Location: San Luis Obispo County, CA
In the spring of 2017, we made a trip to the Central Coast. Our base was the beautiful coastal university town of San Luis Obispo. The main purpose of our trip here was to see the ‘super bloom’ at the Carrizo Plain National Monument. Wildflower SuperBloom is a natural phenomenon that occurred after 40 years in the Carrizo Plain mainly due to significant rainfall in the early part of 2017.
We drove from the San Francisco Bay Area to San Luis Obispo(SLO) and spent the rest of the day at SLO. A small town that also houses one of the 21 Missions in California. The downtown has the old mission flavor with modern shops. And then there was this chewing gum alley. Interesting to see but not sure if you will like it.
Carrizo Plain national monument is a remote grassland to the east of SLO. It is an hour long drive from SLO. My mom, who is always researching on new places to visit, came up with the idea to visit this place. This time, my grandparents, who were visiting us, were also there with us. The drive to the plains is not particularly interesting and our anticipation for the super bloom would increase with every mile. My grandfather would get excited seeing small patches of wild flowers en route thinking it to be the super bloom. As we drove further down and slowly losing interest in super bloom, the landscape in front of us completely changed. There were myriads of colors, dominated by yellow right in front of us. Never seen anything like this before. As we drove into one of the inner roads, it felt like we were right in the middle of a colorful sea. Colorful flowers all around us as far as we can see. There are a few vantage points like the dirt road that takes you to the Soda Lake Overlook. From here you can get the breathtaking view of the Wildflower super bloom.
This place is very accessible by car. You can pretty much cover every area on your car. And if you want to step out or wheel out for a Photo op, the road is plain enough though not perfect. No eateries in a 50 mile radius. And only one restroom facility
– Super bloom is not a regular phenomenon. Check the status before you plan a trip
– Carry enough food and drinks since there is nothing around in a 50 mile radius
– The best way to see the wild flowers is to drive on Soda Lake road. The road runs between Highways 58 and 166.
