California's hillsides are covered in swaths of orange, yellow, purple and white roses after a rainy winter... The vast swathes of rural areas, which are brown for months of the year, are transformed into a colorful tapestry visible from the sky.

"The scene is like a painting," says Triana Montserrat, 29, as she inspects the poppies, the "Britelbech" bushes, and the lupine plant. "The view is very intricate and beautiful."

The most populous US state witnessed several storms for months, during which record amounts of rain fell.

Californians were accustomed to wearing light clothing indoors in the winter, but a large number of them detected leaks from the roof that had not been recorded during several years of drought.

But when the rainy winter gave way to spring, nature revealed its amazing flowers.

The lands became covered with blooming roses as a result of irrigating a barren land with abundant amounts of water.

These flowers have always fascinated all who had the chance to see them, from the first Spanish missionaries to some of the most prominent writers of American literature.

Unfortunately for nature lovers, the age of Instagram and TikTok means that these flowers may become victims of the popularity of these platforms.

A short distance from the place visited by the Agence France-Presse team, a walking path was closed to the public, to avoid being visited by too many tourists.

People were forbidden to visit the town of Lake Elsinore, and a patrol was stationed in Walker Canyon to ensure that no one entered the area.

These measures come within the framework of efforts aimed at avoiding a recurrence of what was called in 2019 "the end of poppies", which was represented in the invasion of tens of thousands of rural hikers, causing stifling traffic jams that paralyzed the region.

Celebrities from communication sites and tourists parked their cars at the time along the highways, and walked directly towards the spaces covered with wild flowers, so they trampled on everything they came across in an effort to take beautiful pictures.

"It was a nightmare," said Pete Liston, owner of the Skull Canyon zip line.

They trampled everything that appeared in front of them and damaged many flowers.”

"In the area above Walker Canyon, tracks dating back to 2019 can still be seen. None of the flowers bloom even when they are in bloom," he added.

Leiston's adventure park attracts a large number of visitors, and among the activities it provides is a zipline that allows you to enjoy the flowers without damaging them.

Montserrat believes that these activities represent the best way to see the spectacle of flowers without disturbing the landscape.

"I have always wanted to walk among the flowers, but I wanted to make sure that future generations will be able to enjoy them as well," she told AFP.

And while most people agree on the need to protect the flowers, not everyone wants to close paths and just provide scenes captured by cameras installed in the place, as the Lake Elsinore authorities did.

Evan Meyer of the Tudor Paine Foundation, an organization that works with Southern California plants, says the blooms are "a moment for people to connect with nature and foster a passion for California's biodiversity."
"With Walker Canyon closed, Lake Elsinore is sending the opposite message."

Instead of banning people from enjoying these amazing sights, moral norms that value nature should be introduced into popular culture, Meyer says.

The guides at Skull Canyon strive to set similar standards. They remind tourists that picking flowers is prohibited, and point out the need to adhere to the designated paths.

For photography buffs like Lisa Meyer, zip lines are the perfect way to enjoy the colorful mountains.
And she confirms that she will publish her photos on Instagram, with useful comments attached to them as specific advice.

"I will write about the need to protect the flowers and not to trample on them, and to make sure where we prove our steps," she says.