Daffodil Hill Daffodil Flowers in Bloom for Public Viewing Mid March to Early April  (Weather Permitting)

Daffodil Hill. Spectacular daffodil blooms in a beautiful country setting. Shake Ridge Rd. Rams Hon Grade, Volcano. amadorcountychamber.com or call 209-223-0350 for opening information.

Daffodil Hill flowers bloom each year, to the joy of those who love these graceful, springtime perennials. At Daffodil Hill there are more than 300 varieties of daffodils, over 300,000 planted bulbs on a property that sits at 3,000 feet above sea level in California's historic Old West.

Arthur McLaughlin and Elizabeth "Lizzie" van Vorst-McLaughlin, descendents of those who came west and settled in California, have planted up to 6,000 new bulbs a year on their farm that includes a lovely alpine setting with pine trees, an old barn, wagon wheels, and rusting mining equipment and farming tools in addition to roaming fowl and farm animals such as lambs, chickens and other birds. This non-commercial tourist destination and delight is not formally publicized or promoted, but still hundreds and thousands of people flock to tiny Volcano to see the lovely spread of yellow that sits on a carpet of green.

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). The ranch has been owned by the same family since it was acquired in 1887 by wagon pioneers . 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.