Fresno County Blossom Trail

Jackie
10 months ago

We went a little too early this year for the full blossoms but still found a way to grab our ritual chili dog at the Chuckwagon in Sanger. Might go again just to get out of the house for a few hours. 🙂

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April
1 year ago

Very beautiful white & pink blossoms
Great road map on yelp
Wish there were signs telling what each field was.

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Wilson
1 year ago

YOU DONT'T HAVE TO GO TO JAPAN TO SEE THE CHERRY BLOSSOM, JUST GO TO FRESNO-CALIFORNIA AND YOU'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY! 🙂
Never seen something like this in my life, beautiful sceneries with all the blossom. My friend and I couldn't stop WOW WOW…
*Almond Blossom Trail: https://youtu.be/12ZzClPzeus
*Tangerine Orchard-Blossom Trail: https://youtu.be/55YnogShAPU
We went to Fresno 2 times within 2 weeks to see the blossom. There wewe so many places, it's hard to tell you exactly the location where my pictures been taking. We drove around and around until we saw what we feel like it, then we stopped and taking pictures.
Hurry up, each blossom trail only last for about a week or ten days. 🙂
*White Blossom Trail, could be Plums: https://youtu.be/WSgOShF7f7k
*Pink Blossom trail, could be Nectarines and Peaches: https://youtu.be/COrfcLth8ns
*Tangerine Orchards: https://youtu.be/rgfjhlc7TF0

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Jasmine
2 years ago

It's not a trail; it's a drive. Most of what you can see borders the freeway anyhow, so it's not worth going out of your way for. When you do see something you want to get closer to or take a picture of, you have to go through the trouble of finding a safe spot to pull over and then awkwardly sneaking up to the trees because the land is owned.

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Sherry
3 years ago

So fun! About an hour and a half to two hours' drive (including a few stops). This was a nice trail to take in some of Fresno County's farmland, as well as the smaller cities. Start at Simonian Farms and grab some treats and enjoy the view!

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Kaitlin
3 years ago

After the rainy winter and heavy Sierra snowpack, we thought it would be an amazing time to revisit the Blossom Trail.

Timing is everything, and Mother Nature can ladle out short seasons. By the time we arrived last Sunday, several factors were at play. Most of the white blossoms had peaked already. Fortunately, there were lots of pinks to enjoy.

Sadly though, there was a persistent haziness in the air, which camouflaged the mountains completely. Even in the Eastern part of the Orange Blossom Trail, no distant peaks to be seen. Drat! That was disappointing.

We were crazy enough to get up early on the first day of Daylight Savings Time, having lost an hour of sleep, to drive up for the day. Sometimes you just have to go for it. We did take some sweet photos, and get away from our normal routine for a day.

Seeing the hillsides lush with fresh green grasses was also a bonus for the timing of the journey. A return stop at Simonian Farms was a big plus, too. The new signs throughout the route were really helpful to enjoy the Flower Power!

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Fabian
3 years ago

This is the first time that my wife and I toured the Blossom Trail. As noted elsewhere, a car is a must. The trail takes you into some of the smaller communities in Fresno County.

We decided to take the loop going through Sanger, Centerville, & Minkler. bossoms There is in addition to the Blossom Trail called the Orange Blossom Trail going through Orange Cove.

The blossoms were in full bloom as of 3/5/2017. Unfortunately, there were no orange blossoms in evidence. Since traffic was sparse, it was easy to pull over and get out for pictures.

We ventured off of the trail to head up Piedra Rd which takes you into the low foothills. We were able to get pictures of wildflowers.

We spent about 4 hours and had a great time. If you want to get away from the urban experience, I highly recommend you go for a self guided tour while it lasts.

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Jackson
5 years ago

we travelled from sunnyvale and it is a 3hrs drive. we started from simonian farms(2629 S Clovis Ave, Fresno, CA 93725, though garmin GPS showed the shop is on the right side of the road, it is actually on the left side). we took a trail map from
this shop and started the trail.

we were in the trail for close to 90mins and could cover two gardens, there seems to be plenty of garden, so reaching there earlier would be good.

the view is awesome and i felt it is worth travelling this distance. we went in march first weekend and view was awesome.

minus:

1. its a trails of 10s of miles, so you will have to stop in each garden and then move to another garden. so it takes a lot of time.

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Edgar
6 years ago

Dear Fresno,
It's undeniable that you have a beautiful landscape full of fruit blossoms in your county. I'm sure during February-mid March, it would be even more of a sight to see. However, I can't endorse this "trail" as a MUST-see until the following things below are addressed. If ignored, I fear many future visitors will feel deceived/disappointed like me.

1) The name should be changed. It IS NOT a trail. A trail would imply that you can freely walk about to admire the view. This isn't the case here at all. Instead you should change it to "Fresno County Blossom Drive". ALL blossom trees are on private property so whenever I chose to park alongside the road to take pictures or walk between the rows of trees, a few farmers stopped me. Taking pictures isn't impossible, but when you have to be secretive and quick about your camera skills, it takes away from the fun.

2) Give a definitive address or spot as to where the "trail" or drive begins. Adding signs at different junctures about the "trail" would be extremely helpful too. For a while, I was driving aimlessly, relying on a sketchy map I found on the Fresno Tourist website. I had to go to a couple gas stations and a McDonalds to get proper directions. I've written directions below.
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Conclusion: 2.5 Stars. While visiting Visalia, I was ecstatic to hear about this trail. Reading the positive reviews on Yelp just heightened my anticipation too. But overall, it wasn't worth it. IF you have some time to kill and traveling from Socal to Fresno, driving through the miles of beautiful blossom fruit trees may be enjoyable, but throw all preconceived notions of a hike/relaxing walk out the window.

