Natural attractions—what to explore right now

Spring is my favorite season to enjoy the biodiversity of our land before it retreats to wait out the hot months of summer. I was lucky to grow up with nature nearby. I grew up in the cold Montana climate, where the first buttercup appears in March, shooting stars bloom in April, and balsamroot flowers bloom in June, marking the transition into summer during my childhood.

In Sonoma County, spring is a great time to visit the overlooked and underrated chaparral habitats. Although I avoid these “shrublands” much of the year, springtime is the perfect time to see why they support a large number of rare species. One of the best places to explore chaparral is on Hood Mountain. Although the Stanford manzanitas have mostly dropped their pink valentine flowers, a hike up the Goodspeed Trail at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park will reward you with the chance to smell why early settlers gave Ceanothus shrubs the name “California lilac,” see a poppy—bush poppy, Dendromecon rigida—that is actually a bush (and smells like melon to me), and witness a resplendent variety of textures, colors, and springtime flowers. Maybe they’ll inspire you to add more native textures and colors to your landscape at home—there are many great local cultivars of these native plants. 

Other great places to see chaparral include Upper Johnson Ridge Trail at Hood Mountain Regional Park, the trail from Lone Rock to Little Flat at Lake Sonoma Recreation Area, and, not to forget, Shiloh Ranch Regional Park. If you’re not in the mood for a hike, try a drive up Cavedale Road near Glen Ellen, or a jaunt on Sonoma Mountain Road, where you’re sure to find winecup clarkia, seep monkeyflower, or warrior’s plume.

—Chris Carlson, Sonoma Valley Stewardship Program Manager