Nothing dispels the misperception of a lifeless, beige landscape in the Sonoran Desert like wildflower season, when a torrent of psychedelic colors washes across the desert floor. Thanks to Arizona Highways magazine, the Grand Canyon state is famous for its vibrant wildflowers, which typically appear after a rainstorm in late February or March and can last well into April or early May. Get your camera ready for the apricot-colored globemallow, desert lavender, golden desert sunflower, violet purplemat, red-flowered chuparosa, and lemon-yellow desert senna.

It’s not hard to find these seas of color, as any of the mountain preserves that surround the city will teem with polychromatic life, although the best spots are east of Phoenix in the Superstition Mountains at the far end of Highway 60 or in North Scottsdale in the McDowell Mountains and Cave Creek. You can also catch a secondary round of blooms in the fall when summer’s hot weather gives way to spring-like temperatures.