Everyone Stop Driving to Lake Elsinore to Take ‘Super-Bloom’ Selfies, City Says

[dropcap size=big]C[/dropcap]alling a weekend deluge of Instagram-seeking visitors to a wildflower-covered canyon "unbearable," the city of Lake Elsinore in western Riverside County has shut down access to the poppies until further notice.

"The situation has escalated beyond our available resources," Lake Elsinore said on its City Hall Facebook page on Sunday. "No additional shuttles or visitors will be allowed into Walker Canyon. [...] We know it has been miserable and has caused unnecessary hardships for our entire community."

With spring arriving — and after this winter's heavy rainfall — wild California poppies in brilliant oranges and yellows have been springing up across the region. For the social-media obsessed, chasing the "superbloom" of wildflower growth at the start of spring has become something of a SoCal tradition.