If you live in the Sacramento area, I am sure you have heard about the Folsom Lake Lupine Super Bloom. The beautiful purple flowers have exploded, and bloomed everywhere! Unfortunately it is due to the low levels of water out at Folsom Lake, which I was shocked to see how low the water really is. I am also surprised at how little discussion I have heard about the low water level out at the lake, and how little rain we have received this past season. Although this Super Bloom was made possible by the low levels of water out at Folsom Lake, it sure does make for a stunning site. You will see the pretty purple flowers everywhere.
The minute I saw the Super Bloom shared on social media and then saw many news reports, I wanted to go see them for myself. As a mom with all boys, they were not interested or intrigued by a Super Bloom, so thankfully my sister who is always up for adventures with me, agreed to join me out there.
We had planned on visiting the popular Beeks Bight location that I had seen, until a local blogger friend Justine over at LittleDoveBlog shared that you could also view fields and fields of the beautiful Lupine flowers over at the Rattlesnake Bar entrance of Folsom Lake.
I am so grateful for her recommendation, we went Friday morning to the Rattlesnake Bar entrance and there was only three vehicles in the parking lot, no crowds at all. While taking photos a couple that was walking the path, was commenting on the gorgeous views and they shared they have lived in the Auburn area for 30+ years and have never seen anything like this. This Super Bloom is definitely a rare sight so if you are local and have not been I highly recommend you go, it is worth it! Hurry and go as soon as possible as it has been reported that they will only last a few weeks.
If you can visit during a week day, during the day, you will most likely find the least amount of crowds and parking issues that I have seen on the news when you visit on the weekend.
Parking costs $12 per vehicle, it is a day pass, that you can also use at other entrances, so if you wanted to check out both Beeks Bight and Rattlesnake you can do that with your day pass. Folsom Lake park hours are 6 AM to 10 PM.
It has been said on the local news stations as well as across social media PLEASE respect the beautiful flowers, so others can enjoy them too. There are plenty of walking paths and unfortunately areas that have already been smashed by visitors, that you can sit, kneel, and/or lie down for a picture, without destroying more areas. There are tree stumps and rocks to lean on or sit on. Please do not walk on or smash the flower areas. You can sit in front of the flowers and capture the gorgeous flowers in the background. There are easy to get to little inlets that you can sit in for a surrounded by flowers photo.
I do recommend that you bring a small blanket if you are wearing a dress, so you can kneel or sit on the blanket. Also wear good walking shoes, as you do have to walk a bit to get to the flowers. I also recommend you bring water, it does get hot and you want to stay hydrated. The morning we visited it was only 66 degrees, but after walking and being in direct sunlight, it was quite hot.
To get to the Beeks Bight parking location, you enter the Folsom Lake entrance right on Douglas Blvd. in Granite Bay. You will follow the signs to Beeks Bight, it is about three miles in after you enter the park entrance. The parking lot we parked in was rather small, and there was a sign that said Lot Full, we saw many people coming and going so we still checked it out and I am glad we did, because there was a handful of empty parking spaces and others pulling out as we were entering. We stayed around one hour at this location, from parking to walking out, snapping some pics and heading back. It was later in the morning, there was a lot of sunshine on on this side.
To enter by the Rattlesnake Bar Entrance, it is off of Auburn-Folsom Road and New Castle Road, there are two parking lots. The first one you see is the boat loading and unloading lot and you can park there that is where we parked. After walking I would next time park in the next up parking lot, it is closer and less walking to the flowers. So skip the boat launch parking area and keep going to the next one. I could have hung out here longer, there was shaded areas and a lot less people on this side.
I highly recommend going to see this unique Super Bloom, it is gorgeous, even pictures aside, maybe you are not into photos, still go. There is something so refreshing and calming about getting out and taking in the beauty of nature. We saw jack rabbits, humming birds, listened to the sound of the beautiful bee's having the time of their life I am sure with all the pollen.
We as a family usually go out to Folsom Lake a few times during the summer months, and every time I visit, this time included, I ask myself "why don't I come out here more often"? It is so close, there are plenty of trails to walk, get some exercise in and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. It really is a treat we have here in Northern California.
If you are like me at all and love photos, you can find beautiful photographs of the Super Bloom on social media through searching #SuperBloom #FolsomLakeSuperBloom #LupineSuperBloom #SuperBloomFolsom #FolsomSuperBloom
Happy Spring to you all! Thank you for reading if you've enjoyed the content you've read above please share with your friends.
