From April through August, wildflowers bloom in Yosemite National Park, providing for a five-month spring of wildflower blooming.

One of the best wildflower trails in California is the Hite Cove Trail, leading from Savage's Trading Post on State Route 140 five miles beside the south fork of the Merced River to the remains of a gold mine and town.

Fifty to sixty varieties of wildflowers grow along the trail. As the trail climbs and descends, the emerald hillside is decorated with blazing splashes of orange California poppies, magenta Owl's Clover, and cadmium yellow Goldfields.

Such displays are found all along the trail, though the best are found beneath the shade of foothill oaks where colorful communities of Indian pinks, baby-blue eyes and globe lilies live. The observant will find monkey flowers, shooting stars, fiesta flowers and waterfall buttercups in seeps and little creeks that flow to the Merced River.

Places to stay include the Yosemite Resort Homes at the Hite Cove trailhead, Yosemite Cedar Lodge or Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal. Two-night packages, including plant and wildlife guides, start at $399 Call 1-888-742-4371 and ask for the Wildflower Package.

Yosemite's five-month spring doesn't stop when summer begins. After the last dogwood have dropped their white petals, flowers continue to bloom at increasing elevations, up into the high country 'til summer ends.

What To Look For

• Redbud - Magenta blossoms flock redbud shrubs beside the Merced River in April.
• California Poppies - The state flower, these brilliant, teacup-shaped, orange flowers proliferate sun-facing hillsides of the Merced River Canyon from March to April.
• Lupine - Over 80 species of lupine are found in California. Stalks of its purple to lavendar, pea-shaped flowers are seen amidst the poppies in the Merced Canyon, April to July.
• Pacific Dogwood - Trees with creamy white flower-like leaves surrounding clusters of tiny green flowers. Bloom in Yosemite Valley in May.
• California Fuscias - These late bloomers show their trumpet-shaped, bright, red flowers in late summer. They like dry slopes.
• Snow Plants - These brilliant, blood-red towers of flowers are fragile, have no chlorophyll and can't photosynthesize. They're found growing in decaying humus of coniferous forests. Look for them beside park roads, May to July.
• Indian Paintbrush - Hummingbirds pollinate these orange-red, lancelike blossoms found in moist areas up to treeline. May to September.

For more descriptions, buy Lynn and Jim Wilson and Jeff Nicholas' Wildflowers of Yosemite, sold at the Yosemite View Lodge and Yosemite Cedar Lodge.

Ask for the "Kids' Guide" when you next stay at Cedar Lodge and get a sheet of fun games and activities for kids to do. Included is a map and Bear Hunt game that encourages kids and their parents to find all 32 carved wooden bears at the Cedar Lodge. Or, color the mule deer fawn, answer a Yosemite Quiz, complete the Yosemite Scramble or follow our guide to fun and educational things to do in Yosemite National Park. The Kid's Guide is free at the Cedar Lodge front desk.

The Merced River has a split personality. In Yosemite Valley, the river is sedate, providing easy-going class II to III rafting from late May through summer. Outside the national park this uncontrolled (not dammed), free-flowing river provides exhilarating class III and IV rafting, from mid-April to mid-July. Famous rapids include Split Rock, Corner Pocket, Nightmare Island, Grand Slam and the huge Ned's Gulch. Several rafting companies put in east of Cedar Lodge at the Redbud picnic grounds, with one-day trips pulling out at Briceburg and two-day (overnight camping trips) ending up at McClure Reservoir. Ideal places to stay when rafting the Merced are the Yosemite Cedar Lodge and Yosemite View Lodge. Contact Yosemite Guides at 209-379-9111 for information on rafting companies.