It’s hard to redirect your eyes from the huge granite spires and monoliths when visiting Castle Rocks State Park and City of Rocks National Reserve to the tiny treasures under foot. From March to October, wildflowers beckon visitors to stop for a closer look.
The elusive Brown's PeonyOn a recent ranger led wildflower hike at Castle Rocks State Park, we were handed a checklist of 100 common and showy (soft-stemmed) wildflower species – there are a total of 498 species of plants found in the park.
It didn’t take long for the ranger to point out several species such as Oregon Grape, Shooting Star, NW Indian Paintbrush, Plains Prickly Pear and a coveted, hard-to-find, Brown’s Peony. It’s also common to see more than one of the 23 species of the sunflower family.
Check out the National Park Service’s website which shows 71 different plant species in the area -- www.nps.gov/ciro then click on photos/multimedia on the left and then select plants.
A former ranch, Castle Rocks State Park, is one of Idaho's newest state parks located adjacent to City of Rocks National Reserve. Its 1,440 acres include outstanding rock formations, early 20th century ranch structures and pastures and has over 20 miles of multi-use trails.
For more information about either of these parks, visit their website at http://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/cityofrocks.aspx
Enjoy the photos
NW Indian Paintbrush
Oregon Grape
Rock Climbers
Shooting Star
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