In full bloom

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In full bloom

For two spectacular weeks each summer, the dove fields at York County’s Draper Wildlife Management Area explode with acre after acre of giant, yellow sunflowers. Come see it for yourself.

Photo by Amy Trainum

Blink and you might miss it.

For two glorious weeks each summer, the fields of Draper Wildlife Management Area in York County put on a spectacular show—acre after acre of shoulder-high, giant yellow sunflowers reaching toward a boundless sky. Visitors from across the Carolinas flock here to lose themselves in a Crayola-colored spectacle and snap countless “you’re never going to believe where I am” selfies.

Located just down the road from Historic Brattonsville in McConnells, Draper Wildlife Management Area is operated by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as habitat for small game and a public hunting ground. The 806-acre property includes three stocked fishing ponds and trails for hiking and bird watching. It also hosts seasonal hunts for rabbit, turkey, quail and dove, says DNR wildlife biologist Andrew F. Hook, who oversees the property.

To ensure the tract’s two dove fields have a ready supply of edible seed, Hook supervises a massive planting of sunflowers each April, timed to produce a bumper crop of colorful flowering stalks approximately 110 days later, sometime around July 4.

 “Our goal is not to grow the sunflowers for people to come out and get a good Instagram photos, it’s specifically for the benefit of the doves and hunting public,” he says. “Natural resource technicians work hard to ensure these dove fields are in top condition. When they get so many compliments about how good the sunflowers and the fields look, it’s certainly an added benefit.”

Exactly when the 24 acres of flowers will hit their peak this year depends on several factors, including temperature and rainfall, but the goal is always to plant the sunflowers late enough in spring to ensure plenty of seed in time for the opening of dove hunting season on Labor Day weekend.

Updates on the 2019 peak bloom may be posted at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources website (dnr.sc.gov), as well as the agency’s Facebook page (facebook.com/lifesbetteroutdoors) and Instagram channel (instagram.com/scdnr). And if you decide to visit this year, Hook asks that you take care to protect the environment.

“It is meant to be a wild area, so please, leave it as you found it,” he says. “Don’t leave any trash and obviously don’t remove any of the flowers.” 

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Get There

Draper Wildlife Management Area is located at 1080 Brattonsville Road near McConnells, about 10 miles south of downtown York. A sign directs visitors down a dirt lane to a small parking area. The smaller youth dove field is a 5-minute walk through the right gate; the larger adult field is a 10-minute walk through the left gate, but worth the hike, Hook says. “That’s our biggest field and it usually gets the most visitors. It’s pretty stunning.”

Hours: Open year-round from dawn to dusk.

Admission: Free.

If you go: “It’s not a park,” Hook says. “There are no facilities, public restrooms or anything along those lines.”

Details: For more information, call (864) 427-5140.