenly find myself on the menu.

Morris, did you get the Cougars name and phone number?
Ahem...anyways, thanks for the tip. I may head up there tomorrow.

NOW that's funny, Bob!

Wildflowers of all varieties are abundant in upper LaPlata Canyon, incl. Columbus Basin and along the Indian Trail Ridge in SW Colorado. Looks like they'll be great through next weekend at least.

Wildflowers of all varieties are abundant in the mountains and valleys between /Creede and Lake City. I was surprised at the abundance of them this early. There were a lot of heads ready to pop too.

Yankee Boy had lots of bloom on Monday and Tuesday, but the fade was beginning. I visited American Basin today and it is over 50% wilted. I guess the heat wave took it's toll. Thanks to all for the advice on where to go, and special thanks to Jack Garrett for showing me around Yankee Boy. I'll post photos in a few day.

Tony, glad I was able to help out. It was nice to meet you! Can't wit to see your posts...let me know when you get them up.

On Sunday, July 18, I drove up to the Snowy Range in Wyoming. There was lots of Avalanche Lily and Marsh Marigold near Mirror Lake. I saw a couple small patches of Columbine near Lookout Lake with more on the way. There is a northwest facing slope at Lookout Lake that is covered with Columbine in late July. It is still partly covered in snow and will probably not bloom for a week or two.

Just got back from Loveland Pass and let me say...NEVER IN MY LIFE have I ever seen anything like it before, up around the lake. Specifically the entrance to the area itself...it is unreal, like someone took a gigantic box of Lucky Charms and went wild on the grass...I was standing in disbelief. So many varieties and so many flowers, a macro photographer would have died and gone to heaven! It really is something!

Spent Wednesday night through Friday morning in the La Platas. You can find all the corn lily and larkspur you'd ever want at the lower part of the Colorado Trail as well as a nice variety of many additional types all the way up to Indian Trail Ridge. I hiked the Pass Trail (Coal Bank Pass) to the base of Engineer Mountain this morning as was very impressed with the amount of flowers which were blooming almost constantly along the trail.

Wildflowers are in great abundance and variety on the road to and at Clear Lake, accessed via a 4 wheel drive road taking off from the South Mineral Springs FS campground road just north of Silverton.

A few dense stands of yellow flowers along the Last Dollar Rd, but they were wilting fast last weekend.
Went to Yankee Boy M&T.A good stand of Bluebells and Larkspur near the trail-head a mile above the toilet. Some nice columbine in the rocks just above the toilet. Many leaves seemed to be wilting, but the rains may help that, but also seemed to momentarily hurt the columbine petals.
American seemed to be better than YB as far as density. Good stand of Columbine near the point less than a mile up the trail.
Clear Lake had a nice mixture along the shore's slope about mid-lake.
This past week was was my first to these areas for flowers, so I have no past experience for comparison.

Saw a show in Boulder last night, and stayed over, leaving for Loveland Pass and Shrine Pass at o-dark thirty. I got to Loveland Pass a little after 6am, and stopped at the lake. While there are wildflowers there (especially around the creek that drains off the lake), they are mostly past their prime. If you don't get there soon, forget it.
On the other hand, Shrine Pass looks GREAT!!! I drove it from I-70 to Red Cliff and back, and the I-70 side to just one or two miles over to the Red Cliff side is very rich with wildflowers of all varieties (Columbine, Paintbrush, Asters, and others that I don't know the names of). I think it will continue to look great right through this weekend.
I'll try to post some photos when I get a chance to sort through them.
I'm staying in Vail for the night, and will hit Shrine Pass again (probably hike the trail) on my way home tomorrow.

gallery from the last few weeks...

July 2010

sorry most of the images aren't labeled...everything in there is either from...

1. Arapaho Pass Trail between the 4th of July Trailhead and Dorothy Lake (from two separate hikes on July 10 and July 24)
2. areas around Long Lake and Lake Isabelle (July 25)
3. Crested Butte - Judd Falls trail between Gothic Road and Judd Falls (afternoon of July 17)

if anyone has questions on a specific image, feel free to ask

Update on a couple areas -

Brainard Lake area - Long Lake and Lake Isabelle: I was up there Mon through Wed (7/26 - 7/28) the flowers were still pretty good around Long Lake. Things were really in their prime up around Lake Isabelle and up towards Pawnee Pass. Great flowers along the streams. Still some more to pop around the lake - so should be good this weekend. BUT - they did have that big storm near Nederland on Wed night with lots of hail, so hopefully the Brainard area was spared!!

Shrine Pass - Was up there today (7/30) and I found the flowers along the road to be a bit hit or miss in areas. They look good, you get out to scout and see a lot flowers that may have been a bit past their prime. There were still some good areas, and I probably needed to explore a bit more. The real deal is the hike up to the ridge. LOTS of flowers that are still looking good up there. The area near the top was excellent! I would have stayed longer, but the afternoon storms chased me off the ridge.

As of today, the flowers along the Mitchell Creek Trail in Indian Peaks Wilderness are at their prime and are all looking very fresh all the way up past Blue Lake. The flowers are very lush in the areas around the streams, especially as you get closer to Blue Lake (and beyond - walking along the north shore of the lake will bring you to some of the best areas). With the streams, wildflowers, and beautiful peaks, this area could keep any photographer busy for hours!

I was surprised at the abundance of seed heads in AB, Maggie, and Minnie Gulches this past weekend. The rain was unrelenting - mosoon flow. OTOH, There were some beautifull-lush stands of wildflowers in the left fork of Picayune Gulch.

Just a quick shot from Shrine Pass on 7/31. The Arnica up on the Shrine Ridge were a bit past prime, but still looked pretty decent. Shot on Kodak's old Ultra Color 100.

**On the plains**
This weekend (8/8/201) I had a wedding to attend in Calhan. I found some incredible fields of coreopsis in the eastern plains. Entire pastures were yellow with them. The best area I found was on Judge Orr Road, east of Curtis road. I shot that on some of my last Kodakchrome, so it'll be a while before I can share examples.