Table Mountain is an easily accessible, wildflower wonderland in springtime. Because of the presence of rock that underlies the thin, stony soil, the wildflower show is truly ephemeral. Go too early and the flowers have not awaken from their winter slumber; too late and it is a veritable desert. During the early spring season (from mid-March through mid to late-April), however, the show is spectacular. In addition, most of the species on Table Mountain are native to California – approximately 78%. This area has both high diversity (approximately 300 species) and an incredible abundance of many kinds. It is this abundance that makes Table Mountain captivating - the plateau in spring is carpeted with a rich artist’s palette of color including white, pink, purple, blue, red, yellow, and green.

In addition to the spring beauty, there are several waterfalls that are worth the hike to see. These waterfalls are fairly intermittent in nature with abundant water cascading over the mesa in spring from winter runoff, to barely a trickle in summer and fall. Unique plants find these oases the perfect habitat for their survival.

A WORD OF ADVICE: Please…do NOT be tempted to pick wildflowers for a closer look or for a bouquet…these flowers wilt immediately. In addition, when you pick flowers, you remove from that site the potential future generations that could have been formed. Remember – flowers are the reproductive parts of the plant – without them, they will not set seed.

To get there: From Oroville, take the Grand Ave. exit, turn right onto Grand Ave. Turn left on Table Mountain Blvd. and then right on Cherokee Rd. It takes about 10 to 20 minutes from Oroville to get to the bluff.

From Chico, take Hwy 99 to Hwy 149 – this takes you to Hwy 70. Turn north toward Quincy on Hwy 70, then turn right on Cherokee Road. It takes about 35-40 minutes from Chico.

1. Oroville Table Mtn. – Overview of the mesa and the columnar jointed lava

2. Limnanthes douglasii - Douglas’ meadow foam: This plant is typically found on the edges of streambanks and vernal pools.

3. Ben and Phantom Falls

4. Oak tree

5. Poppy, lupine, gilia

6. Creek

7. Eschscholzia lobbii - Lobb’s poppies among grasses. The most common orange- yellow poppies on the mesa. They are typically smaller than California poppies.

8. Mixed flowers on the hillside

9. Castilleja exserta - Owl’s clover: This pink-purple beauty forms dense stands in some areas of Table Mountain.

10. Lobb’s poppy

11. Hillside of mixed flowers

12. Phantom Falls, top

13. Phantom Falls, side

14. Mimulus guttatus - seep spring monkey flower and Trifolium variegatum - white-tipped clover: In areas where the ground is saturated with water, both of these species abound. Be careful! You could sink in the mud!

15. Lewisia rediviva – bitterroot. This flower is perhaps the most exciting reason to visit Table Mountain. Large flowered, it sticks out like a sore thumb among the dark lava cobbles on the mesa.

16. field

17. Tritelia lilicina - glassy hyacinth: Look closely and the pearl-like “droplets” on the interior of the petals look like little glass marbles. The white flowers of this species sharply contrasts with the vibrant blue of the anthers on each stamen.

18. Lobb’s poppy and lupine

19. Lobb’s poppy and lupine

20. lupine and owl’s clover

21. owl’s clover

22. owl’s clover

23. Blennosperma nanum - yellow carpet: This lemon-yellow aster can be found in growing along with the other species on the grassy plains here the soil is richer.

24. Clarkia arcuata – Kellogg’s clarkia: also known as “farewell-to-spring”, blooms in the latter part of the season. Named for Captain William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
(rotate clockwise)

25. Viola douglasii – Douglas’ violet: Interesting lemon yellow violet with dissected leaves. The upper 2 petals are dark purple on the underside.
(rotate counterclockwise)

26. Parvisedum pumilum – pygmy stonecrop: These plants hang out on the barest and driest of rocky outcrops. They can survive here because of their specialized metabolism that they share with cactus. Botanists refer to these as “belly flowers” because in order to get a good look at them up close and personal is on one’s stomach.

27. Jill in repose among the lupines

28. A garden of gilia, poppies, lupine, and goldfields.
(rotate clockwise)

29. Mimulus kelloggii –Kellogg’s monkey flower. This scarlet beauty grows straight out of rocks providing a stark contrast to the sky lupine (Lupinus nanus) surrounding it.

30. Lewisia rediviva – bitterroot. This flower is perhaps the most exciting reason to visit Table Mountain. Large flowered, it sticks out like a sore thumb among the dark lava cobbles on the mesa.

31. Wading knee deep in wildflowers

32. Phantom Falls
(rotate counter-clockwise and lighten, if possible)

33. Kellogg’s monkey flower (Mimulus kelloggii)

34. Viola purpurea – oakwoods violet. Another yellow violet, this one also grows right out of the cobble making it starkly contrasted to the dark background of the lava.

35. Kellogg’s monkey flower (Mimulus kelloggii)