Extra Notes:
-DIRECTIONS: If coming from SoCal and driving on the 99 Highway, exit 18th Street and turn right. From there, go straight and 18th street will become Mendocino Avenue. Drive until you hit Rose Avenue then turn left. You are NOW on the Blossom "trail". Follow the picture map I provided.

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Arielle
6 years ago

Pretty neat trip. Downloaded the map which leads you out and about, zig and zag east of Fresno through orchard after orchard of various fruit trees, most in their glorious bloom. We did not encounter too many cars and were able to pull off the road in a lot of spots for pictures. Trail passes by some towns to stop to eat and the Kings river is on the trail as well.

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Brendan
7 years ago

I've been here twice. My husband and I are trying to make this an annual tradition. 🙂 I love taking pictures here. It's always so pretty, and it's such a different vibe from living the city life in San Diego the rest of the year. 😉 Everyone in Fresno is so calm and relaxed. I don't mind driving the 5 hours it takes to get to Fresno from San Diego. So worth it for the pictures. Best time I've known to go is at the tail-end of February through the very beginning of March. Check out their web site for periodic updates of the amount of blossoms actually bloomed before making a long trip to Fresno. The more blossoms, the better the pictures. 🙂

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Demetrius
8 years ago

The best time to visit the Fresno Blossom Trail is between end of February and mid of March.

After a long three hour drive from San Jose, we reached the Fresno Blossom Trail. Although there were sign-posts at every junction of the blossom trail that helped to keep us in track; carrying a hard copy of the trail map just made it easier.

http://www.gofresnocounty.com/blossomtrail/Map.asp

There are no designated parking spaces at the trail, so one would need to pull over to the side of the road to see the astounding beauty of the white and pink blossom trees, walk amidst the blossoms and take pictures. The vast spans of blossoms of the same color make it look all the more stunning. I thought this would be one of the apt places to take wedding photo shoots.

Along the trail were the yellow mustard blossoms as well. It was breathtaking to see the boundless varieties of the colorful blossoms with the snow clad Sierra Mountains, visible in the distance in the background.

Orange Blossom Trail, as stated in the trail map took us through the orange grove, where we saw vast stretches of orange trees and the trees were clothed in ripe oranges. The Orange Blossom Trail was a pretty long drive and the trees here were not too different from the bunch of orange trees that we saw in the main blossom trail.

The Kings River runs across the trail and it is probably a nice place to stop by.

Overall, our experience was good, but it does get boring after a while.

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Doris
8 years ago

Wanna to see cherry blossom, and found this trail… I was actually expecting it will be something like in DC if not better…BUT…

I saw some beautiful flowers on the way, but I think I would be happier if they didn't call it a "blossom trail" at the first place. Because it is basically a big area that's pretty spread out with cherry blossom trees. Some parts are really really beautiful, some parts are not as good. I think if they can just tell people a few spots with the best trees to go, it may be better…

If you want to see a lot of cherry blossom trees in spring time, give it a try, but don't expect too much on the way. And watch out for dogs when you take pictures!! There's not really an obvious sign for most of the parts, and some area looks like other people's farm…I got chased by 2 dogs when I was just taking pictures in one of the spot, totally scared me! Good thing is those dogs are well trained, they stopped once I stepped out of the area…:P

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Virginia
8 years ago

it's so beautiful…
if anyone is looking for a location for an engagment shoot or a pre wedding shoot.. this is definitely the place..

imagine wearing a white dress, and under a pink blossom tree.. and the nice thing is the trail is in more "farm" area, so it's perfect place for a photoshoto backdrop…

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Alonzo
9 years ago

I entered two paintings in the Blossom Trail contest at the Fair. They are somewhat "outside the box" but were challenging to do.

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Darrin
9 years ago

This is a great route for a nice leisurely ride on a motorcycle. A couple blasts of Sinex and a mouthful of Sudafed and you're good to go. Just be alert for the typical stupid motorist tricks like abrupt departures from the shoulder without looking first, illegal u-turns right in front of you, and slamming on the brakes for no apparent reason. Still, if you take it slow and keep a watchful eye on the cars around you, it's totally worth the risk. Keep the rubber on the road and enjoy the view!

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Norma
9 years ago

A lovely drive through the countryside, any time of the year. However, in late February to mid March, the orchards are all dressed up in their Easter finery. Blossoms everywhere the eye can see. Lots of places to pull off the side of the road and take photos. Lunch in Reedley, Dinuba, or Kingsburg, makes it a great day trip.

If you take the drive during the summer months, you will find lots of fruits stands at which to buy the fruit grown in those orchards.

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Walter
9 years ago

Other than the zoo, this is probably the next best thing that Fresno has to offer!

When is the best time to go? I'd say third week of February till beginning of March. It all depends on the weather so you just have to check twitter for updates. I went on the first week of March and the petals were mostly on the ground by then. Once 3rd week of March hit, the leaves start to grow out by then.

I think most people misunderstood this trail for the Cherry Blossom's trees but it's not! It's actually fruit trees and the flowers look just like the Cherry Blossom's flowers.

You'll probably be disappointed at first because it doesn't look that nice from far away but as you get into the field, it's really amazing! The flowers smell so goood and the petals on the ground just add a nice touch to it. It's a good opportunity to take pictures here but I suggest you don't wear white because the background itself is already white as it is! (:

If you follow the map on their website, the whole trail would take you at least 2hrs. YUP, we actually drove around the whole trail which I don't recommend. After awhile, all the trees look just like any other trees that you'll see at the beginning. Once you see the white & pink flowers, that should be good enough.

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Marcus
10 years ago

I just visited the trail last weekend and posted my video and tips here:
http://foodandwinemavens.blogspot.com/2010/03/san-francisco-weekend-getaway-fresno.html

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