Skip to main content Skip to navigation
Durham

The Best Spots to See Almond Blossoms in Butte County

January 26, 2026 (Originally published February 10, 2020)
Blooming Almond Orchard in Durham
@snappinsmiles

From mid-Feb­ru­ary to ear­ly March, almond trees bloom across the North State. While Butte Coun­ty is just one part of California’s vast almond pro­duc­tion, the local orchards pro­vide a beau­ti­ful and brief win­dow into the start of the agri­cul­tur­al sea­son.

While the beau­ty of the orchards is invit­ing, it is impor­tant to remem­ber that these trees are part of active, pri­vate work­ing farms. Vis­i­tors are asked to be respect­ful: Avoid tres­pass­ing or walk­ing into orchards with­out explic­it per­mis­sion. The best way to enjoy the bloom is from the safe­ty of your vehi­cle or by pulling over com­plete­ly onto pub­lic shoul­ders where it is safe to park.

The Durham Dri­ving Tour

The small town of Durham is per­haps the most icon­ic loca­tion for blos­som chas­ing. Dur­ing peak sea­son, orchards line almost every cor­ner, cre­ate beau­ti­ful back­road vis­tas, and stretch as far as the eye can see.

  • The Roble Road Loop: For a mes­mer­iz­ing view, trav­el Durham-Day­ton High­way to Mid­way, then turn onto Roble Road. As the road ele­vates slight­ly, look toward the cross-sec­tion of Blos­som Lane and Roble Road — this van­tage point offers a stun­ning aer­i­al-like per­spec­tive of the white canopy.
  • Jones Avenue: Turn­ing onto Jones Avenue leads trav­el­ers into the heart of ​“blos­som bliss.” This stretch fea­tures a vari­ety of his­toric fam­i­ly farms, includ­ing Red Bear Ranch and Grzanich Broth­ers’ Orchards.
The Best Spots to See Almond Blossoms in Butte County

A Fun Local Fact: ​“Almond” vs. ​“Amond”

Vis­i­tors may notice locals pro­nounc­ing the nut as ​“Amond” (rhyming with salmon). This isn’t just a region­al accent; it’s also a local agri­cul­tur­al joke.

As the joke goes: ​“They are ​‘almonds’ while they are on the branch, but once the har­vest machin­ery shakes the trees, they become ​‘amonds’ — because the farm­ers knock the ​‘L’ out of them!”

The Chico & Day­ton Route

The bloom con­tin­ues north into Chico, where the orchards min­gle with the out­skirts of the city.

  • Day­ton Road & Hegan Lane: Tak­ing the Durham-Day­ton High­way exit off High­way 99 North leads to Day­ton Road. This scenic dri­ve pass­es through lush orchard land and leads direct­ly to Maisie Jane’s Cal­i­for­nia Sun­shine Prod­ucts Gift Shop. It’s the per­fect spot to stop for local almond treats while enjoy­ing the sur­round­ing views.
  • Elk Avenue & Lone Pine: From Maisie Jane’s, trav­el­ing south for 2.5 miles to Elk Avenue reveals more seclud­ed, qui­et orchard rows.
  • Heron Fox Farm: A turn onto Lone Pine and then Stevens Avenue show­cas­es the orchards of Heron Fox Farm. This fourth-gen­er­a­tion fam­i­ly farm spe­cial­izes in cer­ti­fied organ­ic, unpas­teur­ized almonds and uti­lizes bee-friend­ly farm­ing meth­ods that are often vis­i­ble in the healthy, vibrant state of their spring trees.

How to Best Enjoy the Bloom

To ensure a safe and enjoy­able expe­ri­ence for both vis­i­tors and farm­ers, keep these guide­lines in mind:

  • Stay on Pub­lic Roads: Do not enter the orchards. The soft soil and irri­ga­tion sys­tems are eas­i­ly dam­aged, and your pres­ence can dis­rupt farm operations.
  • Safe­ty First: If you pull over to take a pho­to, ensure your vehi­cle is com­plete­ly off the road­way and not block­ing farm equip­ment access gates.
  • Tim­ing the Light: Ear­ly morn­ing and the ​“Gold­en Hour” before sun­set pro­vide the soft­est light for cap­tur­ing the glow of the white petals.
  • Check the Weath­er: A heavy wind or rain­storm can bring the blos­soms down ear­ly, so plan your dri­ve as soon as the peak bloom reports begin.