Wildflower Viewing

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The park is home to over 800 plant species (including subspecies, varieties, and forms). Each island is floristically unique due to a complex interplay of factors, including distance from the mainland and other islands, size of the island, local climate, maximum elevation, and topographic diversity.

During a normal year of rainfall, the islands are green and wildflowers reach peak bloom around late winter and spring. Generally, the blooming begins and ends earlier the farther east and south the islands are located. The brilliant yellow coreopsis flowers usually peak between late January through March. The best viewing of these flowers occurs on Santa Barbara, Anacapa, and San Miguel Islands.

For more information about specific island wildflower viewing, please visit Places To Go and read the the "Things To Do" section for each individual island.

For the most current wildflower information, please visit the Theodore Payne Wildflower Hotline.

For a list of the plants in the park download the Plant Check List or visit Calflora: What Grows Here.