Big Bear’s lupines are out dancing the rumba. It seems no matter where I go in Big Bear Valley there is at least a patch, sometimes aLupines of Big Bearn entire grove of these colorful, vibrant flowers that flutter like a group of cha-cha dancers grooving to the beat of Tito Puente. The shin-high purple shaded flowers look like a lively dance floor. There is an orchestra of birds that provide the melody, the mountain breeze is the rhythm and the lake shimmers like a giant mirror ball.

Take a drive and see for yourself. You can see these lupines cuttin’ the rug now through July on the side of roadways, at the crest of trails, in lush green meadows, on the brinks of hillsides and at lakefront beaches.

Big Bear is known for its rare button-sized indigenous wildflowers, but it’s the lupines that know how to boogie. Right now is the time to enjoy the presence of these purple beauties. Lupines make great backdrops for picnics in the forest, and of course quality photo opps. So be sure to bring a camera.

Daniel Pea