Each spring, from mid-March through mid-April, Daffodil Hill explodes with thousands of blooms, attracting visitors from around the world.
Among the most well-known of Amador County's many attractions, Daffodil Hill is a 4 acre farm owned by the McLaughlin family since 1887.
The farm began as a 36-acre ranch and toll road for travelers and teamsters hauling timber. In the 1930's, the first visitors stopped to admire the family's garden. Responding to public interest, the family began expanding the flower bed.
A century of nurturing .....
Today, much of the landscape around the old homestead is covered with more than 300 named varieties of daffodils. For the last twenty years, the McLaughlins have continued to plant up to 6,000 new bulbs a year. It is estimated that today, Daffodil Hill is carpeted with over 300,000 bulbs.
Daffodil Hill is in a beautiful alpine setting at an elevation of over 3,000 feet. With pine trees, an old barn, wagon wheels, and rusting mining equipment and farming tools, it appeals to anyone with a love of nature. Flowers are everywhere, with pea-fowl, chickens, pigeons and lambs making themselves at home.
Not a commercial enterprise, nor formally publicized or promoted, the ranch has been owned by the same family since it was acquired in 1887 by wagon pioneers Arthur McLaughlin and Elizabeth "Lizzie" van Vorst-McLaughlin.
In the early days of the Gold Rush, Daffodil Hill was a regular stopping place for teamsters hauling timber from the Sierras down to the Kennedy and Argonaut Mines, and for eastbound travelers heading for the Comstock Lode on the Amador-Nevada Wagon Road (Highway 88).
In 1887, after coming west from New York and Ohio, Arthur and his wife, Lizzie, began to plant the first daffodil bulbs in their spare time. The bulbs have since been lovingly nurtured.
300,000 bulbs of beauty.
More bulbs are added each year, with the help of private donations. Today, the bulbs number more that 300,000 and include not only 300 varieties of daffodils, but also a large number of other varieties of bulbs and flowers, as well.
Nature sets the schedule for public viewing. Daffodil Hill opens when 25 percent of the flowers are in bloom and closes when only 25 percent remain. The best time to visit Daffodil Hill is the spring, usually from the end of March through the first three weeks of April. Daffodil Hill is open only at this time of year, after that it goes back to a working ranch. The hill is open Monday through Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. However, in some years, inclement weather closes the farm. Admission and parking are free, the only charges my be from local youth groups raising funds in concession stands across the road. (209) 296-7048 for information.
Daffodil Hill Driving Directions
No pets allowed on grounds of Daffodil Hill
Daffodil Hill can be reached from either Sutter Creek or Jackson. Each trip is about twelve miles.
Sutter Creek and Jackson are located on Highway 49 in Amador County, accessible from Sacramento via Highway 16 (Jackson Rd.) or from Stockton via Highway 99 (Highway 88 turnoff).
From Sutter Creek, turn East on Gopher Flat Road.
Follow the signs to Daffodil Hill.
From Jackson, turn East on Highway 88 for 8 miles to Pine Grove.
Turn North on Pine Grove - Volcano Road. Follow Pine Grove - Volcano Rd. until it turns into Rams Horn Grade. Follow Rams Horn Grade to Daffodil Hill.