Spring, even in drought years, is the time for California wildflowers to burst forth in their finery.

We start our search with our local rivers and their tributaries, looking north to south: the American River, Cosumnes, Mokelumne, Calaveras and Stanislaus rivers. Follow those river valleys east into Sierra foothills, linking to Gold Rush sites, cute towns with mining and logging history, and restaurants and watering holes perfect for a midday layover.

Keep in mind the factors that lead to magnificent flower displays; adequate recent rainfall, elevation (Delta wildflowers will be blooming long before those in higher Sierra locations), daytime temperatures and exposure to sunlight (flowers on river valley sides facing south will bloom long before shadier locations).

Let’s hit the trail, depending upon your destination and springtime temperatures, you will find California poppies, fiddleneck, lupine, Indian paintbrush, purple vetch, blue dick, western redbud and a host of other varieties.

How to take the best wildflower photos

Take tools for exploration, in addition to camera and binoculars. Download smartphone apps like AllTrails or TrailLink for finding hiking trails, and LeafSnap, a wonderful app that IDs wildflowers and trees; making you an instant botanical wizard. Follow the etiquette of explorers: don’t pick the flowers, stay on existing trails and don’t trample flower fields. It may be inviting to photograph your pals lounging in lovely flower displays, but don’t. Pack out all your trash, leaving only footprints and taking only memories.

For the fabled American River, where gold was discovered in 1848 in Coloma on the South Fork, start in Sacramento with the American River Parkway, a 35 mile paved biking and hiking trail, that heads upriver eastward into the Folsom Lake State recreation area. You’ll find wildflowers in many rocky places, including the immense piles of cobblestones that remain from the dredge mining that took place along the river until the mid-1900s.

Fields of California poppies blooming near historic bridges

Perhaps our most spectacular discovery came one year ago, with the additional discovery of a grand historic suspension bridge. From Sacramento, we followed Interstate 80 almost to Colfax, and went east on Iowa Hill Road to the North Fork of the American where the new bridge parallels the old Iowa Hill suspension bridge, circa 1928, with hiking and flower-finding opportunities stretching along the river.

We found the mother lode of California poppies on the Windy Point Trail, 1½ miles up the other side of the valley. A two-mile hike took us into 20+ acres of California poppies just above the American, a spectacular golden blanket of color. A few miles further east is Iowa Hill, where over $20 million in gold was mined in the 30 years after 1853.

For the Cosumnes River, a natural place to start is the Cosumnes River Preserve, just north of Thornton, with 4 miles of easy walking trails along both the Cosumnes and Mokelumne rivers. Here you’ll find a large variety of waterfowl, as well as wildflowers including California poppies, Indian paintbrush, purple vetch and more. Pack a picnic lunch, take your binoculars and enjoy peaceful hours! 

The preserve’s trails lead you down to the Cosumnes and the Mokelumne Rivers, through riparian forest teaming with birds as well as wildflowers in season. Here in 1862, epic Valley floods wiped out San Joaquin County’s second largest city and port, Mokelumne City, washing all its wooden buildings miles downstream into the Delta (the city was never rebuilt).

Further east along the Cosumnes, just above Rancho Murieta, follow the old Michigan Bar Road across the old bridge into gently-rolling foothills and turn east on S. Shingle Road (be forewarned, a road where high clearance is an asset); we found lots of wildflowers last spring.

Visiting California Gold Rush towns

Journey east to the upper Mokelumne River; at Pardee Reservoir; cross the old dam and follow the beautiful Stony Creek Road east up to Jackson. Stony Creek is a favorite, scenic in its own right, as you cross the creek on the new bridge — be very observant — and spot the old Jackson Creek Bridge, built 1880, abandoned in 1955.

It’s slowly moldering away just down the creek, hidden in foliage. Continue up the steep road, then descend into Jackson, a well-preserved gold rush town. Take in the old National Hotel and other historic sites on Water Street. Touring south on Highway 49, approaching the Mokelumne, go east on Electra Road, where fields of bright orange poppies grace south-facing hillsides.

Don’t overlook our local Calaveras River; a fine place to start is the bike trail that runs from University of Pacific to Brookside, where a wide variety of wildflowers can be found. Hike the trail that runs down the Calaveras behind Brookside’s grand homes, and imagine the river as it was 150 years ago.

Finally, check out the Stanislaus River, and its historic Knights Ferry Covered Bridge. The town was founded when gold was discovered; in 1849, Dr. William Knight established a ferry. Soon after, a toll bridge was built but washed away in the huge flood of 1862. The new bridge was finished in 1864, higher and built to last, the longest covered bridge in the state at 333 feet. It’s now part of a lovely state park, its trails perfect for seeking wildflowers. Knights Ferry features a number of historic buildings; fun to walk the old gold rush-era remnant.

Remember that these rivers flow into the San Joaquin and Sacramento River Delta, and the Delta has many special places. A recent discovery, using the AllTrails app, is the Delta Meadows Trail between Locke and Walnut Grove, which take hikers several miles into Delta waterways much is they looked 150 years earlier.

For insight: historic bridges, bridgehunter.com hikes, AllTrails or TrailLink apps wildflowers, LeafSnap app.

Contact Tim, tviall@msn.com; happy travels in the west!