Some tips on what to check for before you go to see the Lake Elsinore poppy bloom

Before you head to the Lake Elsinore poppy fields on a weekday or this weekend, here are some ways to catch up on any changes authorities are putting in place to keep pace with visitors and traffic in the area.

The city on Tuesday changed how it will handle weekday visitors after numbers swelled, including opening a newly available parking lot just south of the poppy fields and placing daytime flaggers to direct surface street traffic to parking places.

The weekends have another set of rules, including $10-per-ticket shuttle buses from two designated parking lots, closed freeway ramps and streets and other streets with residents-only restrictions.

The Lake Street off-ramps of the 15 Freeway have been an open-and-shut case throughout the week, with traffic stopping on the ramps and causing backups that have forced closures of the exits. On Wednesday, the California Highway Patrol logged at least one towed vehicle.

Here are a few places you can check before you head out to the poppy fields in the Walker Canyon Ecological Preserve north of Lake Elsinore.

Facebook: Search for @CityofLakeElsinore to find Lake Elsinore – City Hall. Mayor Steve Manos is at @smanos1 ‏

Instagram: cityoflakeelsinore is the official site

Twitter: @CtyLakeElsinore ‏for the city; @smanos1 ‏ for Mayor Manos. Other useful hashtags include #poppytraffic #poppyapocalypse #lakeelsinore #leatwork

Other sites:

The California Highway Patrol’s online log for traffic  is cad.chp.ca.gov; on the top left is a drop-down menu. Choose “Inland” to see what’s happening for traffic situations, especially the Lake Avenue exits for the 15 Freeway. The CHP has taken to calling the location “Poppyville”

Caltrans District 8 Traffic Map at www.dot.ca.gov/dist8/tmc/  Check conditions on the 15 Freeway around Lake Street. Sorry, no traffic cameras at that site.