Springtime plus rains equals fantastic wildflower blooms in the desert. A recent mountain biking trip to the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park yielded bounteous blooming wildflowers, with the promise of many more soon to come. Here’s a sampling of the flower color bursts so common, yet also so breathtakingly unexpected, to the Utah desert lands.

Wildflowers Blooming cactus

 

Whipple’s Fishhook Cactus
Cactaceae Sclerocactus whipplei

Wildflowers Blooming Globemallow

 

Globemallow
Sphaeralcea ambigua
Wildflowers Blooming Aster

 

Aster

Wildflowers Yellow

 

Cliff Rose
Purshia mexicana

Wildflowers Blooming Primrose

 

Primrose (at the base of a yucca)
Primula vulgaris

Wildflowers

 

Yucca
Agavoideae

Wildflowers Blooming Yucca

 

Written by Julie Trevelyan. She has written a number of blog posts for Holiday including a few on the blooming wildflowers of the Utah desert. All photographs of the flora and fauna are from her recent trip in the White Rim with Holiday River Expeditions.

Julie TrevelyanJulie Trevelyan found her way to Southern Utah in spite of–or perhaps because of–being raised in Southern California. She’s a writer, horsewoman, wilderness guide, and outdoor adventurer. While exploring the canyons and mesas, she leaves her tracks in the high desert sands while smiling often, still amazed that this gorgeous wild place is her home.

*Her book, 100 Classic Hikes Utah (Mountaineers Books: 2016) is available now!

You can see more of her work at www.wildgirlwriting