Rhett Boswell, a wildlife biologist in the Dixie National Forest, looked at the image on his screen, bemused.
Reflected back was a pastoral picture of a meadow carpeted with tiny yellow flowers. In the background, the black tops of pine trees rise up like merlons on a castle wall. White clouds stretch back toward a sky that has turned cobalt as it struggles to hold back an incoming storm.
The photograph is titled “Wildflowers in Bloom at Morning Light, Dixie National Forest, Utah, USA.” Walmart sells prints of it for $37.91.
Clues within the picture — like the conifer trees or the deep blue cliffs rising up in the distance — lead Boswell to believe it could have been taken near Cedar Breaks National Monument or the nearby Blowhard Mountain, both of which are within the forest. Possibly it was snapped near one of the boggy meadows atop the Pine Valley laccolith.
It’s nearly impossible to know for sure, though, because that kind of wildflower beauty abounds in Utah — if you know where, and when, to look for it.
“Our wet meadows on the district, on any of our districts, are great places for wildflower enthusiasts,” Boswell said, “because you just get this kind of splash of color in summer and get up out of the heat.”
Neal Dombrowski | Red Butte Garden The calochortus nuttallii — better known as the Sego lily, Utah's state flower — can most often be found at elevations of 5,000 to 7,000 feet.
One person who prides himself on knowing where to look for wildflowers is horticulturist Neal Dombrowski.
Dombrowski has been informing people about the nuances of Utah’s wildflowers through a seminar series offered at at Red Butte Garden for the past two years. He said the locations of the best blooms generally stay the same. For example, Albion Basin in Little Cottonwood Canyon — considered the crown jewel of wildflowers on the Wasatch Front — can be counted on to have abundant flowers for at least a short stint every summer because of its elevation.
“The reason why Albion Basin is so special is that it has all this snow,” Dombrowski said. “And, if you think about it, as soon as the snow melts, the plants have to hurry up because they have a shorter growing season in order to reproduce before the next snow comes. That produces a huge flush of flowers.
“It’s a little different down here at the garden. It’s spaced out because there’s not all this snowpack.”
Snowpack and temperatures dictate the timing of wildflower season each year. A dry winter may bring on any early spring bloom. Whereas, a record snow year like the one Utah saw in 2022-23 could push peak wildflower season into September.
Further complicating matters, it’s not always the same in all parts of the state.
Keenan Mittl | Red Butte Garden Horticulturist Neal Dombrowski leads a group on a wildflower tour through Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City in 2024.
This winter, the northern Utah mountains mostly saw average to near-average snowfall. Meanwhile, some southern parts of the state were at 12% of average snowpack in February. March storms helped bring snow levels up, but southwest Utah was still only at 32% of average as of Thursday.
Cheyenne Winchester, a park naturalist at Snow Canyon State Park near St. George, said the lack of moisture is affecting the wildflower season there.
“We haven’t had a lot of rain,” she said. “We do have wildflowers, they’re just really small this year.”
For the best flower viewing, she suggested going to Snow Canyon before the end of May when “it will get a little toasty.”
Then it will be time to head north and to higher elevations.
(Christopher Cherrington | The Salt Lake Tribune)
Though its wildflower festival is held every July, the blooms at Cedar Breaks National Monument could arrive early this year since that area saw below-average snowfall. Mount Terrill — which is billed as having more than 50 varieties of forbs, or potentially blooming plants — also could have an earlier-than-usual showing. Meanwhile, the snowpack in the Bear River Mountains near Logan is at or above average in many places. That could spell a delay for the appearance of the paintbrushes, lupines and the like often found along the Tony’s Grove Nature Trail.
Most of those areas are pretty far flung those living along the Wasatch Front. A quicker wildflower fix may be found in Big or Little Cottonwood Canyon. Less than an hour’s drive from Salt Lake City, those areas had above-average snowpack. So, they’ll likely be at their best in July and August, just in time for the annual Wasatch Wildflower Festival. This year, the celebration will begin at Brighton on July 12, followed by Solitude Mountain Resort on July 13, Snowbird on July 19 and Alta Ski Area on July 20. Visit Salt Lake has for more information on the festival and wildflower hikes in the area.
Or follow the advice of Sarah Bennett, the executive director of Trails Utah, and just take a hike along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail to get a sneak peak of what this season has to offer.
“The wildflower show in the foothills in the spring is outstanding and I feel like it is under appreciated!” Bennett wrote in a text. “The high alpine flower show mid summer usually always gets the most attention but we have a super spectacular show going on at lower elevations starting right now.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Forget-me-nots are among the wildflowers that can be found in the foothills now as well as on the trail to Cecret Lake, in Little Cottonwood Canyon, in July and August.
From now until June, Bennett said, wildflower watchers can catch sight of dainty forget-me-nots, bright yellow arrow-leaf balsam root and even avalanche lilies. The color and variety of the flowers, she said, will come in waves as the temperature changes.
Wherever the wildflowers bloom, though, Dombrowski, Winchester, Bennett and Boswell all strongly recommend leaving them there. Winchester noted it is illegal to remove anything, from sticks to Sego lilies, from Snow Canyon State Park. Rules vary in Forest Service districts, but generally plant materials cannot be removed from designated Wilderness Areas.
“A good phone or a good camera,” Boswell advised, “can keep that flower alive forever.”
Because, when it comes to wildflowers, a picture really is worth a thousand forbs.