Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Trails and natural spaces across Oregon remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic this spring, keeping hikers away just as wildflower season begins.



As Oregonians remain isolated close to home, countless beautiful wildflowers bloom on the hills of the Columbia Gorge, in prairies near the Wallowa Mountains, on cliffs lining the Oregon coast and in fields around the Willamette Valley.



This year, the flowers will bloom unimpeded by human presence, a rare moment for wild spaces, but a missed opportunity for those who love soaking up the colors, the scents and the views that come with wildflower hikes around the state.



Friends of the Columbia Gorge manages a few wildflower-strewn trails in the natural scenic area, including Mosier Plateau, one of the newest and most popular spots for hikers. Kevin Gorman, executive director of the nonprofit, said while it's certainly hard to miss out on one of Oregon's rites of spring, it's a necessary sacrifice in the name of public health.



"The wildflowers will be more than happy," Gorman said. "It won't hurt, it will help make that ecosystem a little more rich, a little more connected and strengthened than it would be otherwise."



And when people can finally get back out among the wildflowers, he said, we might feel a little more connected to them as well.



"Honestly, I think if people go back out there after all of this, I think they'll probably be a little more respectful and a little more careful of the landscape," Gorman said.



For now, we'll all have to appreciate the beautiful flowers from afar. Here are 20 wildflower landscapes from the Columbia Gorge and around Oregon, taken in previous years when access was allowed.



MORE PRETTY PICTURES OF OREGON:

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

The Wallowa Mountains dominate the horizon on the Horned Lark Trail in the Zumwalt Prairie of northeast Oregon.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Sticky geranium flowers bloom in the green grassy hills of the Zumwalt Prairie of northeast Oregon.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Purple camas lilies bloom in the grassy hills of the Zumwalt Prairie in the foothills of the Wallowa Mountains in northeast Oregon.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Mount Hood is seen beyond a meadow full of yellow balsam root flowers at Dalles Mountain Ranch, a section of Columbia Hills State Park on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

A bee gathers pollen on a yellow balsam root flower at Dalles Mountain Ranch, a section of Columbia Hills State Park on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

A paved universal access trail gives great views of Mount Hood, wildflowers and the Columbia River at Catherine Creek near Lyle, Washington.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Purple lupine flowers bloom at Catherine Creek, a recreation area found on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Hikers make their way past yellow balsamroot wildflowers blooming on the slopes of Dog Mountain, as a gray mist hangs over the Columbia River Gorge.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Yellow balsamroot wildflowers bloom on the slopes of Dog Mountain, as a gray mist hangs over the Columbia River Gorge.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Indian Paintbrush flowers bloom at Thunder Rock Cove, a viewpoint found within the Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor on the southern Oregon coast.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Pink wildflowers bloom along the rocky shores of the central Oregon coast, on the 804 Trail in Yachats.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

An anise swallowtail butterfly is perched on a western red columbine flower in the Mill Creek Wilderness of the Ochoco National Forest in central Oregon.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Wildflowers bloom at the Camassia Natural Area, a small public park in West Linn.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

A pink fawn lily blooms in the early part of wildflower season on the trail leading to the summit of Saddle Mountain in Oregon's Coast Range.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Hikers walk a trail at the Tom McCall Nature Preserve at Rowena Crest in the Columbia River Gorge.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Wildflowers bloom at the Tom McCall Nature Preserve at Rowena Crest in the Columbia River Gorge.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Wildflowers bloom at the Tom McCall Nature Preserve at Rowena Crest in the Columbia River Gorge.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

A butterfly pollinates a wildflower on the trail to Ice Lake, on a hike through the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Purple-stemmed asters bloom alongside the trail to Ice Lake, on a hike through the Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Small purple wildflowers grow along the trail leading up to Pilot Rock, a volcanic plug found within the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southern Oregon.

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--Jamie Hale; jhale@oregonian.com; 503-294-4077; @HaleJamesB

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