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 1930s, the first visitors stopped to admire the family's garden. Responding to public interest, the family began expanding the flower bed. 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 located 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. People can plant flowers as a memorial.

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.

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 may be from local youth groups raising funds in concession stands across the road.

Fees: None

No pets allowed on grounds of Daffodil Hill.