It ends in May and the blossoms usually peak in March, but as you all know it's been a weird, wet and early spring so it might end a little early this year.  Times a wastin'. The route is traditionally 67 miles, but they've added an extension called The Orange Blossom Trail.

The main Blossom Trail runs from Fowler and Jensen avenues east to Sanger, south toward the Parlier and Selma areas, north and east through Reedley, east and north toward Highway 180, west and north to Belmont Avenue, then south on Fowler to Jensen. That loop is 58 miles. If you go down The Orange Blossom Trail, which extends east toward Dinuba and through Orange Cove, you cover an extra 26 miles.  I like this part of the route because the scent is just heavenly.  I think the best time to enjoy the fragrant blossoms is late afternoon, because the scent is absolutely heady. You'll be hanging your head out the car window. 

Additionally, this self-guided, motor or bicycle tour offers several historical points of interest including a vintage general store in operation since the 1920's, and some of the county's oldest Victorian homes, some that are almost 130 years old. There's the old ghost town of Centerville, founded in 1853, and several historical spots in Sanger, like The Sanger Depot Museum, just off Jensen, which is a 112-year-old structure moved to its current location in 1977. The museum is open only 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Fridays and 1-4 p.m. Sundays.

As you near Reedley, you can visit the Hillcrest Christmas Tree Farm which is just three miles north of town on Reed Avenue, where steam-train rides are part of the attraction. You can bring a lunch, but hot dogs are on sale and the train ride is only a $1 a ticket.  The train ride travels through fields and woods that cover a five-acre spread.  There are also several fishing and picnicking areas like Whispering Waters Lakes.

By the by, some of the blossoms you'll see will include blooms from different trees like apricot, peach, nectarine, apple, plum and almond trees.  Different flowers include Baby Blue Eyes, Popcorn Flowers, Lupine, California Poppies, Brodiaea (what?), Owl's Clover, and Fiddleneck
 
The tour was created by the Greater Fresno Area Chamber Blossom Committee (designated the Blossom Trail by the Fresno Convention and Visitors Bureau)  to celebrate and feature the beauty of Fresno County's agriculture and create a tourist attraction with an agricultural theme. Fresno County is the top farm county in the United States and the Blossom Trail provides travelers with a colorful reminder of how plentiful food production is here.

Fortunately Mother Nature is generous, and the Blossom Trail isn't the only formalized tour in the area. A few miles north, travelers can view the blanket of wildflowers and colorful verdure along the Sierra Heritage Scenic Byway and the Wildflower Trail.

This 70-mile route, snaking through the communities of Tollhouse, Auberry, Prather and Marshall Station, features such colorful natural decorations as popcorn flowers, wild poppies, buck brush, Western redbud and fiddleneck.

To go on the Wildflower Trail and Scenic Byway, the starting point is two large magnolia trees incorporated in the landscaping of Old Town Clovis.  Unlike the limited window of a few weeks for blooms along the Blossom Trail, the Scenic Byway offers almost year-round color.

Brochures and maps of The Blossom Trail are located at the visitors bureau, 808 M Street south of Kern Street, and at the chamber of commerce, 2331 Fresno Street at N street. For questions call (233-4651). For a fantastic map of the Wildflower Trail click here.    (this is Brodiaea )