What would make someone want to travel to one of the hottest places in the country, for fun? That’s what FOX Weather’s Robert Ray intends to find out. More than one million people travel to the park every year.
DEATH VALLEY, Calif. – The hottest, driest and lowest national park in the U.S. could see a rare superbloom that is likely already underway.
The National Park Service said they’re expecting a good bloom year in Death Valley, and sprouts have already been spotted in many areas of the park, including on the washes and on hillsides.
File photo: Desert Gold wildflowers reach into a blue sky at Death Valley National Park.
(National Park Service)
Low-elevation flowers will bloom from February through March, and higher elevations will have blooms from April to June.
The brown-eyed primrose is one of several flowers that are currently in bloom, including desert gold, saint verbena and five-spot.
Isolated or small patches of flowers have already started blooming in numerous locations across Death Valley National Park.
Superbloom in Death Valley National Park in 2016.
(Death Valley NPS / FOX Weather)
The last time a wildflower superbloom took place was in 2016, and it only happens when conditions are perfect. Superblooms were also reported in 2005 and 1998.
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A good wildflower year depends on at least three things, according to the National Park Service.
- Rain is key: Gentle rain that soaks deep into the soil is necessary for a desert floral display. A rainstorm of a half inch or more is needed to wash the protective coating off wildflower seeds and allow them to sprout. To continue growth, rainstorms must happen in evenly-spaced intervals throughout the winter and spring.
- Warming things up: Wildflower seeds that sprout in cool winter storms often stay small and low to the ground until the springtime sun starts to warm the soil. As a strong root system develops and temperatures get warmer, the well-established plants start to bloom.
- Harsh desert wind: Frequent springtime windstorms can bring about a quick end to the spring bloom or even prevent it from happening. Dry, moving air dehydrates exposed surfaces of all living things, and wildflowers must grow and bloom before they dry out.
Wildflowers are in bloom in Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve of California, United States on April 12, 2024. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
From now until mid-April, you’re most likely to see blooms at lower elevations on alluvial fans and foothills.
From early April to early May, you’re most likely to see blooms at elevations of 3,000 to 5,000 feet, in upper desert slopes, canyons and high valleys.
From early May to mid-July, you’re most likely to see blooms at elevations of 5,000 to 11,000 feet on mountain slopes and in pinyon pine/juniper woodlands.
Death Valley is known for its spectacular spring wildflower displays, but those are the exception, not the rule, the National Park Service said.
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Only under perfect conditions does the desert fill with a sea of colors such as gold, purple, pink and white flowers. While there are years when blossoms are few, they are never totally absent.
A heat advisory sign is shown along US highway 190 during a heat wave in Death Valley National Park in Death Valley, California, on July 16, 2023.
(Ronda Churchill / AFP / Getty Images)
Extreme heat during the summer and fall of 2024, combined with little rain, led to a below-average bloom year in 2025.
With the wildflowers expected to be in superbloom this year, the National Park Service emphasizes that regulations prohibit picking so that plants can produce seeds for future seasons.
