Superbloom spreads across Redwood National Park hillside

The wildflower show in Redwood National Park was sparked by fire, not rain, and it is turning part of the Bald Hills into a sea of purple.

Death Valley is not the only California park bursting with color this spring. In Redwood National Park, a lupine superbloom is spreading across the Bald Hills, covering part of the landscape in purple and creating another striking wildflower display.

"This year at Redwood, we're experiencing a lupine superbloom," a Redwood National Park botanist said.

Unlike the superbloom in Death Valley, which was fueled by a rare stretch of favorable weather, the burst of flowers in Redwood National Park was sparked by fire.

"We're realizing that one year after a fire, we end up with a lot of vegetative lupins, but two years post-burn, just like the burn that they did in this drainage two years ago, we end up with a lupine superbloom," the park explained.

The display at Bald Hills is expected to last through May, giving visitors plenty of time to see the sea of purple flowers near the Lyons Ranch Trailhead.

There are no designated trails across the hillside, but elk and other animals have created paths that allow people to walk through the area without trampling the blooms.

"These blooms are delicate, and we want to make sure all visitors can enjoy them, including one of the lupine’s favorite visitors: pollinators!," park officials said.

Purple lupine is just one of more than 30 flower species found in Redwood National Park, with some species appearing in the park throughout the summer.

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