Blossom Trail In Fresno Visit & February Musings

A Family Visit To Blossom Trail In Fresno & Some February Musings

Check out our family visit to the Fresno Blossom Trail in Northern California. The blossoms are in full bloom during Mid February to Mid March every year, and it is worth visiting the white and pink blossom trees, especially the white almond orchards and white, light and dark pink flowers on the fruit trees, including, peach, plum, apricot, apple and orange blossoms.

Fresno County Blossom Trail is at it’s full bloom during the months of February and March. The trail path is covered with blossoms, or you may call them the flowering tree fields. There are multiple patches on the trail, and each patch has a plantation of either almonds, fruits like plums, peaches, apricots, apples, oranges etc.

Each of these plants have their flowers blooming at the time of Mid-February to Mid-March every year, before they turn into fruits, which are relished in summer. And the flowers, or more fondly called blossoms, adorn the trees so beautifully, which creates a magical bed of white, light pink, dark/pink or red colored heaven.

We planned a day trip to Fresno at the end of February this year, 2021. We drove from Santa Clara at around 9 am and reached our destination (Simonian Farms, Fresno) at around 1 pm. You can cover the distance in around 3 hours, but considering we had a kid with us, the stopovers in between costed us the extra one hour.

Blossom Trail – Start the trip at Simonian Farms

The tour starts at Simonian Farms, where you can find a variety of antique collectibles, bicycles, cars, old school machines, vintage steam train, and what not. It takes you back to the golden era, and is a great way to familiarize the children with the history. There is a tower built inside the farm with a special wood as a tribute to the Japanese Americans, the history of this goes back to the World War II days.

There is a store inside where you can buy a variety of produce, like fresh fruits, juices, milk, eggs, a variety of dried fruits and nuts, jams and preserves, signature fruit wines and old fashioned soda pop, among many other yummy delicacies and gift packs. We bought mini jam bottles, and trust me, the jams with hints of Jalapeno are too delicious. The Cranberry Jalapeno spread that we got gives just the right kick of spice with the perfect sweetness of cranberries. We are getting the big bottle for sure next time.

Fresno Blossom – Trail Map & Points of Interest

You can take the map to the blossom trail from the store and just start following the route as mentioned on the map.It was a little overwhelming for us, as we are used to navigating to a fixed destination point using Google Maps, but here we just have to follow the trail mentioned on the map, and enjoy the blossoms on the way. Just remember to park by the patch of blossoms where you think you might want to explore more or do some photography. But, it’s important not to get too lost in the beautiful blossoms, especially while driving or parking. Drive safe, because the trail is truly mesmerizing.

Here is the path we followed as per the map we got at Simonian Farms (the map is also available online at Fresno Blossom Trail Tourism site.

• Simonian Farms
• Belmont
• Academy
• Shields
• Oliver
• Centerville
• Crawford
• Jensen
• Manning
• Reedley
• Sanger

Till the time we reached Reedley, we were done for the day and were ready to go back. So, we might cover the points again in some other trip. But, you will see the blossoms along the way throughout the trail. We had clicked some of the best shots at the starting of the trail. The white almond blossoms were blooming at the peak, and that sight is beyond imagination. Those are the most picturesque parts of the trail.

About Blossom Flowers

If you are visiting the trail for the first time and you don’t know how to differentiate between the different blossoms, then that becomes the most fun part of the trip. All the blossoms are in the shades of whites and pinks. And throughout the trail, you will keep seeing patches of whites and pinks, it is so much fun to guess which fruits do those blossoms belong to. My kid had a lot of fun just swaying around the white almond blossom trees.

One important tip while going for the blossom trail tour is to carry a tripod or a selfie stick with you. COVID anyways has it’s own social distance limitations, so you cannot ask anyone else to click a family picture for you. And these are the locations where you will get the best family portraits. We forgot the tripod and we regretted later, LOL. We were able to capture one shot together though, but definitely, tripod is the best option. So, don’t forget to carry it!

Coming to the differences between the different blossoms, here are the striking ones!

• Almond Blossoms – White
• Plum Blossoms – White to Dark Pink
• Apple Blossoms – Light Pink to White
• Oranges – White
• Apricot Blossoms – White to light pink
• Peach Blossoms – Pink to dark pink

But trust me, there is more to their differences than just the color. The shape of their petals, the petals count and the way they are grouped on the tree branches also counts as differentiators among many other factors. Sounds silly, but it’s all really confusing unless you are a pro, LOL!

Tips & Other Information

I think it is best to photograph amidst the lush white almond trees when the sun is not too harsh, since we had a little hard time capturing the right pictures, without the shadows. But, if it is not an option, then you can just do a trial and error with the lush patches where you don’t get much shadows.

Now, as far as food is concerned, we had carried one meal with us. Basically, simple grilled sandwiches, and some basic fruits and snacks for the trip. This was enough to keep us full till around lunch time. For the early evening, we had planned to have our meal at the famous restaurant called Heirloom in Fresno. The place and the menu seemed really inviting for our taste buds. But we had to skip it since we were running out of time on our way back, and preferred to get a takeout from a drive-through fast food chain instead. But, we have bookmarked the restaurant to try during the next visit. Also, Blossom Trail Cafe seems to be quite famous around the area. All in all, the entire trail has a plenty of restaurants, we saw a lot of Mexican eateries around, so you have a lot of options to choose from. I know that sometimes vegetarians have a hard time finding the perfect meals, but Mexican food is definitely a win-win for all.

So, to sum it up, if you are in or around Northern California during the months of February or March, the blossom trail in Fresno is definitely worth a visit to see the blooming flower trees. The Almond Orchards are heavenly!

February Musings – From The Blog

As some of you might have noticed, I did not post anything on the blog this February. Well, the good news is that the blog is still alive, and has been redesigned, YAYY!! There was work to do with regards to the layout of the posts, and in particular, the blog theme needed a major uplift. And I am more than happy with how the new homepage has turned out to be. Hope you all like the new design of the blog as much as I do.

Also, if you liked reading about our family visit to the Fresno Blossom Trail, then do check out the blog post on our Family Trip to Banff National Park in Canada. Banff National Park is also worth a visit for traveling enthusiasts.

Adios Amigos!

Almond Blossoms in Fresno California | Blossom Trail In Fresno