Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve is a state-protected reserve of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, USA, harboring the most consistent blooms of California poppies

California poppy

The California poppy is a perennial and annual plant, native to the United States, and the official state flower of California.- Description :...

, the state flower. The reserve is located in the rural westside of Antelope Valley

Antelope Valley

The Antelope Valley in California, United States, is located in northern Los Angeles County and the southeastern portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert...

 in northern Los Angeles County

Los Angeles County, California

Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...

, 15 miles (24.1 km) west of Lancaster

Lancaster, California

Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...

. The reserve is at an elevation ranging from 2600 to 3000 ft (792.5 to 914.4 m) above sea level

Sea level

Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...

 in the Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...

 climate zone. The reserve is administered by the California Department of Parks and Recreation

California Department of Parks and Recreation

The California Department of Parks and Recreation, also known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 278 parks and 1.4 million acres , with over of coastline; of lake and river frontage; nearly 15,000 campsites; and of hiking, biking, and...

. Other wildflower

Wildflower

A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...

s within the reserve include the owl's clover

Castilleja exserta

Castilleja exserta is a species of plant in the genus which includes the Indian paintbrushes. Its common names include purple owl's clover, escobita, and exserted Indian paintbrush....

, lupin

Lupinus bicolor

Lupinus bicolor is a species of lupine known as the miniature lupine, Lindley's annual lupine, or bicolor lupine. It is a showy flowering plant native to western North America from California to British Columbia. It is an annual lupine which often shares a habitat with the California poppy. It has...

e, goldfields

Lasthenia

Lasthenia, commonly known as goldfields, is a genus of the botanical family Asteraceae. The genus is named after Lasthenia, a cross-dressing female pupil of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.-Description:...

, cream cups and coreopsis

Coreopsis bigelovii

Coreopsis bigelovii is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family known by the common name Bigelow's tickseed. It is endemic to California, where it is known from the coastal and inland mountains and the deserts of the southern half of the state. It is widespread in a number of habitat types...

.

The reserve

The intense blooming season for the California poppy falls usually within late winter to early spring, during the months of mid-February through mid-May. Blooming seasons are dependent on the amount of rainfall during the winter to early spring seasons. Within the reserve, there are 7 miles (11.3 km) of trails, including a paved section for wheelchair

Wheelchair

A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...

 access, which traverse through the poppy fields.

In order to keep the fields in a strictly natural state, California State Parks does not water or stimulate the flowers. The park service also excludes sheep and cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 from grazing the hillsides. Until the early 1970s sheep once grazed the buttes in the western Antelope Valley. Pronghorn

Pronghorn

The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...

 grazed long before then, until the railroad first arrived in 1876. With the exception of service dogs, pets are prohibited from the reserve. Under California state law, visitors are also prohibited from taking flowers away from the reserve.

Since 1994, controlled fires are used to regulate dead brush, exotic species and litter within the reserve.

The reserve is located 7 miles (11.3 km) east of Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park

Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park

Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park is a state park of California, USA, protecting a stand of Joshua trees and junipers in the Antelope Valley...

.

External links

• Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve