The Fields Are Alive With the California Poppy Once Again : Nature: The state’s official flower had nearly stopped blooming for two years because of the drought. But recent rains have helped it make a colorful comeback.

An abundance of recent rain has splashed the desert floor of the Antelope Valley with golden-orange carpets of California poppies, the state’s official flower, whose annual blooming had nearly disappeared for two years because of the drought.

“It’s been blooming pretty steadily for three weeks. But it looks like its reaching its peak about right now,” said state park ranger Robert McAdams, who oversees the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, the only park in California dedicated to growing the state’s flower.

The 1,745-acre reserve, 15 miles west of Lancaster, offers the best poppy views, but wildflowers of many types have burst into bloom recently at locales throughout the high desert, at least temporarily overshadowing the ubiquitous Joshua trees and tumbleweeds.

The news is getting around too. On Sunday, the reserve had its busiest day of the season as rangers admitted about 900 cars and had to turn away another 600 because the parking area was full, McAdams said.

On Monday, even in the middle of a blustery workday, camera-toting visitors flocked to the reserve and nearby poppy fields on private lands. Mothers took their children to romp through the fields, and couples stopped at the roadside to take each others’ pictures.

McAdams rated the current blooms as the best in the area since the mid-1980s. The drought had diminished the growth in recent years. But with the recent rains, the flowers made a strong comeback this spring.

McAdams predicted that they should last into May if temperatures remain moderate.

The Antelope Valley, which had been parched like the rest of Southern California, received nearly 6.5 inches of rain in the first three months of the year, more than it had in the previous three years. March alone, with 4.17 inches, was one of the wettest on record in the Antelope Valley.

The high desert might seem an unlikely home for the poppies, which used to dot much of the state. But the region’s vast remaining open spaces combined with its traditional winter rains and spring warmth have provided the poppies with a place to survive.

The state’s reserve is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily during the poppy season. It is located on Lancaster Road, an extension of Avenue I, at 150th Street West.

Parking is $5 per car. The area has hiking trails but picking the poppies is forbidden.