Desert Rain

Written by Ron Coscorrosa

While I am not a fan of the term, few would disagree that 2016 was a "superbloom" in Death Valley. The consensus on 2026 is not as universal (at least to those who were not selling hotel rooms and photo workshops), but it was without a doubt the most flowers I have seen blooming in the park in a decade. The other memory that lingers from 2016 is one of regret. I did not treat the wildflower spectacle with the special attention it deserved, and I vowed not to repeat that mistake this year.

From late December when the seedlings were starting to sprout until mid-March, Sarah and I spent most of our time in and around Death Valley National Park, exploring, at all accessible elevations, the wildflower show that only happens once a decade. It wasn't just the flowers though. We discovered vast expanses of mud and also pools in sand dunes, and Lake Manly (the ephemeral lake that forms in Badwater Basin) was back. All of these phenomena had the same cause: intense storms that spanned August through January.

Death Valley is too vast and the flower season too brief to feel like I did it justice. Walking in a perfumed field of flowers in a typically dormant landscape is something that needs to be experienced and that no photograph can accurately capture. But I left this time with no regrets, much exhaustion, and more photos than it is responsible to share. Responsibility has never been my strong suit as will become evident soon. I have a free ebook Desert Rain, which spans the entire experience, as well as a new photo gallery for the 2026 portion. This blog post has a few of my favorites and the ebook even more.