Carrizo Plain

Carrizo Plain National Monument can have amazing wildflowers in the spring.

Be sure to set the video quality to HD with the little gear setting at the bottom right of the screen to improve the picture quality.

Update 04/17/2024: We just went camping in the Carrizo Plain National Monument - April 2024 – April 7,8,15,16 – 2024.  The flowers were spectacular in the hills where we camped.  The place where we camped and where the flowers were the best was in the hills between 12 and 14 miles beyond where the pavement ends on the South side of the park along the main road (Soda Lake Road) heading North through the Carrizo Plain National Monument.   Here is a video from the trip:

Here is the 2024 video from Carrizo Plain National Monument on Facebook

I wrote more information about the Carrizo Plain further down this page - scroll down to see!

Here is a video from 2023 at Carrizo Plain National Monument:

Here is the 2023 Carrizo Plain National Monument video on Facebook

Here is a 2024 Mountain Biking Carrizo Plain National Monument during the Super Bloom:

More information about the Carrizo Plain:  We viewed the wildflowers, road mountain bikes, dispersed camped and fiddled in the flowers on a trip to Northern California - we stopped here on the way North and then again on the return trip South.  We traveled along the Main Soda Lake Road both ways.  We traveled in a 2 wheel drive mini van.  The road was in fairly good shape on the trip there - a grader was grading.  Before our return trip, there was some hard rain in the Carrizo Plain so the road was more rutted on the return trip - however workers were smoothing the road with a grader that we let pass by and they smoothed the road for us!  So the road should be in good shape now!  The flowers in the hills where we camped were spectacular on our trip North April 7,8.  On our return trip April 15,16, the flowers were fading a bit in the higher hills but improving on the flat valley.  If you visit the Carrizo Plain be prepared - check the weather as roads become impassable when wet and it can also get very hot.  Bring lots of water, food, warm cloths and have a full tank of gas - there are no services within 70 miles of the Carrizo Plain National Monument.

Mountain Biking and Camping Super Bloom 2024 Carrizo Plain National Monument California.

We road mountain bikes and did primitive dispersed camping in the Carrizo Plain National Monument - April 2024.

Mountain biking is permitted on the approximately 460 miles of existing public roads on the Carrizo Plain. Throughout the Monument, bikes are treated like vehicles and must stay on designated roads.

I have a Carrizo Plain National Monument mountain biking page with more information about riding a mountain bike here.

We went dispersed camping in the Carrizo Plain National Monument - April 2024.

If you prefer a developed campground, you can use KCL Campground and Selby Campground which have vault toilets but no water and are available on a first come first served basis.

Dispersed camping / Primitive camping in the Carrizo Plain National Monument - Dispersed car camping is allowed within certain areas of the Carrizo Plain. The designated dispersed car camping areas encompass approximately 100,000 acres where car, tent, backpack, or horse camping is allowed. Generally, dispersed car camping is permitted in the foothills and mountainous areas.