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tulips in bloom
tulips in bloom
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Life

What is a Superbloom and Where Can You Go See It?

Marisa Pendola
The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at San Francisco chapter.

San Francisco has seen record amounts of rain in the first few months of 2023, as has most of California. This has been one of the wettest rainfall seasons in history for San Francisco. It has pulled large parts of California out of the previously long-lasting drought. In addition, this is resulting in a superbloom for spring 2023 throughout California. 

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A superbloom is when large amounts of flowers bloom from dormant seeds. It requires specific conditions such as rain and warm (but not hot) weather. The large amount of rain California has been seeing is part of what will cause this to happen. These conditions make it quite uncommon for superblooms to occur, with the last one in California occurring in 2019. This superbloom will likely last through early summer (June), so where can you see it?

Here are some spots in the city where the flowers can be seen!

San Francisco 

  • Balboa Natural Area – It is located along Balboa Street and the Great Highway. It has a trail to walk along and is right by the ocean. 
  • Glen Canyon Park – Located a 30-40 minute MUNI ride from SF State, this park has a 3.7 mile trail and a large variety of wildflowers to view. 
  • Tank Hill – This location is best accessed at the end of Belgrave Ave., according to the website. You can see butterflies and other species, along with the wildflowers that bloom and change color through May! 

If you’re willing to go a bit farther, here’s another option!

Northern California

  • Mount Diablo State Park – Located in Contra Costa County, this park can be accessed through a northern or southern gate, with directions on their website. There are plenty of other activities and hikes beyond just viewing wildflowers!

If you’re going to be in Southern California at all in the next few months, it’s worth checking out one of these spots! 

Southern California

  • Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve: This is located in Lancaster, a city in Los Angeles County. It is one of the most popular spots to see California’s state flower, the California poppy. It can get incredibly busy because of this, so be prepared!
  • Anza Borrego State Park: This state park extends further south, almost to the Mexican border. A large variety of flowers can be seen here. 

If you have time this spring, take a day or two to go visit one of these locations. I personally recommend Antelope Valley if you can make it down to Southern California! Superblooms are rare events and are incredible to experience in person. You can just walk around and take many hikes that are available in these parks, or it can be a great place for photography or a photo shoot.

Marisa Pendola

San Francisco '25

Marisa Pendola is an Associate Editor at Her Campus' San Francisco State University Chapter. Her responsibilities include both editing and writing articles. Marisa's main area of interest is in film, television, and music news. Along with Her Campus, Marisa is in her final year of study at SFSU where she is pursuing a Bachelor's in Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts with a focus area in media criticism. She also spoke in the SFSU multicultural center's panel for Banned Books Week in 2023. The panel focused on how women's narratives are censored. In her free time, Marisa enjoys reading, spending time with her cat, and watching as many movies and TV shows as possible. Her current favorite is "Survivor" and can be found overanalyzing each new episode to figure out who the winner is going to be.