A Rare Lupine Superbloom Just Erupted in the Bald Hills of Redwood National Park

If you have ever wanted a reason to make the drive to the far north coast, this is it.

Redwood National Park is experiencing a rare lupine superbloom in the Bald Hills, and the park is actively encouraging visitors to come see it. Off a remote road east of Highway 101 near Orick, the grasslands above the redwood canopy have erupted into a carpet of purple, blue and white wildflowers.

The bloom is driven by riverbank lupine, a fast-growing plant in the pea family that can reach five feet tall. What makes the Bald Hills display unusual is its connection to fire. Park managers have found that superblooms tend to follow prescribed burns by about two years. Hard-coated lupine seeds can sit dormant in the soil for years until fire clears competing vegetation and triggers germination.

The last major superblooms in the Bald Hills occurred in 2009 and 2025, and this year’s display appears to be another strong one. The bloom typically lasts just two to four weeks, from mid-May through June, so the window is already open.

To get there, take Bald Hills Road from Highway 101 north of Orick and drive about 18 miles east past Lady Bird Johnson Grove. The road climbs out of the redwood forest and onto the open, grass-covered hilltops where the lupine grows. On a good day, the entire hillside smells like grape soda, which is a characteristic of the riverbank lupine variety found here.

There are no services in the Bald Hills, so bring water, food and a full tank of gas.