It feels like a whole lifetime has passed since 2019, but there’s one California town that sure remembers. That was the year that Walker Canyon in the Lake Elsinore area experienced a superbloom of California poppies, in which the golden-orange flowers coated the hillside due to heavy rains earlier in the season. So many people wanted to take photos of and with the flowers that the city was essentially overrun, seeing up to 100,000 people in a weekend, and the crowds were not kind to the environment.
Following the rainstorms that battered the state earlier this winter, officials are expecting another big bloom for the poppies. While it isn’t predicted to be another superbloom, it is enough that they are taking preemptive measures to prevent a repeat of 2019. Walker Canyon has been closed to visitors, and anyone caught trespassing or parking on the roads to see the poppies can receive a citation and even be arrested.
If you’re really dying to see the poppies, there are other ways that don’t involve the risk of an arrest. Lake Elsinore is posting updates of its plans on its website, so you can see if things change and viewing areas like Walker Canyon open up. They also have a link to a livestream of the area where you can see what the poppies look like in real time. It isn’t the highest quality, but again, it’s better than getting arrested.
