Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve
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| Antelope Valley California Poppy State Reserve | |
 A field of California poppies |
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| Location | Los Angeles County, California, USA |
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| Nearest city | Lancaster |
| Coordinates | 34°43′38.89″N 118°23′40.45″W / 34.7274694°N 118.3945694°WCoordinates: 34°43′38.89″N 118°23′40.45″W / 34.7274694°N 118.3945694°W |
| Area | 1776.45 acres |
| Governing body | California State Parks |
The Antelope Valley California Poppy State Reserve is a state-protected reserve land located in the rural westside of the Antelope Valley in northern Los Angeles County, 15 miles (24 km) west of Lancaster. The reserve is at an elevation ranging from 2600 to 3000 feet above sea level in the Mojave Desert climate zone. The reserve is administered by California State Parks. The reserve's namesake and protection is based on the state flower, the California poppy. The area is one of the state's most consistent poppy-bearing lands. Other wildflowers within the reserve include the owl's clover, lupine, goldfields, cream cups and coreopsis.
[edit] The reserve
The intense blooming season for the California poppy falls usually within late winter to early spring, during the months of mid-February through mid-May. Blooming seasons are dependent on the amount of rainfall during the winter to early spring seasons. Within the reserve, there are seven miles (10 km) of trails, including a paved section for wheelchair access, which traverse through the poppy fields.
In order to keep the fields in a strictly natural state, California State Parks does not water or stimulate the flowers. The park service also excludes sheep and cattle from grazing the hillsides. Until the early 1970s sheep once grazed the buttes in the western Antelope Valley. Pronghorn grazed long before then, until the railroad first arrived in 1876. With the exception of service dogs, pets are prohibited from the reserve. Under California state law, visitors are also prohibited from taking flowers away from the reserve.
Since 1994, controlled fires are used to regulate dead brush, exotic species and litter within the reserve.
The reserve is located seven miles west of Arthur B. Ripley Desert Woodland State Park.
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