wildflowers Archives - until suburbia!

Hike to See the Wildflowers at Fossil Hill Loop, Walnut Creek

March 28, 2025Silvia

I love to recommend short hikes. Hiking is just a great escape and if you like to get started hiking it’s great to have some options for shorter hikes and then being able to expand.

Fossil Hill Loop is part of the Shell Ridge Open Space area, Walnut Creek’s largest open space area. It is made up of multiple ridges. Shell Ridge and Fossil Hill are named after the marine fossils that were left behind when the ocean receded. This is a great place for hiking, biking, and horseback riding with its wide trails.

The Fossil Hill Loop is 3.2 miles long. Alltrails estimates this hike to take about an hour and a half. But we found a shortcut! If you use the Indian Creek Trail, halfway through it makes it a 30-minute hike.

We came here for the wildflowers. And while it was just the beginning of the season, the hills are already beautifully covered with California poppies and many other wildflowers. You have to stay on the path, but nonetheless, you can admire the blooms.

Social media has hyped up this place, and the small parking lot on Sutherland can overflow quickly. The city has therefore opted to close this entrance to the public every weekend. On weekdays, please be mindful of the neighbors and be careful driving past Walnut Heights Elementary School. Dogs are allowed on the trail, but they advise you to leash your dog, since it is a wildlife area with coyotes.

The trailhead and the small parking lot for the Fossil Hill loop are at the end of Sutherland Drive in Walnut Creek. Please hike responsible.

Where do you go to see wildflowers?

Cherish the Wildflowers at Glenwood Preserve, Scotts Valley

May 7, 2021May 7, 2021Silvia

Grazing cow along the Glenwood Preserve, Scotts Valley.

Glenwood Preserve has two entrances – the east and the west, that lead to over seven miles of trails. We decided to go to the East Glenwood entrance and followed the red path. A short 1.2 mile hike, not too hard in elevation changes and with some shade along the way. The trail is open to hikers and horses, but because of the grazing cows, no bikers or dogs are allowed. The red trail leads you by a pond with a lot of water lilies in it.

Lili pad in the pond of the East Glenwood Preserve.

I misjudged the sun’s intensity and came back with a sunburn. So, make sure you bring plenty of water, a hat, and sunscreen. Bathrooms are at the adjacent park. We did not see the endangered Ohlone Tiger beetle that is endemic to the Santa Cruz Mountains. They come out late January to early April to mate and lay their eggs. But there are a lot of wildflowers still in bloom.

California poppies at the Glenwood Preserve, Scott Valley.

I found the wildflowers plentiful – not like a superbloom, but many varieties, like the California poppy and lupine. If you like to look up what flowers are blooming, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District has published the Sierra Azul Wildflower Guide with 100 of the most common species.

East Glenwood Open Space Preserve is open sunrise to sunset.

Where do you go to see wildflowers?

For more ideas on wildflower hikes you should check out my post: Hunt for wildflowers.

Or these websites:

Wild About Wildflowers in Santa Cruz County

https://hilltromper.com/article/spring-wildflower-hikes-santa-cruz-county

https://www.openspace.org/visit-a-preserve/plants-wildlife/wildflowers

Run Around the Stanford Dish

April 10, 2020September 14, 2020Silvia

It is vital these days to exercise. A lot of public parks and open space preserves have been closed off, due to the excessive use and therefore people not being able to keep the 6ft required distance.

We were lucky two weeks ago when my son and I decided to hike the Stanford Dish it was still open. As of April 3rd, they closed access to the Dish.

I have to confess I put the Stanford Dish hike in my 50 things to do in Stanford without ever being on the path. I am glad I did this hike before it got closed off. The path is concrete, which allows for wheelchairs and strollers, but keep in mind the alleviation changes dramatically – my health app said I climbed 22 floors that day!

Old radio telescope, Stanford Dish hike.

I always wanted to do this 3.8 mile loop passing the old radio telescope visible from 280. I was surprised that there are actually two radio telescopes! We parked at the Stanford parking lot, which is free. Be sure not to park in the residential area, because they will ticket.

The Dish is (usually) open from sunrise to sunset. No dogs, accept service dogs, or bicycles are allowed.

Have you hiked the Dish loop before?

Do you know of any hikes that are still open?

Windows on the Past, a display of wild flowers at the Museum of San Ramon Valley, Danville.

Get Informed About Wildflowers and Climate Change

March 6, 2020December 15, 2020Silvia

Entrance of the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, Danville.

There is a rotating exhibit in Danville’s Museum of the San Ramon Valley on wildflowers and climate change, named Beauty and the Beast. This display of photographs will run until the end of March, 2020. A docent at the museum told me that the wildflower bloom occurs earlier each year and that this messes with the rest of the ecosystem.

Picture of the 100 year bloom at Joshua Tree National Park.

“Erratic weather cycles cause more severe and longer droughts, followed by more frequent wet years and flooding. Native plants and life that depend upon them, are being crowded out by invasive species that benefit from this greater rainfall. Our beautiful wildflowers are losing ground.” (Quote from one of the panels in the exhibit.)

Dried wildflowers at the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, Danville.

In my experience most wildflowers are really small and to see a large image of them is quite a treat! In fact they also show you the process of the photographers, Rob Badger and Nita Winter. The images span from the superbloom of the California deserts to the alpine ‘rock gardens’ of the Sierra Nevada.

To get up close with some wildflowers you can use a microscope and zoom in on some dried species.

To combat climate change you are encouraged to become a citizen scientist.

Part of a Mastodon jaw at the Museum of the San Ramon Valley, Danville.

For history buffs this museum, a former train station, feed store, and a home for an eccentric artist, is also full of local artifacts. One of the most precious artifacts is a part of a Mastodon jaw.

Bob, a mannequin, in the caboose playing cards.

The restroom outside in the caboose is also a lot of fun with a train driving soundtrack!

Admission to the museum is $5, it is open Tuesday to Friday 1 pm – 4 pm, Saturdays 10 am – 1 pm and Sundays 12 pm – 3 pm.

Did you know about the relationship of wildflowers and climate change?