Lake Mead expects ‘above average’ year for wildflower blooms
By Alexis Egeland Las Vegas Review-Journal
A butterfly lands on a wildflower around the 33 Hole scenic overlook at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A butterfly flies around wildflowers at the 33 Hole scenic overlook at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A view of wildflowers near Boulder Beach at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A view of wildflowers around the 33 Hole scenic overlook at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A truck with a trailer moves past wildflowers at the Las Vegas Bay scenic overlook at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A butterfly lands on a wildflower around the 33 Hole scenic overlook at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A view of wildflowers near Boulder Beach at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A butterfly lands on a wildflower around the 33 Hole scenic overlook at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A view of wildflowers at the Sunset View scenic overlook at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A bee flies around wildflowers at the 33 Hole scenic overlook at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A view of wildflowers near Boulder Beach at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A view of wildflowers near Boulder Beach at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
A view of wildflowers around the 33 Hole scenic overlook at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on Wednesday, March 4, 2020. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @csstevensphoto
The Lake Mead National Recreation Area is expecting an above-average year for wildflower blooms.
Carrie Norman, the park’s vegetation biologist, said that it’s been a winter for rain, so there are already flowers blooming on the southern end of the park.
“There’s just so much green already,” Norman said. “You look out where there would normally be so much brown, and it just looks like someone painted green between all the shrubs.”
Norman said there are already desert pincushions, poppies, desert sunflowers, desert lilies and beavertail cactus blooming, covering the park in green, yellow, white and pink.
She said Cottonwood Cove, Nevada Telephone Cove and Lakeshore Road on the Nevada side of the lake and Willow Beach Road and Katherine Landing on the Arizona side are the best spots to look for wildflowers at this point in the season. But as spring continues and the weather starts to warm up, she said wildflowers will start popping up farther north as well.
“I think it might be a good year,” Norman said. “Not a banner year or anything, but definitely above average.”
