Do
you have the desire to experience Spring at its finest? Would you like to enjoy
mountain fresh air, with acres of daffodils to walk through? Then a trip to the
amazing and lovely Daffodil Hill should be top on your list of things to do. Daffodil
Hill will open its gates for its 77th season on Friday, March 17th (Weather
Permitting) and stay open through early April, 2017, weather permitting.
Before
coming to enjoy this amazing display of nature, visitors are encouraged to call
the recorded phone message at (209) 296-7048 or check McLaughlin’s Daffodil
Hill on Facebook, to see if Daffodil Hill is open that day. Daffodil Hill is
located at 18310 Rams Horn Grade, Volcano, CA. 95689 and is open Monday through
Sunday; from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission and parking are free. Sorry, no pets are allowed on the property.
Photo by Samuel Hindi Patterson |
Each
spring, Daffodil Hill explodes with thousands of blooms, attracting visitors
from around the world. Approximately 6 acres of the Daffodil Hill ranch is
dedicated to the daffodils. As many as 500,000 annual blooms are there for your
pleasure. Visitors are welcome to walk through this beautiful display of nature
or just sit on a bench and soak in the wonderful experience of the Daffodils.
This is also a perfect setting for photos of all kinds.
Daffodil
Hill is in a beautiful alpine setting at an elevation of over 3,000 feet. With
pine trees, an old barn, wagon wheels, and rusting mining equipment and farming
tools, it appeals to anyone with a love of nature. Flowers are everywhere, with
peacocks, chickens, pigeons and miniature donkeys making themselves at home.
Nature
sets the schedule for public viewing. Daffodil Hill opens when 25 percent of
the flowers are in bloom and closes when only 25 percent remain. The best time
to visit Daffodil Hill is the spring, usually from mid-March to mid-April.
Daffodil Hill is open only at this time of year, after that it goes back to a
working ranch. Bring a picnic lunch or enjoy some of the concessions there. After
your visit to Daffodil Hill, come back down to Sutter Creek for unique shopping,
wine tasting, dining and more history.
There
is no admission charge or parking fee to visit the family ranch, but there are
many yellow teakettles and pots around so that anyone, if they desire, may
donate to keep this precious, family run, tradition alive. This is a rare opportunity to experience
History and Nature together in one of Amador County’s best treasures.
Concerned
about accessibility? Daffodil Hill has many dirt paths with varying degrees of
incline and decline. Many visitors using
scooters, wheelchairs, and walkers come to enjoy the day at Daffodil Hill. However, travel on the paths will depend upon
your personal level of comfort and stability. Great views of the daffodils are
available from the bottom of the hill looking upward. There is also an easily accessible picnic
area containing daffodils which everyone will enjoy. Bring a picnic or enjoy
some of the food cooked on site by the Soroptimist Organization of Amador
County. Handicap parking and port-a-pottys are also available.
Directions
to Daffodil Hill
Daffodil
Hill is approximately 12 miles from Sutter Creek.
Sutter Creek is located on Old Highway 49 in Amador County, accessible from Sacramento via Highway 16 (Jackson Rd.) or from Stockton via Highway 99 (Highway 88 turnoff).
Sutter Creek is located on Old Highway 49 in Amador County, accessible from Sacramento via Highway 16 (Jackson Rd.) or from Stockton via Highway 99 (Highway 88 turnoff).
From
Sutter Creek, turn East on Gopher Flat Road. Drive for approximately 3 miles
and turn left at the third stop sign which is Shake Ridge Road. Drive about 9 miles on Shake Ridge Road to
Rams Horn Grade. You have arrived!
Sorry, No pets allowed on grounds
of Daffodil Hill.
History:
At
the time the 36-acre ranch was purchased in 1887, the early days of the Gold
Rush, it served as a way-station for teamsters hauling timber from the Sierras
down to the Kennedy and Argonaut Mines, and for east bound travelers heading for
the Comstock Lode on the Amador-Nevada Wagon Road (Highway 88) and others
traveling the road from Kit Carson Pass. The McLaughlin’s continued the
way-station operation, renting rooms, and serving meals (breakfast for 25
cents) to the travelers and providing feed and shelter for their animals. For many years the loft of the ranch barn
that still stands today, was used for “Saturday Night” dances for guests and
neighbors. The owners Arthur and his wife, Lizzie, began to plant the first
daffodil bulbs in their spare time. The bulbs have since been lovingly
nurtured.
Not
a commercial enterprise, the ranch has been owned by the same family since it
was acquired in 1887 by wagon pioneers Arthur McLaughlin and Elizabeth “Lizzie”
van Vorst-McLaughlin. The McLaughlin’s descendants, the Ryan family, have
continued to personally plant several thousand new bulbs a year. The Ryan
brothers and their families, great grandchildren, great-great grandchildren,
and great-great-great grandchildren plant an average of 12,000 daffodil bulbs
per year!
The
hill is open Monday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., weather
permitting. Admission and parking are
free. Food is available for sale at the concession stand across the road.
Please call (209) 296-7048 to make sure Daffodil Hill is open the day you wish
to visit. Daffodil Hill is also on Facebook.
We would love to come and see this event with our new 7 week old girl, but we have a highly trained service dog we take everywhere. Can we still attend?
ReplyDeleteWe would love to see this beautiful event with our 7 week old girl, but we have a highly trained service dog. Can we still attend?
ReplyDeleteThanks:)
I am going sometime soon!
ReplyDelete