• The Point Reyes Beach as viewed from the Point Reyes Headlands

    Point Reyes

    National Seashore California

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  • Operational Changes Took Effect on May 1

    The Lighthouse Visitor Center is now only open Fridays through Mondays. The Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center will be closed through late December 2013. More »

  • 2013 Harbor Seal Pupping Season Closures

    From March 1 through June 30, the park implements closures of certain Tomales Bay beaches and Drakes Estero to water-based recreation to protect harbor seals during the pupping season. Please avoid disturbing seals to ensure a successful pupping season. More »

Wildflowers

Nature and Science

California poppies, a tidy-tips and a checker-bloom in bloom

For wildflower enthusiasts, a trip to Point Reyes in the spring and summer is a must. Wildflowers bloom at the Seashore February through August, depending on many factors including the amount and frequency of rains. Colors range throughout the spectrum and across many sizes. They can be viewed in many habitats including woodlands, scrublands, grasslands, coastal bluffs, beach, dunes, disturbed areas, salt marsh edges. Abbotts Lagoon, Chimney Rock and Tomales Point are just a few of the locations where the flowers bloom early in the season.

Remember that wildflowers are protected by law in national parks. Please don’t pick the wildflowers or crush them by straying off the trails.

In late winter and early spring, the Seashore offers ranger-led Wildflower Walks. Check our Ranger-Guided Programs page for more details.

Point Reyes National Seashore Wildflower Species List (341 KB PDF)

The Marin Chapter California Native Plants Society has also compiled Comprehensive Plant Lists for various Marin County locations, including Abbotts Lagoon and Chimney Rock.

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Did You Know?

Climate scientists warn that the safe upper limit for atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations is 350 parts per million.

Climate scientists warn that the safe upper limit for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations is 350 parts per million (ppm). For most of human history, atmospheric CO2 rarely exceeded 275 ppm--until the industrial revolution. As of 2013, atmospheric CO2 was ~396 ppm–-and rising 2 ppm/year. More...