California 'Daffodil Hill' closing because of overtourism
Lilit Marcus, CNN • Updated 19th July 2019
(CNN) — McLaughlin's Daffodil Hill, a field of beautiful yellow and white flowers outside of California's state capital of Sacramento, has announced that it will be closing indefinitely due to fallout from its unexpected popularity on social media.
The Ryan family, who manages the property, posted an announcement on Facebook on July 15 announcing the closure. The original plot of farmland was purchased in 1887 and has been handed down within the family since.
"After the crush of visitors that descended upon our Hill this year, we came to realize that the limitation on the size of our parking areas and the inability of the local road infrastructure to handle the volume, created liability and safety concerns for everyone involved," the post reads.
"It is this overwhelming popularity that has led us to our decision to close."
Visitors flocked to the daffodil fields.
Shutterstock
Due to its rural location, the Daffodil Hill area was not prepared for the influx of visitors who poured in to photograph themselves among the flower-filled fields. Parking, traffic and environmental damage were all cited as issues.
"Smart growth and keeping both the visitor and the resident in mind are critical," Mike Testa, the President & CEO of Visit Sacramento, tells CNN Travel. "We don't want the expansion to our tourism industry to come with headaches for our guests -- and most importantly our residents."
And Daffodil Hill is far from the only spot on the globe where social media -- specifically Instagram -- has been cited as an issue for locals and the environment. In fact, it's not even the only place in California.
Antelope Valley's poppy "super bloom" in March 2019 was so popular that visitors started doing risky things -- like illegally landing a helicopter into the field -- in order to access the area and take pictures.
In 2018, Maya Bay -- the Thai island made popular by the Leonardo DiCaprio film "The Beach" -- announced it would close indefinitely due to damage from overtourism.
Meanwhile, Australian tourism officials decided to close Uluru -- formerly known as Ayers Rock -- to climbers as of October 2019.
